We are sharing some important summer tips for potted flowers with you today!
Summer is full of beautiful blooms and sunshine everywhere you look. I just love this time of year for all its relaxing beauty and nature. When I have someone over to my house, they always ask me how I keep my flowers looking so pretty in the summer?? Because around here, that can be hard to do. I have some important summer tips for potted flowers that I have been using for almost ten years…and these tips have been a life changer!
Depending on where you live, summer can get REALLY INTENSE weather wise.
In Texas, the heat can get brutal and drought always sets in around July.
Important Summer Tips for Potted Flowers
This year, we were blessed with some incredible rain all of May. Although it flooded my town, it did start off summer on a nice lush foot. Our grass is actually green, and all my plants look happy and healthy.
It is starting to get in the high 90s now, so it is time for me to starting giving some extra TLC to my potted plants.
Potted plants are my favorite type of flower gardening because they are easily moved and have more options on caring for them versus the plants in the ground.
Most of my roses bushes are in the ground, so I can’t do much for them as far as monitoring the sunlight or rain. They do well though, even in the summer. The other plants we have in the ground are all heat tolerant like honeysuckle, crepe myrtles, evergreen bushes, and English ivy.
All of my flowers are in pots, so I can keep them alive through the hot summer months.
These tips are easy and they work!
These are my tried and true important summer tips for potted flowers that have kept mine alive even during 115 degree weather with zero rain for months.
These are also tips I learned from trial and error since 2007 and tips I was taught when I took horticulture in college.
I have share these tips with many friends who have had issues with their potted flowers, and it has helped them too!
Now, I want to share them with you so you can make sure to keep all your potted flowers happy, healthy, and vibrant this summer!
1. Make sure they are only getting morning sunlight.
Again, this is going to be dependent on your climate, but the morning sunlight is the coolest sun of the day. I have all my potted plants arranged this time of year so they only receive morning sunlight until about noon.
As you can see from the picture above, the morning sun shines fairly bright on this side of our pergola. All my hanging plants get that morning sunshine, but by the afternoon it is shaded. This has dramatically decreased the scorching of the leaves and blooms that they can get in the summer sun.
Don’t forget to read these fun tips to create a dreamy inviting backyard ambiance for cheap!
2. Check the water twice a day.
The reason I say twice a day is smaller pots can dry out VERY easy in the heat. I have all sizes of potted plants, some are massive and take days to dry out, but others are very small. I had this pretty potted flower last summer that I watered everyday just like the other plants, but every morning it looked like it was about it die.
I checked the soil and it was bone dry every morning. I realized that when I was watering in the morning, the pot was so small, by the evening it was dried out. So, I started watering it twice a day in small portions and it immediately perked up.
Again, if your climate isn’t as hot as Texas, you probably will only need to water once a day, but always check the soil in the morning and afternoon. Just to make sure. Potted flowers don’t have established root systems in small pots, so they need more water than usual.
Which leads me to the next tip…
3. Understand how much water your flower needs.
Potted flowers can be over watered just as much as under watered. If the pot is small, it will need less water to prevent root rot. That is why I have had luck watering in small portions twice a day for those sizes, just to keep the soil damp.
If you follow my flower garden on Instagram or snapchat (or add me with username alexisroch), you know I am obsessed with geraniums and hibiscus! I have dozens of each in pots in the back yard! They are totally different when it comes to their watering needs.
Hibiscus is a huge water lover. I have them in LARGE pots and I will turn on the water hose, and just saturate it daily. Hibiscus LOVE water!
Geraniums DO NOT! In fact, they have a tendency to get root rot because of how shallow and fibrous the root system is. I also water these twice a day, but much less at a time. The smaller potted geraniums I make sure to lightly dampen each day without having too much water.
So make sure you check the label of the flower when you buy it to see what type of soil it needs. And make sure to not over water, even in the summer!
4. Be careful with fertilizer.
Here is where being a chemist has helped me understand horticulture! Fertilizer’s typically contain nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous. All vital nutrients for plants, but when temperatures are high and the rain is low, nitrogen can easily scorch your plant.
Here is my secret, I do not fertilize potted plants in dry, hot months. I make sure to do so in the spring when it is cooler and rainy, but once the heat happens, I stop. I continue to use a little mix of crushed egg shell and coffee grounds every couple of weeks in small amounts just to add some nourishment. But I have the best of luck stopping all fertilization in the summer!
5. Remove all spent blooms and leaves.
Even if only a portion of the plant is yellowing or the blooms are dead, it can still be soaking up nutrients from the plant. In the summer, it is best to immediately remove any yellow, brown, burnt, or dead leaf or bloom right away. In fact, keeping the potted flower trimmed up will help it stay healthy. It needs all the water and nutrients it can get in the summer!
Even those leaves that are a little brown or yellow, I remove right away. By doing this to all my potted plants, they grow back even healthier during the summer months!
The great thing about these important summer tips for potted flowers, is they will definitely work for all potted plants! Even if it doesn’t produce flowers, following these solutions when it is hot and dry is great for all your container gardening!
Did you get to read my secrets to my big beautiful roses? I have had many readers write in saying they used those tips and they really worked!!
Feel free to write to me at alexis@chemistrycachet.com for any success stories you have too! Join us on instagram too!
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Alexis is an investigative chemist sharing her expertise in cleaning, skincare, gardening, and home hacks. She personally tests out products like the best skincare products or home products then shares not only the science behind how it works, but also her personal results. She is the mom of two living in Texas with her husband. Find her on Instagram for fantastic videos, tips, and behind the scenes.
Ugh I really wish I could keep plants alive! No matter what I do I always kill them but I love a pretty potted flower! Sequins & Sea Breezes
It definitely took me many years to get the hang of it. Especially in such a hot climate. They definitely need so much TLC!!! They are so pretty 🙂
Awesome tips! I haven’t had much luck with plants, but I’ll definitely try the morning sunlight trick 🙂
Green Fashionista
It has really made a difference for mine is the intense heat!!
Great tips Alexis! I use the eggshells and coffee grind food on my roses and bam! did they love it and put out more flowers than I have ever seen! My geranium has a lot of those “burnt” and dried leaves – I think my hubby spray waters them instead of from the soil level and I may need to move it to a shadier spot. The impatiens LOVE the shade and they sometimes need watering twice a day (shallower pots) The gerbera daisies LOVE the sun but they also need watering almost daily.
Geraniums are definitely picky about water! It is funny how all different flowers like so many different sun/water combinations!! Thanks Laurie!
I do much of these and still manage to kill them. Geraniums are my favorite too but by the time I take off all the dead blooms, yellow leaves, etc., there is no plant left.
If mine get waterlogged and start yellowing, they look pretty scraggly afterwards when I dead head them! Sometimes just the stem left. My mom has the same issue with hers as well. She uses too small of pots and waters them too much. I gave her a strict planting and watering schedule for her potted plants, so we will see how it goes lol
Great tips! My backyard is so sunny that I have sun all day for my potted flowers!!
My backyard always gets the most sun too. We finally have a nice pergola that shades about half of it during the heat of the day so it has helped tremendously 🙂 Thanks Sarita!
The correct amount of water is so important! The temperatures have been sky high here as well lately and I always water my plants in the morning and then towards the evening to keep the water from evaporating!
It really is so important! The evaporation in the 100 degree weather is so bad! I am so glad I finally have more shade in the backyard, it has really cut down on that 🙂
Great tips, I try and trim up my plants too as needed and forgo the fertilizer. Have you ever tried using Epsom salts at any time during the growing season, I have read a lot about good results.
Thanks for sharing your tips on the #OMHGWW Party this week, I appreciate the opportunity to read your post.
Have a great week!
Karren
Thanks Karren! I have used Epsom Salt on some of my flower beds around the house. I haven’t had as much luck with it since my soil already has magnesium in it, but I know others who have really good luck with it though. Thank you for hosting your party each week 🙂
Thanks for the tips. I love potted plants since they can be moved easily and easier to manage.
They really are much easier to manage! Perfect in the summer! Thanks Camille!
I’m a flower killer, so this post is super helpful. Thank you!
Thanks Courtney! I hope it can come in handy for you 🙂
That morning sun is such a great tip especially for those of us in Texas. Even when a plant is supposed to thrive in full sun, our sun is just too hot!
Happy Thoughts of Home. Pinning.
Oh we have a garden party linky next Monday, June. 27th. 🙂
I will definitely join your garden link 🙂 And you are so right…plants that say FULL sun…they just mean normal sun, not our extreme Texas one!! Thanks Stacey!
I’ll be heading outside right now to check all my pots! Thank you so very much for sharing this wonderful post at Thoughts of Home on Thursday.
Thanks so much Laura!! Have a wonderful weekend!
These are great tips! I need to implement a few of these because I always struggle with my potted plants in the heat of the summer. Do you have any ideas for watering them when you go on vacation? I am always afraid to leave cause my plants will die. Thanks for sharing at the Wednesday Showcase 🙂
That is the hardest part about vacation. If I can’t have someone stop by and water, I have set up a self watering method. You can take a large class bottle, like a wine bottle. Fill it with water, then tip it over into the soil of hte potted plant. It will release water slowly for awhile. They also have some store bought ones, but I have only used the bottle method 🙂
Thank you so very much for sharing these Summer tips for potted plants-goodness knows we all need them and for those of us who live in the Southwest we need them even more!
Sharing this one too!
Jemma
We definitely have to keep them some extra attention around here!! All those hot temperatures and no rain are so hard on them!! Thanks Jemma!
Thanks for the tips, Alexis and for sharing at Funtastic Friday!
I was happy to share them at Funtastic Friday! Have a great rest of the week!! 🙂
Something is eating the leaves on all my rose bushes. Have put slug bait and used neem oil also. Neither one works. What do you suggest
Here is my tips on roses. I use an organic spray for insects that has helped.
How do you propagate your hibiscus plants, or do you just buy new varieties? I’m having another year of deer eating my hibiscus add hydrangea plants even before buds set. I’d really love to know how to propagate my hibiscus from the fairly fresh stems now growing if that’s what I can do. Any help will be appreciated.
I have had all my hibiscus plants for many years, but I usually just buy new ones when needed. I have not propagated them before.
Thank you for your prompt reply. They really are lovely when in full bloom. Also, I’m very happy for your upcoming precious October delivery. May you family continue to be blessed.
Thank you! we are very excited 🙂