On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 13:13:34 GMT, "Susan" wrote:

In reply to my posting re summer hanging baskets, Sacha mentioned that
lobelia dry out really quickly in hanging baskets. I usually use cascading
lobelia around the outsides of the basket, but I agree that they do dry out
quickly and don't really recover afterwards. What else could I use, instead
of lobelia, that will cover and hide the sides of the basket?

The fair city in which I dwell was some kind of pioneer in hanging
basket technology, dangling the things from downtown lamp standards,
starting (afaik) back in the 1950's. [Sadly, their standards have
slipped badly in recent years.] As a result, there's a lot of local
knowledge on how to manage the things.

Lobelia has been a mainstay of the city's baskets for as long as I can
remember.

Some guidelines:

Rule #1: water your hanging baskets *every* day!

Rule #2: when you water, make sure you saturate the soil. I've heard a
recommendation for homeowners to water a hanging basket three times at
shortish intervals to do so.

Rule #3: make sure there's a saucer of some sort attached to the
bottom of the basket to provide an auxiliary supply of water for windy
days when evaporation rates are high.


Phil L suggested verbenas but in my personal experience there's a
small problem: verbenas only do well in full sun, whereas lobelia will
do well in partly shaded positions.

Also, even verbenas look pretty tatty if they dry out, though it's not
quite so much of a bad-hair day as with dried out lobelia.

Lobelia also offers the advantage of allowing a mix of pale sky blue
and deep purple-blue: the combination in juxtaposition is ahem quite
startling. Verbenas, bright though they are, don't offer this same
opportunity.

--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, BC, Canada
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