Why are my hanging plants dying?
Question:I have this uncanny ability to kill most hanging plants. I'm on my 3rd one in 3 months. I try to get ones that are low maintenance and love sun but they all wilt, then get crackled leaves. I water them almost every day and check to see if the soil is moist. Are they just getting too much sun? How can I bring them back to life?
Answers:
You usually won't be able to bring them back to life after they start to wilt.
Hanging plants are especially bad for retaining water. You're probably leaking it all out once you get it in, or not adding enough. With most containers, that water will evaporate from all sides.
Fill it to the brim some day, and then watch for leaks. If you fill it that full, there should be SOME leaks, but maybe not as much as you have.
With wood planters, you should empty the dirt out, and paint the insides with roofing tar. With other planters, you should make sure there's a large drip pan under the planter. You might also ask about proper potting soils. In old planters there may be junk on the bottom, or salt buildups from all the past watering. No water is completely pure after all.
You may also be using planters that are too small for the plants. Try a bigger planter, or a smaller plant. There will be more soil to hold the moisture, and more room for their roots to spread out.
You have to check the plants instructions , some are only partial shade .
asphyxiation
Buy vitamins for plants at your local Wal-Mart or Home Depot. Buy the good vitamins they're a little pricey, but if you want your plants to survive that's the best way to go.
how much patience do you have.
First trim back all of the bad leaves/stems.
second. put in a deep sink or bathtub you don't use every day
buy bottled water, no tap water; make it filtered water.
fill the sink, drench the plant, and let it drain. best if you can hang the plant or prop it up so it will drain thoroughly. but keep it in about 1/2 inch of water overnight.
then hold it up and let it drain thoroughly, give it partial sun; and feed it (use miracle grow plant sticks, or liquid miracle grow) and then water one more time thoroughly with filtered water.
it is the chlorine gases that kill most house plants; and they need food badly because they are potted in soilless plant mix that has no nutrition.
good luck.
You didn't say what kind of plant you have in the hanging baskets, but you probably bought the plant and basket as one unit. As hard as this may seem, you may be killing them with kindness. Overwatering kills more house plants than just about any other cause. When you bring plants home from the store, water them until the soil is evenly damp, not soaked. Then don't water them until the soil shows that it is drying out, sometimes as much as two or three days later, depending on the size and configuration of your potting medium. If you are using a potting soil, it will retain moisture for a longer period than regular 'dirt', so you have to check the soil. There is a tool called a hydrometer that will allow an accurate check of the soils moisture content until you 'educate' your self on the way it should look and feel. Also, some plants need a high or low pH (alkaline or acid) soil condition, and there are tools to check this as well. Seek assistance from a local gardening club or your nursery people. There are actually plants that do not need watering at all, they derive their moisture from the air, not the soil. If you purchase the plants from a nursery or from a department store, there should be a card of some type either in the soil or on the pot somewhere telling you what the plant is, what it requires in the way of watering and light requirements as well as the needed pH of the soil. These are commonly listed on any plant that you can buy.
Good Luck ;)
I agree with Jean. The problems I've had with hanging plants are that they tend to dry out, even though I think they are moist enough. Try putting your plant in a sink and fill it with water and let it set for an hour. Then hang it back up, and that should give it enough water for a couple of days (unless it's an indoor plant and then it should be good enough for at least a week). Also make sure you fertilize it well, potted plants need plant food around once a month.
You may also want to make sure it is actually getting full sun. If the plant looks like it is getting leggy (growing tall and slender, and leaves far apart), it is not getting enough sun. Full sun plants typically need around 6-8 hours of full sun.
Good luck!
Buy the better plant food for your hanging plants this should take care of the problem. Miracle Grow really works best. Best Wishes!
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