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metal deck baskets???
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Posted by maidinmontana 5 (debirosin@bresnan.net) on Fri, Jul 3, 09 at 12:06
| Hi, I have three of these long baskets. I have had them for 3 years and every year I try something different because it seems nothing seems to grow well in them.
I was going to try succulents this year but came up with what I thought was a better plan.
I lined the basket with screen, then filled it with potting soil, then planted some vinca vine, red and purple salvia and some lantana, I then poked in sheet moss between the edge of the basket and the screen to cover the screen and also to help hold in moisture. These baskets are facing west and it does get pretty hot there, but nothing seems to be thriving. I am keeping it alive but it's still very straggly looking.
Does anyone have any suggestions or hints that works for them?
Thanks to any and all. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: metal deck baskets???
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- Posted by tapla z5b-6a MI (My Page) on
Fri, Jul 3, 09 at 12:14
| ..... so what's your best guess as to what's causing the trouble? Too dry? Poor soil? Light? Nutrition? Al |
RE: metal deck baskets???
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| Hi Al, well it could be a soil issue, it is kinda sandy but I do fertilize w/bloom booster MG. Perhaps I do need to water more frequently, I am doing it once a day but maybe will do more often as needed. Like I said it is pretty hot where they are, but that just happens to be where the deck is so I don't have a lot of choice. I guess to answer your question, I'm not sure what the issue is. |
RE: metal deck baskets???
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- Posted by tapla z5b-6a MI (My Page) on
Fri, Jul 3, 09 at 14:14
| It's prolly hard to keep things watered, based on your description, so that's a possibility. The bloom booster fertilizer HAS to go. There is no way anyone can justify using a fertilizer with more P than N in it, unless they are fertilizing at the proper P and K ratios, but limiting N, and none of the so called bloom booster fertilizers do that. Plants use about 6 times more N than P, so how can we justify supplying more P than N? A high P level also unnecessarily raises pH and can interfere with both Fe and Mn uptake. Switch to a fertilizer like MG 24-8-16 or 12-4-8. Many of us here are having very good results using Foliage-Pro 9-3-6. These formulas supply nutrients in very close to the same ratio that plants use them. This allows you to keep nutrient levels much lower o/a w/o 'running out' of an individual nutrient. The issue could also be high root temperatures. Many plants are on a downhill slide after soil temps reach 80* or so, and most roots are functioning very poorly or not at all by the time soil temps reach 95*. Why is the potting soil sandy? What are you using for soil (or what are you using in it) that is making it sandy? Al |
RE: metal deck baskets???
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| maidinmontana how large are your baskets? Sometimes the small ones are just impossible to work with - you can't get enough 'soil' in there to keep plants healthy, they dry out so quickly and there's no room for the roots. I have large hay rack planters on my deck and they get super hot in that afternoon sun. Last year is the first year I used Al's mix (thank you Al!!!) and had great success. I can highly recommend it. This year I made a new batch and tried another little tip - to put plastic inside the coco liner before ading the soil mix. Obviously you have to put in drainage holes but one of the problems with this type of container is that they dry out quickly with all the exposure and the coco lines seem to wick water as well. So I figured I'd give the plastic a shot and wouldn't you know, this year we've had the WETTEST spring and summer in decades!!! I don't have any pics from this year (things are still small because we just haven't had a lot of sun) but here's a pic from last summer - is this the type of basket you're talking about? 
(please ignore all the downspout and pizza oven mess - we were in mid house project at that time!) |
RE: metal deck baskets???
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| Thanks for the replies, and dlm, that is a beautiful basket. I wish mine looked as good. I really don't know what the problem is. After reading the replies here it's hard to say exactly what it is. I did buy a cheap brand of soil, and yes I did learn my lesson. I may still decide to repot the baskets with MG potting soil, and make a note to never use this kind of soil again. Like I said in my original post, I was going to plant succulents in the baskets due to their ability to thrive in poor soil and drought resistence. I have moss roses growing in the same soil and they are doing very well. I think I should have left the coco bark in the baskets as well, but it made for such limited space for soil/plants and moss. Now that I have the basics down, I will try again using all of the advice given here. Thanks to all. |
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