Smelly flower container - Ask Extension
I arranged 2 planters for the front entry of my church. They are tall ...about 2.5ft high and 18 inches wide. I used them last year..they are plastic....
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Smelly flower container #481359
Asked August 28, 2018, 11:31 AM EDT
I arranged 2 planters for the front entry of my church. They are tall ...about 2.5ft high and 18 inches wide. I used them last year..they are plastic. The bottom has some river rocks From a store to help prevent theft and to give stability in storms. The soil is miracle grow potting soil. I had no problems last year. The plants were pulled out and the container s put in the garage to protect from the elements. Soil was reused but relplished and osmote was used as fertilizer.
This year I tried to capture a theme I had seen in a catalog and put in several Picasso petunias in the front, 2 Carolina sweet potato vines.in the back ..these two were for growing downward and fillling. I put in several geraniums in the middle which have been small ( but look healthy otherwise) I put in some canna bulbs for height and they came in a package from A store. These seem to be doing well, the sweet potato vine looks like it is getting what the petunia have. They are very small and although have grown to touch the pavement they don,t look healthy and vibrant .
But the mysterious thing is the smell. For the last month when one of us goes to water the plants we get the most awful, compost and almost manure like smell. It is not sour...just bad. The smell is constant . Cannot figure out what is going on. The pots are in full sun. I recently cut back the petunias and sweet potato vines half way asthey were looking. So limp and scraggly. The new sweet potato growth does look healthy but the petunia growth does not...small, wilted looking. Any ideas out there?
This year I tried to capture a theme I had seen in a catalog and put in several Picasso petunias in the front, 2 Carolina sweet potato vines.in the back ..these two were for growing downward and fillling. I put in several geraniums in the middle which have been small ( but look healthy otherwise) I put in some canna bulbs for height and they came in a package from A store. These seem to be doing well, the sweet potato vine looks like it is getting what the petunia have. They are very small and although have grown to touch the pavement they don,t look healthy and vibrant .
But the mysterious thing is the smell. For the last month when one of us goes to water the plants we get the most awful, compost and almost manure like smell. It is not sour...just bad. The smell is constant . Cannot figure out what is going on. The pots are in full sun. I recently cut back the petunias and sweet potato vines half way asthey were looking. So limp and scraggly. The new sweet potato growth does look healthy but the petunia growth does not...small, wilted looking. Any ideas out there?
Oakland County Michigan
Expert Response
My apologies for the delay in answering this question.
I suspect, at some point, the growing conditions in your containers allowed "bad" microbes to flourish, causing the smell. Often the problem is over watering, which leads to low oxygen conditions that favor anaerobic bacteria. These can generate an unpleasant odor.
In addition, the plants may be suffering from root rot, which can occur when they are grown under wet conditions. Root rot will lead to poor growth and even death of the plant.
Remove the plants from the containers and examine the roots. if the roots are healthy (firm, whitish in color), simply replace the soil in the containers, rinse the roots (to remove most of the old soil) and replant. If the roots appear to be infected (soft, dark colored) or are mostly missing, replace both the soil and the plants. In either case, sanitize the containers with a 10% bleach solution.
If the containers don't have drainage holes at the bottom, add those. Placing rocks at the bottom of a container does not actually help drainage. If they are necessary for stability, then keep them, but otherwise simply fill the containers with potting soil. The containers should be slightly elevated from the ground in order for excess water to drain from the holes. If the containers do not have feet, you can accomplish this with a plastic drip tray.
Regards,
I suspect, at some point, the growing conditions in your containers allowed "bad" microbes to flourish, causing the smell. Often the problem is over watering, which leads to low oxygen conditions that favor anaerobic bacteria. These can generate an unpleasant odor.
In addition, the plants may be suffering from root rot, which can occur when they are grown under wet conditions. Root rot will lead to poor growth and even death of the plant.
Remove the plants from the containers and examine the roots. if the roots are healthy (firm, whitish in color), simply replace the soil in the containers, rinse the roots (to remove most of the old soil) and replant. If the roots appear to be infected (soft, dark colored) or are mostly missing, replace both the soil and the plants. In either case, sanitize the containers with a 10% bleach solution.
If the containers don't have drainage holes at the bottom, add those. Placing rocks at the bottom of a container does not actually help drainage. If they are necessary for stability, then keep them, but otherwise simply fill the containers with potting soil. The containers should be slightly elevated from the ground in order for excess water to drain from the holes. If the containers do not have feet, you can accomplish this with a plastic drip tray.
Regards,
Dear Becky ,Thanks you so much for reply...I have done many containers and never had this particular problem. I will check things out as you suggested. Blessings for a great school year. I have so much respect and admiration for MSU after having done my Master Gardening program there with Deirdre Hope and gotten to know some of the other staff. You offer such valuable, practical and helpful services to our communities. Kamilia
You're welcome. I'm sorry that it took so long for me to get this answer to you. I put it together...and lost track of it.
With your container experience, it's less likely that watering is what triggered the problem, though it's hard to control the input from rain. That said, when soil starts to smell bad with no external (animal) input, it's typically due to unwelcome microbes taking over-- something in the environment allows them to be more successful than the ones we encourage.
Becky.
With your container experience, it's less likely that watering is what triggered the problem, though it's hard to control the input from rain. That said, when soil starts to smell bad with no external (animal) input, it's typically due to unwelcome microbes taking over-- something in the environment allows them to be more successful than the ones we encourage.
Becky.
