What To Do With Hanging Flower Baskets To Create A Lush Look All Summer Long

In the spring, garden beds aren't the only thing home gardeners look forward to preparing. For some, planning out the right hanging basket flower and plant combinations for a stunning porch display is a favored spring gardening task. In fact, if you're putting your own together, doing it right after the last frost is one tip you need to know to successfully grow flowers in hanging baskets. The problem is, by summer, those carefully selected flora displays begin to wilt and lose their fullness and color. Just when you're ready to slow down and relax in the garden space you carefully selected, some hanging basket flowers begin to fade.

You may notice your blooms looking a little less vibrant, and the vines may appear more droopy than hanging. Luckily, that doesn't mean an end to the beauty. With the right deadheading practices, you can keep your hanging flower baskets full and bright all summer long. Many popular hanging basket flowers are annuals, which means they can rebloom in the summer if you cut away the spent flowers before the plant goes to seed. You can use your fingers to pinch off the blooms, or use sharp, clean shears to cut away withered blooms. Instead of spending energy on forming seeds, the plant will redirect to developing another lush display of full, colorful blooms.

Before you pinch off all your flowers in hopes of producing late summer blooms, consider the types of plants in your hanging basket. Some flowers have been cultivated so they don't need to be deadheaded, such as some Proven Winners plants, so check each plant's information online. Others may require deadheading at specific times of the year. Petunias, for example, do best when you deadhead them by pinching off blooms at the base of the stem when they die off. You can do this daily in the summer to keep blooms coming. 

You may also want to consider common mistakes to avoid when deadheading your flowers, like taking away food sources from wildlife or neglecting to keep the seeds for next year. You also don't want to be too aggressive every time you prune and risk killing your plant. Generally, gardening experts recommend either pinching off only the spent blooms each day or giving your hanging plants one large trimming in the middle of the summer. While you're at it, pruning back some of the foliage can also keep the plant looking full. Pinching back to the stem above the first set of leaves allows the plant to divert more energy to new growth, keeping the flowers more lush and full.