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I'm new to gardening (as well as to this site). I just jumped in with both feet. I live in Machida City, Japan. From the railing of the 2nd floor balcony of my house I have started a garden of hanging potted plants. Each of the 12 pots contain a flower and an herb...as loosely classified by this novice: 2 Margarettes with Jasmine,4 Geraniums with a Spearmint, an Orange Mint, a Lavender and a Rose Geranium, 2 Nasturtiums with a Pineapple Mint and a Pineapple Sage, 2 Yellow Marigolds with a Golden Queen Thyme and another type of Thyme, a Blue Daisy with Roman Chamomile and Matsubagiku with Rocket.
...Now (after the fact) I worry. Can this work? They look beautiful at the moment, but will these plant combinations play well together. They face the Sun more than half the day. Can I treat them as equals with regard to watering and fertilizing and general care?
Any advice you folks have to offer would certainly be appreciated!
Thanks.
Hanging plants dry out fast.Keep them watered.Mint has a tendency to take over.It spreads rather quickly.Pineapple sage will grow up to 5 or 6 feet.Not really a plant for hanging baskets.Gardening is a learning experience.Alot of it is trial and error.Some of your choices will probably work out fine others probably not.Remember to have fun with it.Edge
If you have two plants in a pot and they start looking bad decide which plant you want the most and take out the other. There is only a small amount of room in a basket for 2 or3 plants. They usually only get one plant each. Good Luck. I hope they do well.
Thanks Edge and Smokey for the quick responses. So far I've been watering them everyday. I thought I might be watering them too much.
As for the mint taking over, perhaps I should put in some kind of divider between the roots. They wouldn't really be in the same pot then... more like 2 apartments in the same building. Does that sound feasible? Hey, here's a thought. If mint (with it's tendency to take over) is planted in my yard, will it beat out the native weeds? Orange mint is certainly a weed I wouldn't mind pulling.
If I trim the Pineapple Sage often and keep the size down, might that be enough to keep it happy in a hanging basket?
Most people plant mint in containers to keep it from taking over their yard.Its very invasive,sends runners everywhere.You will end up having it grow,where you don't want it. If it was me.I would keep the mints in containers and plant the pineapple sage in the yard.I don't know if you can keep the P. sage pruned.I do know it gets beautiful red flowers in the fall.I think if it gets pruned you would be missing out on the blooms and wouldn't that be a shame.P.sage grows fairly well from cuttings.You could start cuttings in your basket.Edge
Hmmm...Pineapple sage in my yard...I'll have to think about that one. Till then I'll just keep pruning it. Pretty red flowers are nice, but the primary value of my herbs are to flavor my cooking. Even if its excessive height wasn't a consideration, I would still be trimming it fairly often and probably wouldn't get to see its flowers anyway.
I think I'll try putting in a divider between the mints and their roommates, hopefully that will keep them at bay. But my yard gets overrun with clover and other tall fast growing grasses, I was hoping some mint might kill off the clover. What's your best guess? Could some mint beat out the native weeds in a turf war.. or would they harmonize and mix?
I should have said that if the roots don't have enough room to grow your plant won't keep growing and getting bigger. It could cause both plants to do poorly. Again, good luck
Thanks Edge, I'll keep the Mints out of my yard for now at least. Thanks Smokey, I won't worry about them over growing then.
...So far the Nasturtiums and the Marigold seem to be doing ok with their Mint, Sage and Thyme companions. The Rocket and Matsubagiku are both growing strong. The problems I'm having are with the Margarettes and Jasmines. The Jasmines seem to have lost the fight. Also my Blue Daisy has lost all of her pretty petals. How do you prune flowers anyway? Do you cut the whole blossom off or just pull out the dying petals. I've heared both and I'm not sure which is right or if it just depends on the what plant it is.
What effect does it have on a plant if you trim the roots?
I am about to start my 2nd line of 24 plants (12 pots with an Herb and a Flower Each) and this time I'm going to try and learn a little first. Here is the criterion I'm working within:
1) They need to be able to survive outside on my sheltered veranda all year. Our Winter is mild and Global Warning is weakening it more every year.
2) They need to produce and least green leaf all year even when their flowers are out of season. A pot of Brown Dirt hanging over my balcony is not a very attractive sight.
3) The more useful, the better.. Seasoning, Tea, or Potpourri... I like nice sweet smelling blossoms when I eat out on the veranda, so that is a special job some of them can do without sacrificing their body parts in a weekly basis.
And that's basically all I'm looking for in a garden. Any suggestions or advice offered would be a great help!
Thanks.
szaemon
Thanks Smokey. So I shouldn't be pulling out the dried petals, in expectation that the buds will put out new petals. Just cut off the whole blossom and let the plant make new buds. Is that right?
