Maintenance tips for planter baskets

SALT LAKE CITY – Planter baskets are very beautiful when you buy them, but it’s important to know how to take care of them so they can last a long period of time.

Taun and Maria, hosts of the KSL Greenhouse show, shared a few maintenance tips on their latest episode. 

There are many reasons why planter baskets might not look as pretty as they did when you brought them home. The most common one is that the basket is too small for the number of plants in it.

“When you buy your planter baskets, sometimes—unless you’re just using it temporarily—it’s better to buy one that has a deeper root depth,” Taun said.

This helps you provide extra space for roots to grow.

“If you already have circling roots, you might need to transplant it into a bigger basket than what you bought it in, depending on how root-bound it is,” Taun added.

It’s also important to make sure there’s enough soil. Having a lack of space causes the roots to use up the nutrients quickly, so you would need to fertilize it throughout the entire season.

Keep plants at a cooler temperature 

Maria has a planter basket hanging outside in front of her porch, and she had to insulate it because it couldn’t stay moist. Her solution was to put it inside another container and insulate it with newspaper.

Another tip is to buy baskets with lighter colors, such as white, cream, and yellow. These will stay a lot cooler than darker-colored baskets.

Another way to keep your plants at a cool temperature is to paint the planters a lighter color. 

Listen to the full segment on our podcast below!

The KSL Greenhouse is on every Saturday from 8 a.m.-11 a.m. You can follow the show on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and on our website.