How to Maintain your Vertical Garden

Every garden requires a certain amount of maintenance and upkeep. The time you need to invest in caring for your garden will depend on how big it is and the type of plants you have. Maintaining a vertical garden is, in some ways, different from caring for other types of garden.

This is because its shape and location mean it will require special care when it comes to pruning and watering. In this article, we’ll explain how to care for your vertical garden.

Watering your vertical garden

Watering is fundamental for any plant. The frequency and the quantity of water will depend on the type of plants you’re growing. We tend to assume that more water will make our plants grow faster, but this isn’t always the case. In fact, excessive watering can be as harmful as not watering your plants at all.

Take special care not to over-water your plants.

When you water your vertical garden, you should work from top to bottom, so that the water trickles down to every layer. If you’re watering it by hand, a great option is to keep your plants in felt bags. This material is able to retain large amounts of water to create a damp environment for your plants.

Another option is to install an automatic watering system. This will ensure even distribution of water and you won’t have to worry about remembering to water your plants. The installation can be quite complicated, so if you don’t know much about plumbing, be sure to consult a professional.

Pruning your vertical garden

Pruning is one of the most important aspects of gardening. Although it might seem like pruning vertical gardens is all about shaping the plants, there are actually lots of other reasons why this task is so important:

1. Preventing pest infestations

2. Controlling the size of the plant

3. Promoting leaf regeneration

The main feature of any vertical garden is the shape. They’re attached to the wall and have light foliage to allow access to every part of the garden.

One of the aspects where pruning a conventional garden differs from pruning a vertical garden is when it comes to the roots. When plants are growing in the ground, the roots spread through the soil. They can’t be seen, and you don’t really need to worry about them unless they start to push up through paving stones.

In vertical gardens, on the other hand, the roots don’t have much room to develop. As they grow, they need more soil. As a result, you’ll need to prune them annually. You’ll have to do it carefully, trimming only the secondary roots so you don’t accidentally kill your plant.

Fertilizing your vertical garden

Another important aspect of maintaining a vertical garden is fertilizing. Vertical gardens have far less soil than conventional gardens. This means that the soil is quickly taken up with roots, which soon absorb all the nutrients.

We recommend that you replace and fertilize the soil regularly. A professional where you buy your fertilizer can recommend the right type for your plants. In general, you can find the following different types of fertilizer:

• Solid fertilizers: solid fertilizers come in various different forms. The first type is powder. We wouldn’t recommend this type, as it isn’t easy to calculate the amount you need. The most common type is granulated fertilizer. The amount you need to use will be on the packet and will depend on the surface area and the type of plants you have. The third type is less common and isn’t used for fertilizing vertical gardens. Known as fertilizer spikes, these are compressed fertilizers that are manufactured in stick form. You simply place them in the soil and they gradually release nutrients.
• Liquid fertilizers: there are two different ways to apply this type of fertilizer, depending on the concentration of the fertilizer, and the type of plants. The first method is to apply it directly as if you were watering your plants. You’ll need to take care when applying it, making sure to distribute it evenly. The second and most common way to use liquid fertilizer is to dilute it in water. The packet will contain instructions on how much you need to use.