Maintain summer pots

In August, the annual planters, having already flowered a lot since May, are often a little less sprightly. With some appropriate care, they will quickly regain tone to continue in beauty until the frosts.

Clean regularly

• Cut the flower stems of bidens , gazanias , osteospermums ( Dimorphotéca ) and geraniums at their base .
• Remove wilted flowers from fuchsias , impatiens, marigolds ( Tagetes patula ) and petunias .
• Operate two or three times a week, along with watering.
• Relieved not to form seeds, the plants produce new buds faster and more abundantly. The diascias , némésias , brachycomes and lobelias bloom at the ends of rods which are stretched out. To find a more compact port, shorten them. New flowers will develop until the end of the season.

Water often

As the volume of pots and planters is often reduced in relation to the number of plants, the mixture dries out quickly, especially in full sun or in a hot situation.

• Water containers installed in the sun daily, in the evening, when the sun is warmer, in order to limit evaporation. The plants will have all night to drink before facing the heat again.
• In partial shade, watering every other day may be sufficient.
• If a suspension or a hotpot seems really thirsty, bathe it in a large basin of water until all the air bubbles disappear.
• Then let drain, put back in place.

Add fertilizer

To promote the formation of new flowers, add about every ten days a special liquid fertilizer for flowers or geraniums.

• You will always proceed after watering with clear water so as not to burn the roots.
• Be sure to respect the dosage indicated on the packaging, prefer a natural fertilizer.
• Continue the contributions until October for the annuals that you throw away.
• If you want to overwinter certain plants, slow down the frequency in September, then stop fertilizing at the end of the month. The plants should gradually stop flowering and come to rest. So don’t stimulate them anymore.