Keep summer bedding plants flowering
Discover how to keep your container plants looking at their best in summer and through to autumn, with advice from Alan Titchmarsh
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At Its Best | yes | yes | yes | yes | ||||||||
| To Do | yes | yes | yes |
As temperatures rise and summer sets in, it pays to give your container plants, and especially bedding plants, a little time and care so that they keep on flowering and looking their best, right into autumn. The secret, as Alan Titchmarsh explains above, is to water, feed and deadhead them regularly, and choose the right location - here's how.
Step 1
Water pots daily, particularly bedding plants, and twice daily in the heat of summer - morning and evening. Water with half-strength feed twice a week to ensure plants have all the nutrients they need.
Step 2
Pick off dead flowerheads regularly - every day if possible. If you leave them in place they can start setting seed and this triggers an end to flowering, so removing them will encourage the plant to flower again. Find out more about deadheading.