Help.. Fixing to give up on flower baskets and pots.

Am I the only one that can not grow a flower in a pot or basket? Every year. I get flowers for basket's and every year I have a dead basket within in a couple of weeks. I have bought the standard basket's in nurseries. I tried making my own with common pot plants suc as petunias & Begonias but nothing!! I thought maybe I water them too little, then I think I water them too much. I have rearranged for sun light. I have used special soil.

Not sure what I am doing wrong. MY DD saw some yesterday and wanted some but I didn't buy any as I told her we can't seem to keep them alive. Any ideas?

I don't have too much problems with growing them in my beds... Just pots.

I tend to suspect a watering issue, watering is the most challenging thing to get right with plants in containers. Plants in the ground are a little easier to get right with the watering. One thing you can do is before you get ready to water, try sticking your finger down a couple inches into the container and see how wet the potting mix feels. If it's really wet then you need to hold off and water less often, but if it's bone dry then you're not watering enough. Proper watering frequency is going to change as the plants' roots get bigger and as temperatures vary throughout the year, so even once you think you've got the hang of watering them at the right frequency, I'd double check with the finger test every so often. Another common problem with containers if they get too dry is that it can be hard to rewet the potting mix. If it's dried out and you give it a little bit of water, it will often find a little channel down the edge of the pot and out the bottom, so you think you've watered enough when in reality most of the potting mix is still really dry. I usually fill the pot with water and let it run through a couple of times to make sure that it got thoroughly wet.

A couple other things to consider...you mention "special soi"...was it potting mix designed for containers? If it was garden soil rather than potting mix then it is too heavy to use in containers and makes it much easier to overwater. And dark colored pots sitting in the sun during the summer can let plants' roots get too hot which will make some plants unhappy too.

Are your pots sitting out in the sun or do you have them in shade? The sun will suck potted plants dry in less than a day. They do much better if you can put them in shade. The only place I put potted plants outside is on my front porch which is covered and all of my plants just love it out there.

I bet it is the soil. I am not sure what all kinds I use but it does seem heavy. I have put them in sun and shade (the only shade is on the porch though) I had some in my garden and it is full sun. That could be why they didn't do so well. When they dry out I can't seem to get the water to really soak back in. It turns hard.. At one time I thought I had too much dirt. Maybe I will try and get some potting mix for containers ( I don't think I ever tried specifically for containers and keep it on the porch table and do the finger testing suggested for watering.

Maybe it will work for me. My DH said he would make me one of the box type flower pots but I didn't want him to waste his time. With my dead flowers! :) LOL Hopefully he will be in the shop fixing away by end of summer! :)

I use regular Miracle Grow potting soil and peat moss. The peat lightens the soil and helps it retain moisture better (there are other mixes, this is just what I use and it has worked very well for me). I mix 2/3 Miracle Grow with 1/3 peat. If the sun hits your soil for very long, it will suck it so dry that it seems impossible to get it back to where it will soak up the water.

mulch or pebbles on top of the soil helps too

Nearly all my daylillies are now in large pots since last year and are doing good.
I use potting soil from Canada that i buy from my local nursery.I've heard Sunshine brand is good also. I use mashed coke cans on the bottom for drainage. I use a light miricle grow(one tbs Miracle grow per watering can) once a week. I water the container thourly. (SP) They are pretty and green and bloomed well last year. Also throw petunias and lantanas and dusty millers in with the daylillies. During summer i water twice a week.