HelpfulGardener.com

Hi guys

Right straight to the point I got a hanging basket contract this year for a pub and I want to actually make good money on it so I'm going to attempt to grow plug plants now ready for the summer hanging baskerts.
I havnt done this before so I'm going to need some advice, I would like to know:

> how often to feed
> when you know the right time is to transplant them into a bigger pot
> I presume a reasonable sized greenhouse should be ok

And any tips given will be most appretiated so please pour out your opinions on this subject.

For those who would like to give a few plant idea I'm open to ideas going for a hot summery feel reds and whites being the main coloures

How often to feed a plant depends on a lot of variables, but IMO, the most basic would be the species. To my knowledge there is no "one size fits all" rule for feeding plants. Even plants of the same species and variety may need different feeding programs, depending on the soil in which they are growing, the amount of light available, the humidity level, the time of year, and so on.

Plants need to be repotted when their root systems outgrow the pots they're in. Sometimes, the roots will start emerging from the drainage holes of the container, but that doesn't always happen. I prefer to gently remove the plant from its container every so often, to examine the roots for health and growth pattern.

The size and type of greenhouse may vary, depending on the types of plants you want to grow. Some plants require warm growing conditions, which would mean you'd need to heat your greenhouse. Other plants prefer cool growing conditions, while still others will have need of warmer or cooler temperatures based on the phase they're in. You may also need to have some way to control how many hours of light and darkness your plants get each day, which may involve shading the greenhouse or providing supplemental lighting.

All this may sound very complicated, but it really isn't. Your first step must be to decide what species and varieties of plants you intend to grow. Once you determine that, a lot of the variables will be eliminated, and it will be much easier to know what you'll need to do to provide for the plants.

Plant suggestions for your baskets would depend on knowing the conditions they are going to be grown in. Indoors? outdoors? full sun? part sun? mostly shade? will anyone be taking care of them very much or do they need to be very low maintenance / drought tolerant?