Hello Everyone,

Another question for you!

What sorts of problems (if any) are you having in your container gardens? Weather related? Too many containers, or too few? Garden pests? Flowers and plants not growing? Plant choices do not match Zone requirements? Not enough time to garden?

Above are just some suggestions and of course I do not wish them on anyone - just thought I would ask.

Say your say please - it's a good place to chat about stuff...

Cheers now

Keeping my containers cool in the sun is a problem here in So. Cal.

Hi Lori,

I can suggest two things and maybe one of them or both may be useful.

The first is to line your containers with a newspaper, about one quarter of an inch to a half an inch in thickness. Only use black and white newsprint part and not the glossy paper inserts and no coloured ink advertisment pages or photos etc.

Do this much the same as you might use newspaper around your slow baking fruit tins for baking.

Then make sure the drainage holes are punched open and then fill them with your soil/compost mix etc. This will take a long time to break down, newspaper is biodegradable and as it is a bad condcctor of heat, will protect pots and containers from direct sun and heat (and for the same reasons icy cold, frosts and snow).

Use terracotta pots which breathe, avoid plastic pots and certainly not porcelain glazed containers that overheat.

When you water, concentrte on this outer ring, imagine what it looks like and let the water soak in the newspaper lining. Water slowly in a circular manner around the drip line of the pot. This will cool the pot and ensure a source of water which is reachable by the side roots of any plant. Water the centre of the plant last until the water runs out. Water should run out readily so that your plants do not land up with wet fet and rotting roots.

Repot your plants and replace the newsprint linings twice to three times a year - you will know what suits you, your plants and pots will tell you, listen to them or just be intuitive and do it when you think it is time. Tell me if you want more info on repotting.

If your containers and pots are on wooden decks okay but on concrete etc, ensure they are lifted off the floor by placing them on pot feet or bricks. Tgis allows for air circulations and helps with drainage. Of course you can use saucers or drip trays.

The second idea is to have a screen which is moveable that can be put in front of your pots to screen them off from the direct sun. These can be decorated in a million ways and makiing one or two is a good weekend project for a DIY person or a learner carpenter.

I have a friend (I always say that, but I do) who turned one of those wooden clothes horse driers into a plant hanger and she uses that because it is moveable. It looks nice though it took up quite a lot of space (which she had anyway). I would go for the triptych screen/s in wood, not wrought iron or other metals that may be to hot too handle!

Cheers now

Wow, those are terrific tips! I know I made mistakes by buying a few glazed porcelain planters. They were pretty but impractical.

I'm going to keep on the look-out for nice screen ideas to keep the plants cooler during the heat of the day.

Thank you so much!

Hi Lori,

You are very welcome but please do not 'discard' your porcelain pots, they can make all the difference sometimes for their decorative reasons as you note, but also for other protection etc. First off they can cover less attractive plastic pots in general (plant in a plant pot style), or if big enough maybe you could use them as a pretty storage option for garden gloves and secateurs and garden twine and other bits and bobs like a dibber or seeds packets or or or that one may carry around in a trug or lose somewhere. It is so nice to have what you need for those little container jobs nearby etc.

I do not know what they are like or how big, what their shapes are, colours etc. but here are some more ideas.

Fill them with sea-sand and use them for incence or as an outide ashtray or doorstop. You can use them for very shallow-rooted plants like pony tail palms, just monitor the watering carefully, and this is easy with these plants, I love them and have four in my container garden ... two littleys, one medium and one big beauty - been around as long as I have!

More on this another time maybe, but my Mum bought it when I was born and we have had it since then, so it's older than me, a touch wrinkled (!) but I love it, it just keeps going and growing. As a kid I called it 'my fountain plant' cos it looks like one.

If they (your porcelain pots) do not have drainage holes, you can use them for an instant water feature where you place them then fill with water and float a couple of candles and a water lily or two or some spider chrysanthemums etc. (good for instant outside entertaining, even if you are the only guest).

Maybe others reading this post will have some ideas too on what to do with pretty pots not in use?

Cheers now

Terrific ideas, Lestie! I love the water feature idea, especially, because I am a water lover.

This weekend, I'll be container gardening!

Great tips, Lestie. I do find though that my terracotta pots can dry out quicker in high heat because they are so breathable. I only put hearty, sun loving plants in those that can take a bit of drought between waterings.

I planted geraniums in concrete urns with fresh potting soil that has slow release fertilizer. I always have great luck with this soil and the urns have good drainage.

We have had a lot of rain lately and geraniums love sun. First some of the bottom leaves started turning yellow from too much water, which I expected would happen, but now I am seeing that some of the lower leaves are turning a bright scarlet red.

Any ideas as to why this is happening? Is this just another symptom of too much water and not enough sun for sun-loving flowers?

Has no one else seen this problem with geraniums?

Hello Debbie,

I have been remiss by not answering this sooner. It is nothing serious and easily fixed. It is a need for some trace elements in the fertiliser and feeding regime. Your geraniums need some more phosphates and magnesium and a little less nitrogen. This has happened to me and this is how I fixed it. Also geraniums and pelargoniums prefer slightly more acid soil, so a little acid compost available from garden shops will not be a bad idea as well.

Just leave the colouring leaves on as you wish or remove them as you wish and as these leaves are not diseased, you can add them to your compost or dig them in to the soil - they will break down slowly and be okay for the soil anyway.

Liquid fertilisers are good to use in this instance and you should find within two weeks of feeding (just do what it says on the 'bottle' for directions) you will be fine and your plants should respond.

By the way, if you have been using grass cuttings for mulch - and many of us (and me) do - add fertiliser with a lower nitrogen content. As the grass cuttings mulch breaks down it messes with the balance of these vital traces elements in the soils we use.

Don't worry, what you have done so far is fine as your plants sound happy and beautiful. Speak the people at the nursery if you need to about food/fertiliser mixes and go for organic liquid fertiliser in the first instance as I say above OR come ask here in the CG forum and I shall keep a special eye-out in case I can help more quickly next time.

Please come back and tell us how you get on and I say sorry again for not having attended to this query before today.

Check the soil is moist and not wet wet after watering (so make sure they are draining well enough). Of course geraniums love the sun and more dapple than shade (though there are so many of them, shady ladies do exist).

Go well and say thanks

Cheers now