My hanging garden is looking a bit shabby as the summer heat is getting to the plants. I started this hanging garden after my back related issues made it difficult for me to climb the stairs to go up to the terrace garden a couple of years ago. I decided then to utilize all available space in my balcony to make it a hanging garden which I could still tend to without having to stress my back too much. Pretty as it looks it does need a bit more tending too than what I've been giving it.
In happier days
Creeping and trailing plants which do not have deep roots tend to dry up faster than the plants that have deep roots. I have these tradescanti zebrina (called inch plants or wandering Jew) and its close cousins all over my garden in bottles and containers. These are some of the easiest plants to grow in hanging containers. They look very attractive when hung like lanterns from such containers.
However, the nature of a creeping plant is to creep along the ground and put out roots and keep the plant spreading around. Growing them in hanging containers actually dries them up faster thus needing more maintenance. The leaves lose their attractive color when they are hung in areas without much sunlight so its a choice between the devil and the deep sea.
Nanouk
I have hung some varieties in cooler shaded areas while the purple and pink ones are in the sun. The tradescantia nanouk is delicate and it didn't take much to kill the plant. This one dried up right at the start of summer, the purple zebrina variety is much more adaptable and can take more heat.
This plastic water bottle in which I made holes with the help of a soldering iron filled with soil and planted cuttings looked really pretty for about a year, but as the summer sun grew hotter it has started to dry up. Besides, I need to change the soil and add more nutrients to help the plants along. This was the state of the planter when I took it down.
The plants have gotten leggy and there were a lot of dried leaves which made the arrangement look ugly. I patiently sat and cleaned up the planter leaf by leaf. When the dried leaves were taken out I realized that there were a lot of stems dried from the roots as well which need to be taken out.
There were three things that needed to be addressed, the soil, gaps in the planter and the leggy stems. For the soil I added some fresh soil, worm compost and cow manure in the ratio 10:45:45 soil being ten. This was done as a top up as the soil inside couldn't be removed completely and I didn't want to disturb the growing roots too much. The leggy stems were pruned and the cut portions were re-planted in the gaps.
This took me about 30 minutes in all and after giving it a good soak in a bucket of water for about 20 minutes it was hung in a shady place for a couple of days before being hung in its original hook. It won't be long before it shows some healthy growth. This is how it looks currently, a lot better than how it was a couple of weeks ago.
Small maintenance jobs in the garden often show good results. The tradescantia nanouk is however a tragic tale. I have saved one plant in a cool space which I hope to let multiply once the weather becomes more conducive.
The nanouk hasn't been acclimatized and its going to take sometime to show some healthy growth in my garden. Until then I will wait patiently. Gardening is all about love and patience, so this too will happen.
This way I cleaned a few planters today, maybe I will be able to finish all the others in a couple of days if I decide not to get back to reading. I am reading another interesting book called - 'Being Mortal' - by a neurosurgeon named Atul Gawande. I seem to be stuck on to these kind of books right now. Who knows how the wind blows maybe I will get some more reading done!
I hope to post pictures of this magenta lantern after a couple of showers.