Q&A: Help with hanging baskets

Q: I downsized to a cottage with little outdoor space. I planted several hanging baskets but although they flowered well early on, they soon looked poor. What am I doing wrong?
Hanging basketHanging basket
Hanging basket

A: Good compost, quality plants and then regular watering and feeding are key to producing hanging-baskets that will delight for months on end. Using the best compost available goes a long way to success, and some are designed specifically for containers.

They absorb far more water than ordinary multi-purpose compost and contain 
enough nutrients to feed plants for up to six months.

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If you still want to use up some ordinary compost you can improve its water-holding capacity by adding a proprietary 
water-retentive gel – just a couple of teaspoons to 10 litres of compost will do the trick.

And for super-strength feeding power you can add controlled release plant food granules – they contain a balanced feed 
that will slowly and surely release nutrients to the plant roots during the following growing season.

Then all you have to do is to keep 
checking that the compost is moist 
– and dead-head to encourage more flowers.