Refresh Your Greens: The Ultimate Spring Living Wall Checklist
Florafelt Pro System living wall by Planted Design in Pleasanton, California.
As the days grow longer and the sun climbs higher, your living wall is waking from its winter slumber. This increase in light and warmth triggers a surge in growth, but it also means your vertical garden gets thirstier. To ensure your wall remains a lush, vibrant masterpiece throughout the season, we’ve put together a quick guide to help you transition from the dormant months into a flourishing spring and summer.
Florafelt Pocket Panel Drip Irrigation. Living wall installation by Planted Design.
Florafelt Irrigation Control Box with Link-Tap WiFi controller with remote flow sensing and control.
1. Adjust Your Irrigation
The most critical task this season is ensuring your watering system is reliable. As the wall receives more sun exposure, missing even a few irrigation cycles is risky.
Battery Check
Check that your timer batteries are still working.
Mark your Calendars
Setting an annual e-calendar reminder for the beginning of warm weather in your region is a great way to ensure a full year of solid, uninterrupted performance from your timers, keeping your plants hydrated.
Increase Water Duration
As the weather warms up, it is vital to increase your watering durations to account for the additional sunlight on your wall. We recommend doing this gradually—make small adjustments and observe the moisture levels in the pockets to ensure the soil stays hydrated without becoming soggy.
Pro-Tip: Use a WiFi Automated Timer with Weather Adjustments
For a more "hands-off" approach, consider upgrading to the WIFI Remote Flow Sensing and Control Timer that connects to local weather data and automatically adjusts based on temperature. (Avoid using "rain delay" settings. The vertical orientation means very little rainwater reaches the root systems, so your plants still rely on that consistent irrigation even during a spring shower.)
Florafelt Plant Food Injector attached to the Control Box.
2. Fuel the Growth: 3 Ways to Feed
Spring is the prime time for nutrients. While you should ease back in the fall and winter to let plants focus on root systems, now is the time to feed. You can choose from three effective methods:
Foliar Feaeding
Add plant food directly to a sprayer and mist both the leaves and soil.
Food Injectors
Use an inline bottle to automatically add concentrate into the water line. See Florafelt Food Injector
Add to Tank
For interior recirculating systems, keep it light—one teaspoon of in the tank once a month is plenty.
Recommended Plant Food
We recommend using Jack’s Classic Plant Food because it is a low-cost and well balanced plant food that has all the micro-ingredients plants love.
Important: To prevent clogging, use water soluble fertilizer only.
3. Prune and Shape for Success
Before new growth takes off and flowers begin to bud, get in there and trim back your perennials. Because living walls can be dense, aggressive varieties can quickly overtake their neighbors. Regular "hedging" encourages fresh leaf growth and maintains the structural integrity of your design. By cutting back the overachievers, you allow the variety and texture of the original design to shine through.
Florafelt Pockets living wall at the San Francisco Botanical Garden Bookstore.
We're here to help
If you have questions about a new project, please reach out to us! We absolutely love seeing what you’re growing, so always feel free to send us photos of your progress. Sharing your beautiful work helps us improve our products and customer service, ensuring we provide you with the best experience possible. We’re happy to help!