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Jul 29, 2023

5 Tips for Keeping Container Plants Lush and Beautiful Through Summer’s Hottest Weather

A little attention to your container plants now will keep them healthy and happy well into fall. Container gardening gets more popular every year, and for good reason. Whether it’s flowers, edibles,

A little attention to your container plants now will keep them healthy and happy well into fall.

Container gardening gets more popular every year, and for good reason. Whether it’s flowers, edibles, trees, shrubs, you-name-it, the pots add color and life to our outdoors spaces.

Right now those containers probably look lush and healthy. But as summer progresses — and hot, humid weather settles in for a long visit — container plants can become stressed from too little water, too much heat, not enough nutrients or insect infestations.

With a little love and attention, faded, drooping plants don’t have to be an inevitable casualty of summer. Try these tips to keep yours healthy and looking great, even when temperatures rise and the air turns muggy.

1. Water. As the weather heats up, containers that you might have watered every couple of days may now need water every day. Small containers may even need watering twice a day. A layer of mulch on top of the soil helps keep it moist, reducing the need to water.

Don’t let plants dry out so much that you are constantly rehydrating dry soil. Plants that dry out too often, even if subsequently watered, can be permanently damaged. Growth, flowering and fruiting will be affected.

Be sure to check the stems and undersides of your container plants when patrolling for pests, and make sure they get plenty of water as the weather heats up (if Mother Nature does not provide).

If potting soil dries to the point that it pulls away from the sides of the pot, it can actually repel water. Pouring water on top will just send it through the sides and out the drainage hole, leaving the soil mix dry. Put the pot in a bucket or bowl with enough water so it comes halfway up the pot. Let it set for at least an hour. The water will wick up from the bottom, saturating the soil. The plant should rehydrate in a couple of hours.

Given the intense rainstorms we’ve had lately in the eastern U.S., too much water can cause its own problems. Roots that sit in water can rot, which can ultimately kill a plant. Always use a pot with at least one drainage hole, ideally more than one. Make sure your potting mix is light and fluffy, and not so dense that it holds water like a soaked sponge. After rainstorms, be sure to empty saucers under pots, and either site containers away from low areas that puddle, or raise them up on stands so they don’t sit in water.

2. Keep them cool. If you have heat-sensitive plants — those that wilt by afternoon, even if they start the day well-hydrated — move them out of the direct sun. This is especially important if they are sitting on hot asphalt or pavement, or near a material that reflects heat, like metal siding.

Another way to keep plants cool is to cluster them together. Larger plants will shade smaller ones, and since water evaporates from the leaves, they will all benefit from the increased humidity.

Dark-colored containers sitting in the sun can get hot and heat up the soil. Metal containers can get so hot that they fry a plant’s roots. Save those for plants that won’t be in direct sun all day.

Clustering container plants together will provide shade as well as moisture in the form of humidity.

3. Deadhead or pinch. An annual plant’s mission in life is to set seed. Once it has fulfilled that goal, flower production slacks off. To keep them coming, snip or pinch off any fading blooms before seed starts to form.

Trailing plants like petunias and calibrachoas can get leggy. Cutting back the foliage by about half will spur new growth. All plants benefit by removing dead leaves. It keeps them looking fresh and neat and helps avoid spreading disease.

4. Fertilize. Potted plants need to be fertilized more frequently than those in the ground, because watering flushes nutrients out of the potting soil. Even if soil came with fertilizer already in it, or you mixed some in when planting, plan on feeding your plants every two weeks with a balanced liquid fertilizer diluted to half strength.

Overfeeding, however, can make plants leggy and floppy, plus produce so much succulent foliage that it attracts insect pests. Which brings us to…

5. Watch for bugs. If you’ve been paying attention to your plants, you’ll find infestations early. Aphids, spider mites, fungus gnats, scale and caterpillars are all common problems. Identify which pest you have before starting treatment, and choose the least-toxic method. Often, natural insecticidal soap is all you need.

Hand-picking caterpillars and washing off spider mites or aphids with water or a wet paper towel usually takes care of the problem. If scale isn’t too bad, wipe them with a cotton ball soaked in alcohol. When on pest patrol, always check the stems and the undersides of leaves as well as the tops, because lots of pests hide there.

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Therese Ciesinski is an award-winning garden writer and editor.