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By Valorie Brecht

As spring starts to come into bloom, people are thinking about decorating their yards and porches with colorful flowers.

Ben Lindner of Tender Shoots Gardens and Greenhouse in Greenwood attended the Clark County Home and Community Educators Day, April 20 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Loyal. He shared about how to build your own planter/hanging pot and tips to get the most out of your flowering plants. The following are tips from his presentation.

Lindner said the soil used is probably the most important part of setting up your planter. He recommends getting a fertilizer with peat moss, perlite and vermiculite.

“The reason I recommend this over going and digging up from soil from your backyard is the compaction. If you were going to go out there, take some topsoil and put it in a pot, in about a month you’d be watering it and it would run right through because you’d have a nice clay brick in there and the roots wouldn’t be able to breathe. So with the enhanced soil, it expands and contracts. So once you water it, it puffs right back out. There’s less water running right through and it also holds nutrients in very well,” said Lindner.

You should select your planter based on the size of the plants you want to put in it. Make sure your pot has a drainage hole in the bottom, because if the roots are flooded with water, they could be subject to root rot. When selecting plants, bear in mind how much sun or shade your plants will receive. A location receiving six or more hours of sunlight per day is considered full sunlight. Anything less than that is part shade to full shade. As one example, petunias thrive in full sunlight and when not in full sunlight, the stems can get long and leggy with just one flower on the very end.

When designing a planter, one easy method is the “thriller, filler, spiller” approach. “The thriller is the show-stopper in the middle of your planter,” said Lindner. You want a plant that grows tall and catches the eye. For example, Lindner chose a burgundy coleus. Surrounding your thriller, put filler plants. These are plants that cover up the stem of the center plant and give more volume to your planter. Lindner chose some red and yellow petunias. Finally, choose spillers for the perimeter of your planter — trailing plants that will provide some color off the edge of your pot. Lindner chose some bright green Lysimachia nummularia (also known as “Goldilocks”) for his example planter.

You also want to consider your color scheme, such as monochromatic, patriotic, warm colors or cool colors. Another thing to consider is the texture of each plant. Varying the textures can create interest. Lindner recommends no more than seven plants per basket, but you don’t need that many if you’re only doing one variety of plant. For example, the summer hanging baskets along Greenwood’s Main Street only have two petunia plants per pot.

Another consideration is adding herbs to your planters. The advantages to herbs are they smell good and can repel insects.

One of the attendees asked about pulling the roots apart before putting your flowers in the pot. Lindner said you shouldn’t have to do that as long as there is more soil than root.

Once you complete your planter, it’s important to take care of it to keep it looking its best. At the greenhouse, Lindner fertilizes two to three times per week, or 150 parts per million every other day. He recommends fertilizing your plant at least once a week.

“Plants need to eat just like we do. The plant didn’t stop growing; you stopped fertilizing it,” said Lindner.

A 20/20/20 fertilizer has 20 percent nitrogen, which grows the leaves; 20 percent phosphorus, which grows the flowers; and 20 percent potassium, which grows the roots. It’s important to have all three components.

Lindner suggests using time-release fertilizers like Osmocote or Nutricote if you’re forgetful about fertilizing. With those, he would recommend the three-month version as that’s going to pretty well cover your summer season.

Another care tip is don’t be afraid to trim your basket back to encourage new growth. When the basket reaches its peak in mid- to late June, wait about two weeks and then give it a “haircut,” taking scissors and trimming the entire thing so it’s shaped like an upsidedown bowl. After trimming your plant, double how often you fertilize the plant. Lindner said you should see the plant bounce back even fuller than before in just one week, assuming you get a good amount of sunlight.

“What’ll happen is you’re telling that plant, ‘Flush out new growth.’ Flush out a lot of new growth so that you get more flowers, and then you’re actually going to get flower coverage even into October, just from that one cut. You’re going to hate it at the time, but in the end you’re going to be like, ‘I like what I did,”’ said Lindner.

One of the attendees asked what to do if you water your plant and the water runs out right away. Lindner recommended setting your pot in a bucket of water for it to absorb the water over time. He also gave some suggestions for low-maintenance flowers. The SunPatiens, a relatively new inpatiens hybrid, does well in a wide range of conditions — from full sun to full shade. On the topic of impatiens, it’s advisable to get a type resistant to downy mildew, a common ailment for that plant. The Imara, Beacon and Glimmer brands are all resistant to downy mildew. Lindner said petunias were another popular plant. He recommended the Supertunia Vista through Proven Winners and the Tidal Wave Petunia as two types you don’t have to dead-head. The Tidal Wave Petunia can grow a three-foot by three-foot spread just from one plant. Lindner also offered suggestions for caring for indoor plants. Since they don’t receive as much sunlight and grow at a much slower rate, he suggested only fertilizing one-fourth as frequently as an outdoor plant, like once a month. Alternatively, you can put a plant food spike in your houseplant. Lindner’s greenhouse and 25 others are part of the Clark County Bloomin’ Greenhouse Tour, going on now through October. For more information or a tour brochure, visit clarkcountywi.org or call 715-255-9100.