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anthony__20

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10 years ago

I have this plant in a 6" hanging pot with beautiful flowers. The one problem I have is that regardless its location, sunny, shade..it needs to be watered daily. As soon as I see it wilting, I water it and in a matter of a half hour or so, it perks up. This is an inconvience, if I plan to go away for a vacation or even a weekend. Is there something i can do or use to make a watering last a few days at the least, if not a week? BTW, are these annuals?

Comments (12)

  • 10 years ago

    Have you tried wicking? Probably easier if the pot is on the ground.

  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    No, its a hanging pot. I thought maybe there is some type of soil that would stay moist enough for it to prevent it from wilting almost a daily basis. In fact i just bougth it in a 2 1/2" cup and then potted it in the existing 6" hanging pot.

  • 10 years ago

    Maybe also hang the water container for wicking? Hehee.. Btw, what soil do you use right now? Regular garden soil retains enough moisture (depends where you live).

  • 10 years ago

    I had a 30 lb Scott Moisture potting soil bag this past year and used it sparingly various times to pot on occasion various size pots. Maybe that it was slit open and just lying there, it dried out. I didn't know it was meant to be used all at one time. If i did, I wouldn't have bought it.

  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Anthony, impatiens are perennials for those living in zone 10 or warmer. For the rest of us, we grow them as annuals. As for your watering issue, hanging baskets will almost always need to be watered daily, sometimes twice a day in hot weather. What kind of basket do you have it in? Is it one of those wire ones with the coir insert? If so, you can use a plastic bag as a liner. Cut a few holes in it for some drainage and then place it between the coir and the basket. That should allow you to space out your waterings more. To stretch it out a bit more, you can use the old wine bottle trick. Get the soil nice and damp, fill a bottle with water, and then turn it over and stick the neck into the soil. As the soil dries out it will be replaced with water from the bottle. Not sure how this will work with a 6" basket though. You might have to put in on the ground so it is stable enough to hold the bottle upright.

  • 10 years ago

    Ha,ha it would have to be a small bottle...I live in the NYC area. I do have one of those larger coir baskets...but wouldn't that larger size be too large for a plant that is in a 6" pot to be moved? If not, then I could use that bottle trick.

  • 10 years ago

    You can use any size bottle that would work in your situation. Maybe something like an Orangina bottle? They also sell glass bulbs that do the same thing. Or, as chuckerfly suggested, you could rig some sort of wicking system. Or, if you go on vacation or leave town for a few days, maybe give your plant to a friend or neighbor to take care of?

  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Neighbors would kill it before I will...not reliable at all. As far as putting a bottle into a pot, won't it continue to run as long as the pot has a drain? I could see it possibly working once the pot does not have a drain. When I water this pot i make sure it starts to show water coming out from the bottom, before I stop.

  • 10 years ago

    Well, I tested the bottle bit. It was one of those small Rum bottles. Drank the rum and filled it with water. I went over to the hanging plant and gave it a good soaking till I saw some water coming out of the small drain that it has. I wanted to be sure that it was saturated. I then added the small bottle and it was a complete failure. The bottle emptied in less than 3 minutes. Oh, well, I got a nice shot of Rum in the process.

  • 10 years ago

    Oh well, time to try wicking? Hang the bottle/small bucket/etc. next to your hanging pot, stick one end of shoelaces on your pot, the other in the water container, and see how long the water last.

    I use this method on few of my pots. I use used plastic bottles (600ml or whatever available) and shoelaces. Last 3-4 days, but I usually top up the water daily or every other day.

  • 10 years ago

    Well, I think I solved the problem for now. I repot it in a larger hanging container, and now it takes about 3 days before it runs dry, instead of hour or so.

  • 10 years ago

    I bought an already potted one and have the same experience. Very thirsty plant considering it is not even in direct sun. Once it starts to wilt, I dump a gallon (yes, a gallon) of water on it and 1/2 hour later it is happy as a clam.

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