Late Summer Gardening Tips to Keep Hanging Flower Baskets Healthy and Colorful; Daily Irrigation and Weekly Fertilizer Applications a Must to Keep Color in Outdoor Gardens During Dry Summer Months.

FAIR LAWN, N.J. -- As precipitation lightens in the next few months and water restrictions leave home gardens dry, hanging baskets can provide a solution to browning, water-starved landscapes. By carefully selecting colorful flowers from a long list of plants that include petunias, moss roses and ivy geraniums, homeowners can spruce up the drabbest of areas with plants that thrive in baskets.

By adhering to maintenance requirements that place baskets in sunny, still areas, home gardeners can keep baskets of flowers healthy and colorful with daily watering and weekly feedings of water-soluble fertilizer. Sunny midsummer months will dry out hanging plants quickly, especially because they normally have a small soil ball in comparison to the size of the plant.

"Hanging plants can rapidly expend their water source due to the limited amount of soil they are provided," said Mike Darcy, a gardening expert, and host of TV and radio gardening programs. "As the roots grow, they quickly fill the pot and the limited soil area becomes a thick mass of roots. If this root ball dries out, the roots and soil will tend to shrink away from the sides of the basket and create an empty space between the soil and the sides of the basket. Water can run through this space without adequately giving the plant water." explained Darcy.

To combat this problem, Darcy reminds gardeners that daily watering is imperative to the health of plants in hanging baskets. By midsummer, many baskets have so much foliage on the top that even a fairly heavy rain will not penetrate into the pot. Because of the daily watering, vital nutrients are lost, which greatly increases the need for a regular fertilizer program.

While hanging baskets are generally impervious to pests such as slugs and snails, they are still vulnerable to damage, especially from wind. Ample winds can knock baskets from their hooks, diminishing a plant's survival chances if damaged from a fall. To reduce the chance of this happening, do not hang baskets in an open, windy area.

Lonza, leading manufacturer of the active ingredient Meta, has established as part of its charter, a policy of implementing programs designed for healthy gardens, families and communities. Combining community outreach with an abundance of informational materials, Lonza is proud to help families across the world grow healthy, pest-free gardens.

Snail and slug baits that contain Meta as an active ingredient include Corry's Deadline, which can be found at home improvement, and home and garden centers.

Lonza is a life sciences driven company, headquartered in Switzerland, which generated sales of CHF 2.24 billion in 2003. It operates 18 production and R&D facilities in eight countries and employs 5660 people worldwide. Lonza is one of the leading custom manufacturers of chemical intermediates and active ingredients as well as biopharmaceuticals for the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries. In addition, Lonza also offers organic intermediates for a wide range of applications and provides antimicrobial and associated products as well as polymer intermediates and compounds. For more information please visit the company's websites at www.lonza.com or www.themolluscicide.com.