When we first had a balcony, we filled it with plants that all died in the DC heat. Looking around at other DC gardens, we've noticed we're not the only ones struggling to keep plants alive. So we asked an expert, Joe Carmack from Urban Garden Center, for some DC-specific gardening advice. Below are his summertime gardening tips...
1. Take your houseplants outside, especially ficuses, which thrive in fresh air. If you bring out other houseplants, make sure they get the proper light exposure. For example, keep indirect light plants in the shade.
2. For sunny gardens, you may have to daily water your plants. Plants in containers quickly dry out.
3. Now is a good time to "groom" your plants, meaning: snip off dead leaves, hose them down outside, and then spray them with a mild organic insecticidal soap.
4. You can leave interior plants outside until the weather drops down to the low 50's, usually not until the fall in DC.
5. Before bringing plants back inside, repot plants that have overgrown their containers.
6. Repot houseplants every few years. Remember to clean out old containers and disinfect them with a mild clorex/water solution or tea-tree oil and water.
For more gardening tips, you can visit Joe Carmack at the Urban Garden Center on 14th Street.
Do you have other tips for keeping urban gardens alive?
- Rachael
[photos of Garden District]
Copyright © 2008 Apartment Therapy
One thing to keep in mind when you take houseplants outside for the summer is to gradually acclimatize them to the sunshine if they are not used to it. Plants can get sunburn too!
view rachel32's profile
soil moist will be your best friend.. small grains, expand with water and keep plants moist for days!!! I use them inside and outside.. be careful don't use too much.. or they will explode out of the pot
view parrishnut's profile
Here's my #1 tip for novice container gardeners who buy cheap dirt from the 99 cent store - as I did last year - DON'T ever just use cheap straight up "potting soil" as sold in giant bags. It doesn't hold water well enough and it's hard, making it difficult for roots and seedlings to break through . Instead get a little rake and make a mix of 2/3 soil from bag,1/3 peat moss, and 1/8 mature humus manure. This will make a much lighter soil that is much easier on plants and holds water better. That's a mix recommended for container roses, but I've had it work well for morning glories, tomatoes, etc. I've even bough seeds 4 for a dollar and had them work like crazy in that mix. Plus its a LOT cheaper than pre made soil mixes and it's very fun to go at the dirt with the little rake.
If you REALLY want to get into it, there's many different container soil recipes here:
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art21655.asp
enjoy!
view mskk's profile
Yep DC (VA/MD) summers are a killer and container plants will wilt by the afternoon, often despite a morning watering. Definitely watch your potting mix as mentioned above, and consider using plastic or self-watering pots too (I love terra cotta, but the clay will dry out faster and you'll need to water more frequently), as the plastic helps hold the water in. Another tip is to by plants native to your region and for those of in DC this means durable drought-tollerant plants. I'll plant just about anything in my garden beds, but my container plants are full of succulents, marigolds, etc which hold up well to heat and humidity. Bottom line though you have to make time to water them each morning.
view soapR's profile
What's this "Urban Garden Center"? Isn't it called Garden District?
view Jenny in DC's profile