Terrybull: What are you using for potting soil? In Southwest Ohio, I would be concerned about only needing to water once a week in the summer. I am using Al's 5-1-1 in my baskets this year. Last year I used a quality nonsoil mix with composted bark and peat. When it got very hot and dry, I had to water every other day. I don't think that's unreasonable. Four weeks into this season, I think the 5-1-1 has already proved it's worth. We've had unseasonable cold and record breaking rainfall. None of my hanging coir-lined baskets are soggy, and they are growing well.

No need to freak out kim.....you can cut back just about anything.....it is a good practice once your plants have outgrown their planters and are drying out too fast.....my impatiens are becoming little trees and are drinking alot and may start to seperate in cooler months ahead...I will post a photo after I hack the hell out of them and the after they recover....I will be away for a week at the end of the month and everything would be dead when I come back if i didn't reduce them....regular petunias planted on the ground really benefit from heavy cutting back the last of july to avoid getting leggy......I think you should try the flowering kale at this late date for planting in your zone.......and a trailer like creeping jenny or vinca.....if you can find something small in flower like begonias or lobelia at this time of year and you can stuff it in there, do it...........this time of year you can get away with cramming in some plants because they will not have enough season left to be overplanted.......your kale and trailer planted so close to your house should get you to christmas.......another option would be geraniums or marigolds(or both) if you think you need a flowering plant......you could buy some kale put it in the ground, plant geraniums or marigolds for now with a trailer.....and swap them in november.....Kale will look nice to minus 20.......as long as snow does not lay on it you could have it well into january that close to the house, when choosing Kale, try to find some that the stems are not too tall, if they are a little leggy, plant them deep..........I don't believe you posted your supertunia photo kim......lets see what your other containers are doing

Great photos Lenfocenter. I have known people who have also had this happen in their hanging baskets. In the UK it's usually sparrows or wrens that do this. There are many of these red and purple fuchsias so quite difficult to say which one it is for certain, might be 'Son of Thumb' but I'm not 100% sure. Maybe someone in the Bird Forum can give you better advise re the nest, link below, Kath:) Here is a link that might be useful: http://nature.gardenweb.com/forums/bird/

Yossu: If you put your hanging basket on the ground over bare dirt, the runners will root in. Later in the season when established enough, you can cut the runner from the mother plant and dig up. pot up the runners in new baskets or use them to start a strawberry patch on the ground if you prefer. Another option would be to put an unplanted hanging basket filled with soil next to yours and put the runners on top of the soil in the empty basket. I would pin them down with something to hold them in place until they root in thoroughly. Be sure to keep the soil moist! Usually strawberries fill in an area with so many runners that when growing a patch on the ground, I would renovate the patch every 3 years. I would wait til the new crop of runners rooted in well (mid- August in my area) then dig them out. I would dig out the rest of my patch, till it up, get rid of the weeds and re-plant with the saved runners from that current season. You basically will find the same issue if you keep your hanging basket for more than one year. Some runners will doubtlessly root in your basket and over time it will become too full of plants The key with growing them in a basket is to remove the excess runners so your basket is not overcrowded. It would be difficult to keep the basket moist enough if too many plants are growing in it.