SEATTLE — Seattle Gardening Guru Ciscoe Morris has advice on how to care for the Mother’s Day gift you may have received:
"About 12 million of you bought baskets for your mother for Mother’s Day, and it doesn't take long for them to start looking like this guy right here,” he said, with a hanging basket from a big box store that was a great deal but looked a bit tired. “This needs some remedial care, we're going to show you how to make this planter look wonderful again, I hope!”
This one was creatively named Combination #6. Despite the unfortunate name, Ciscoe said read the label for important information like whether the basket is a shade or sun lover -- and other advice. #6’s label recommended sun and advised ‘Do Not Consume’.
"So uh, don't eat this whatever you do,” said Ciscoe.
Tired baskets need fertilizer – try a bloom formula that gets mixed into water. "I'd say I'd fertilize this every two weeks if you want to keep it growing and looking good.”
Then, cut it way back. “This will hurt you more than it hurts me, little guy,” said Ciscoe. Mass-produced baskets almost always need deadheading once they’ve sat in a store for a while – cutting spent flowers encourages growth.
“You see something like that, get these dead flowers off here the minute you see ‘em. You wanna frustrate the living tweedle out of this plant, make it go 'I gotta keep trying to raise a family!’” said Ciscoe as he cut back the faded flowers.
Hang it low enough so you can check the water, and be prepared to water twice a day when the weather gets warm, then drench with water spiked with bloom fertilizer.
“And there's something I'm looking for right now, and I'm not seeing it. The water should be draining right out of the bottom of this pot but it's not,” said Ciscoe. He remedied the problem with a few stabs in the bottom of the basket with his Felcos. Even coir baskets can trap water, so be sure to check for good drainage, and create it if you have to.
After a dramatic stabbing session, the hanging basket drained. And Ciscoe said in a week or so with this kind of care, its blooms will be back and it will be the pride of the front porch.
“So with all those remedial things we've done, Combination #6 is gonna be a real beauty, oh la la!”
KING 5's Evening celebrates the Northwest. Contact us: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Email.