Feeding and pest control are high up the agenda
Pots and baskets may be an easy way of adding quick colour to the garden, but they need consistent care to keep them looking their best for the next few months. Deadheading is essential, not only to keep plants looking their best but also to encourage them to create a profuse succession of blooms. Leave dead flowers in place and the plants will make seed heads instead of new buds.
Further boost your plants’ flowering potential by feeding them with a highpotash tomato fertiliser such as Tomorite or Big Tom. If you’re going away, fill a bottle with a mix of water and fertiliser and insert it into the compost using a funnel. This will slowly release the nutrient mix, keeping plants hydrated and healthy.
You also need to check pots regularly for pests. Aphids take advantage of the tightly packed plants, so look under leaves and wipe them off. Slugs and snails also like to lurk around the cool dark edges of the compost - again, pick them off.
An often unseen enemy is the vine weevil. Adults are small brown beetles that chew distinctive notches on the edge of leaves, but it’s their larvae that do the real damage, chewing through roots, quickly killing plants. When the weather warms up, I use nematodes to protect my plants - microscopic eelworms that target specific pests. They are widely available in garden centres and online at sites such as nematodesdirect.co.uk and greenfli.co.uk.
Another handy trick is to stand your pots on feet, in large saucers of water and away from overhanging greenery because vine weevil adults can’t swim!
