Tropical Style

Proper Drip Irrigation for Hanging Flower Baskets

Hanging flower baskets provide beautiful blossoms at eye level, but they also create watering woes. You might dutifully try hand-watering, but any excess spills onto the ground and might damage your own porch or patio area with constant puddles. Drip irrigation is an efficient alternative for watering hanging flower baskets, particularly in the event you’ve got numerous pots decorating your yard.

In-Line Drip Systems

If you’ve hanging flower baskets in a little greenhouse, you might have overhead water pipes. Installing spaced water emitters on these pipes enables you to have an in-line drip system. You hang your flower basket straight under the installed emitter for direct drip watering from the pipe. Combining the drip system having an automatic timer lets you enjoy the flowers rather than constantly worrying about their dirt. One big drawback to this system is the lack of versatility. When you set up the emitters, they cannot be moved; your baskets should stay fixed beneath the emitters for appropriate watering.

Microtube Drip Systems

A more flexible drip system choice uses microtubes extending from a water source, including a nearby tap. Typically used in both indoor and outdoor applications, your flower baskets might be located in almost any place as long as the water tubing reaches the soil. A regulator adapter attached to your own tap provides the correct water pressure to a connected hose. Tubes, with attached emitters, stretch from the main hose and rest on your own basket’s topsoil. Slow water droplets provide your plants with ample moisture with no overwatering danger. In reality, you might add or subtract as many microtubes as you need as your basket needs change over time.

Fertilizing Benefit

Because your hanging flower baskets aren’t a portion of the surrounding yard soil, they aren’t exposed to massive natural nutrients, such as nitrogen from decaying compost. But you may use your drip irrigation as a fertilizer appliance in addition to a watering instrument to boost the basket’s soil health. Liquid fertilizers added to the water volume simply expel in the soil from the emitters, to be absorbed by the roots. But you need to follow the company’s instructions for the healthiest fertilizer application; it’s possible to burn your flower plants with a lot of fertilizer.

Maintenance

Use of drip irrigation on your own hanging flower baskets requires some maintenance, particularly if you use pesticide inside the computer system. Minerals build up inside the tubing and emitters; clogs happen along the line and also influence your baskets’ overall watering amounts. Periodic drip system cleaning ensures that each emitter works properly with no water blockage. Careful monitoring of the bins’ moisture levels will signal when you have any troubles with the drip system.

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