Verbenas in hanging baskets

Question

I purchased a beautiful verbena basket in April that was thriving until we left for 5 days for vacation. It got too dry and looks stressed, burnt, etc. I trimmed it back, watered and will fertilize tomorrow. Is there anything else I should do? It’s in direct sun still.

Answer 1

Don’t fertilize. Fertilizer should not be put onto stressed, dry, or sick plants. Wait until the plant has started some new growth.
Make sure the soil has been well hydrated; put the whole plant in a bucket of water and let it soak for 15 or 30 minutes.
It should be fine. Here’s an article on watering outdoor container plants: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/containers/container-plant-watering.htm
In the future, if you take some steps to protect your plants when you go on vacation, they’ll get along much better. Most important would be to move them to a more shaded area. Here are some other ideas. This article deals with indoor plants, but many of the principles are the same: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/hpgen/while-youre-away-vacation-care-for-houseplants.htm