I don't know about these particular plants, but I can share a hint I learned on how to keep containers watered while on vacation. Get a childs play pool - I have a small blow up pool, about 36" diameter. Fill it with an inch or 2 of water (Alot depends on pot size) and place all your containers in the pool.

I do have lots of plants in pots on my patio. I typically water once a day in the summer, twice a day if it's in the 90s. The water evaporates so much faster from the pots.

Thanks Pixie. Unfortunately my balcony which is about 3.5 feet wide and 10 feet long will not house a kiddie pool. :O) Good idea though if I move elsewhere next year and have more space.

For watering it sounds like I might have to make a friend in the neighborhood for those going away weekends.

If you can't find a kiddie pool small enough, can you find any large tray or something that will hold water and you can put your planters in? Plastic storage bins? Catering trays? Lasagna pans?

Nicole, here is what I did a week ago but I am not sure if it's going to work. I have big pots about 18" diameter. Before I put the potting mix, I grabbed another plastic pot about 10" in diameter. I covered the holes of this 10" pot. I cut it horizontally and left 3-4 inches of its height. I placed it inside the 18" diameter pot. Put potting mix and watered it until I saw water was coming out from the big pot.

Hey, tiffy! What kind of pots do you have the plants in? I've used all kinds of pots - clay, plastic, lightweight foam, etc. - and I've never had a problem with sun on the roots. The bigger pot with a "moat" of soil might be overkill, though I don't suppose it will hurt.

Worm castings. I have a big bag of the stuff that I use to mix into the soil when I plant anything. It works great. I don't use Miracle-Gro fertilizer on my perennials - I use either the worm castings or fish fertilizer. When I had Miracle-Gro around, I would use it on the annuals - once, maybe twice a week when watering. That stuff encourages rapid top growth; for your perens, you want to use a food that will allow for good root development. Last year, I got a bucket of composted chicken manure pellets (3-4-3), and I've been side dressing with that on the perens. I do it at the beginning of the growing season, and supplement with fish fertilizer every 4-6 weeks, IF it's a plant that is a heavy feeder.

I usually water once or twice a week, throughly, until the water runs outs the bottom. Sometimes, I'll give 'em a good drink and go back an hour later and give them some more. A deep watering is much better than a superficial one - that way you'll have to water less often. For annuals in smaller pots or windowboxes, I might water every 2-3 days, depending on the temps and whether they're located in full sun or not. If it's really hellish, twice a day may be called for - a good watering in the morning, and a pick-me-up in the evening. The water retention capsules will help, but not as much as we think.

With all that said, the stick-your-finger-three-inches-into-the-dirt-method is a fairly good barometer for when your plants will need water. And mulching the pots helps a lot.

If you go away for the weekend, give a deep watering before you leave, and they should be fine. Again, it'll depend on the weather forecast. They have these spike things that you can attach to liter bottles of water; kind of like drip irrigation. But it can't hurt to have someone look in on them, if you can - just make sure you tell them how to water. Years back, I had a neighbor kill a few plants by overwatering - even though I had told her she didn't have to water (someone else was taking care of that for me). They "looked" dry to her.

Hope this helps some.

PV

Hi Tiffy - Where are your plants/containers located sunwise? I do a lot of container gardening; none of them get much afternoon sun. I only have to water them every other day. I try to use larger containers/pots too, more soil to hold moisture longer, altho I understand your space problem. I have to have a friend come in and water for me when I'm out and away. I've been wanting to try the little globe type things for self watering, if I'm phrasing that right.
I do mostly annuals in the containers, but last year I planted my WSed milkweed in 28x8 long, green planters from Walmart. They looked pathetic last year, are almost ready to bloom this year!
Best of luck with your containers, Tiffy, they can be a great way to use your creativity!
Shirley!

Tiffy, I treat my container plantings (all perennials/shrubs but one) differently than those in the ground. In the ground, they get compost or compost tea...in containers I skip compost, worm castings, all that stuff that is so good for the garden and give them 'junk food' in their artificial environment.

Junk Food (;)) - a good water soluble fertilizer but only mixed half strength from what is on the container directions - never full strength. I like Peters, but I don't know that its really different from Miracle Grow. About every two weeks.

The only caution I would have is - what's below your balcony? I don't lightly water pots at all, I don't want to risk a salts buildup from the fertilizer. I pretty much fill the pot to the brim when I water, make sure its running out the drainage holes. If you aren't able to do that each watering, could you do it a few times over summer without offending anyone beneath you?

Are you still somewhat near water - body of water? I find I can water well on a Friday evening or Saturday morning, leave for the weekend, check Sunday night when I'm back in most weather but our rare very brief hot stretches. If I still have small pots of plants, I'll put those in shade while gone even if sun lovers. More than about 48 hours and I'll call a neighbor.

And there are some very bright, helpful people on the container gardening forum if you do run into trouble. Oh, the effort they go to for their container mixes...I could almost feel guilty using a commercial mix only slightly amended with more pumice for my climate. So far my plants haven't realized they could have better :)

I just want to echo the "mulch the top" technique for helping the plants retain their water. In addtion to gardening, I make beaded jewelry. This winter my inlaws were somewhere where they picked up a bag with a cup or two of very pretty polished stones; they thought I could drill holes in them for beads. 2 expensive diamond drill bits later, I figured out this is not a do it a home job. But I wanted to "show off " their gift, so I placed the stones on the top surface of a container of christmas cactus I grow indoors that always drys out very quickly. What a difference the stones made in the pot being able to retain moisture! I think any stones would work and I plan to use beach rocks on my outdoor containers this year.

Some years ago I read some advice on what to do with containers when going away: Bring them all in and place in your bath-tub with a few inches of water. I've never tried this, but I guess it would depend on how large and how many you have.

I grow lots of things in containers because I have limited sun, and they are all in full sun. I use a regular potting mix, amended with triple mix and a handful or two of perlite. To keep them moist, I use polymer crystals liberally about halfway up the pot, and I mulch with small pebbles (I have lots brought by the former owner of our house from the East Coast). I feed them by fertilizing every two weeks or so with a totally inorganic 20-20-20 water soluble fertilizer. I don't measure it, I just put 'some' in each watering can full, enough to give it a pale blue colour. I figure there is just not enough dirt to provide enough nutrients, and I am not ruining the earth. Occasionally, I give them a foliar drench with a fish emulsion solution. I also have my plants in cheap saucers from Home Depot, which can be left filled with water for a weekend. In hot periods, I water daily in the morning. Whenever I water, I give the pots a good drench.

I have one container, given to me by a friend, which has a resevoir in the bottom with a little float which indicates the water level. This works very well in reducing the watering needed. I guess this doesn't help because you already have your containers, but you may want to shop for some of these if buying more.

This is the system I have worked out over the years. I hope you will find the pointers provided by everyone here helpful. Good luck!!

So many good ideas here. I am new to container gardening so am trying to "soak" it all up.

Watering is an issue for me cuz my pots are in full sun. I second this- watering very throughly to wash the salts out.

re fertilizer- the very well-informed garden lady I listen to on the radio says not to fertilize when it is very hot.

Also I second the suggestion to have a look at the container gardening forum here, altho I confess I don't follow the soil recommendations, but they seem to be very experienced.

Northerner in Canada - re the 'water wells' - I've been seeing something new in the pots - wonder if this is what you are talking about - a little platform at the bottom. Is this a water well?

good luck, Tiffy

tiff, I imagine your summers are not nearly as hot as mine. I would caution against worm castings in containers until you become more accustomed to your new growing conditions. Worm castings can hold a lot of water. If you do use them, I'd say only use a small amount. Any plant will tolerate and recover from a little drought much better than from too much water.

Another thing that determines how much water they need is how many and how large the plants are in relation to the container. Large pots with smaller one small plant don't need much. But in out heat, my heavily planted ones need water twice/day. I'm talking about ones like this
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Water polymer crystals like "Soil Moist" gels do help I think.

As for bottom watering, I use this plastic tub, from Home Depot. Don't know what it's made for but it works well. It's about 2'x3'.
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Best of luck on your new garden venture!

Karen

WOW!! Lots of great tips!

I never thought of mulching pots but DAAH... It makes so much sense. I will defnitely do that. I do mosaics and have some neat porcelain small tiles I could use.

The pots are mostly plastic but yesterday someone was throwing out huge cracked pottery ones at the curb and I took them. So really it's a mish-mash of pots which I got for no $$. Cheap cheap!!

Watering deeply - another great tip. There's just a dead space under my balcony, so I don't have to worry about showering someone else. :O) I'll check out yard sales this weekend for saucers under the pots.

Most of the plants are already potted up, but I still have a few more to go, so I'll most likely use the castings as a tea every once in a while on the perennials and save the MG for the annuals I bought yesterday. (I just needed some colour to perk life up a bit.) I might treat some differently to see which do better with what just in case I'm still here next year.

Where the railing is on the balcony is most likely where I will move the plants to when I go away. The pots will be shaded by the wood on the bottom of the railing going up, and the plants semi-shaded by the lattice running to the hand rail. For now they get full sun in the bigger part of the day, but that is when we get sun. May has only given us three days of sunshine this year but I am defnitely not complaining after seeing the weather rip through the USA this year. Hope all are safe!

1) I usually put some stones or broken pottery in the bottom of my pots but I had a brain fart and forgot to do it. Am I doomed to repot?

2) I am now on city water. Should I let it sit for a day in the watering can or is it OK to use right away? I figure it's OK since folks water their lawns and gardens with the stuff. Probably what you call a retorical (sp?) question... :O)

I don't think the shards/broken pottery at the drainage holes are recommended any more, emphasis is on best draining potting mixes.

I don't let my city water stand, I water my biggest containers straight from the hose, carry water to pots on the front porch with freshly filled watering can. (I've got a soft soak setting on my hose nozzle, cannot bottom water pots that take two men to lift!)

Tapla (seems to take the lead when it comes to containers and that forum) recommends Dyna-Gro Foliage Pro 9-3-6 water soluble fertilizer and uses a weak solution really often. I want to say always when watering but I'd need to read through some older posts to verify that. I've never seen the product and since I stocked up on about 3 yrs worth of Peters when a local store had it 75% off, I haven't ordered it.

Tapla: "Most soluble fertilizers do contain the primary macros and the micros likely to be deficient in either bark or peat-based soils, but most lack the secondary macros Calcium and often magnesium. Some contain small amounts of magnesium. Miracle-Gro, Schultz, Jacks, Peter's are examples that lack calcium and possibly magnesium.

Foliage-Pro does contain all the essential elements in the average ratio in which plants use them, including calcium and magnesium. It also provides most of its nitrogen in nitrate form, which helps plants remain sturdy and full. I'm sure there are probably other solubles out there that provide nearly the same formulation, but I don't know what they might be. "

My Cornell formula potting mix that a local garden center has a bit a lime (the calcium) and once in a while I put a bit of epsom salts in with the Peters when I'm fertilizing...seems to work.

Tiffy, yard sales are a great resource for what you are looking for, plus you might some other gardeners. I'm beginning to think that if you can pick up the pot, that bottom watering is best. Do you have a BigLots store near you? Or even a Dollar Tree..would a plastic flower box help by holding water if you go away for the weekend. Can you post a picture of your containers..it would help us give you some more ideas?

I'm so proud of you; getting back to your gardening even though it's not what you are used to working with. You will survive tougher and better. Keep smiling! We're here for support.

Tiffy,
you might already know this, but pottery pots as opposed to plastic ones, absorb up water, and hence have to be watered more often.
I always forget this, and each year pot something in the pottery - which I think looks a lot nicer - but it always has to be watered twice as often.

I always thot that pottery shards and the like were good to protect the drainage holes from filling with soil - any thot on this?

Ellen, Yep I thought of the pottery taking the water. That's where I think that the 'pot planted in the pot' will come in handy. :O) I think mor makes a good point in that if your drainage is good, then there is no need for shards, but I must admit that sometimes I use empty small pop bottles to fill the bottom of big pots when I don't need to have it there.

mor,
I'll see if I can find something with Ca&Mg. As long as they do well this summer, then in the fall they'll be brought to my parents' home and put in their temporary homes in the gardens.

Two of the Asclepias Tuberosa have started to poke out of their pots, but three may have bitten the dust. All the Incarnatas made it even with some root pruning and heavy handed division. I had too many so gave some to a couple of neighbours. Two plants will be going to a heritage farm museum close by.

The Japanese Maple has unfurled it's leaves as have the Azaleas. The Jack Frost Brunneras are coming around from their pouting. The Nepeta never skipped a beat. :O)