Yes, here it is, another article on container gardens. One has to wonder why anyone would even consider writing an article on this subject when readers only have to open any newspaper or magazine or, go online, to find enough information on container gardens (previously known as planters) to give you a headache. What can I possibly tell you that you have not read before? Read on, and hopefully we can discover the answer to that question together.
THE CONTAINER:
Almost any container will do provided it drains well. I have used wicker baskets, wooden crates, old water coolers and cooking pots, metal pails, wooden pails, and metal watering cans. For the record, I also use decorative terra cotta pots.
If there are no drainage holes in the container you select and you are not willing to take a drill to it, add a couple of inches of gravel or broken terra cotta pots (I have lots of those thanks to Misha. I refer you to the “Pets and Gardens” article). I have tried packing peanuts, crumpled up Styrofoam cups, even broken cells packs, and was not happy with any of those. I found they did not provide adequate drainage and at the end of the season when the pots are emptied, they still end up in the landfill. At least the gravel and broken pots can be reused next year.
If you are using a wooden container, you have two choices. Line it with a plastic bag or, use it as a pot cover and just set pots of plants inside it.
THE SOIL:
Purchase a good quality potting soil. Never use garden soil. It has too many weed seeds and wee beasties lurking and ready to attack your planter the moment you complete it.
There are container soils mixes that contain a wetting agent to help retain moisture. I cannot comment on those as I have never used them. I’ve never had the need to as I am very diligent about watering containers. For an excellent general purpose potting mix, I recommend “Premier BX Potting Mix”. This is the brand I used when I ran the greenhouses, and never had poor results with it. Even now, I will drive forty kilometres out of my way to purchase Premier brand. I have tried other brands, but in my opinion they are not as good as Premier.
THE PLANTS:
Great container gardens consist of three kinds of plants: Tall plants, medium height bushy plants and, trailing plants. The trick is finding the right combination of plants.
Think about where in your garden this container will be placed. Will it receive morning sun and afternoon shade? If so, you will need to select plants that like shade to part sun. If the reverse is true and the containers will be out enjoying the hot afternoon sun, you need to look for plants that will take full sun and are possibly drought tolerant. Fortunately most garden centres now are arranging their sales areas so Shade Plants, Sunny Plants, and the in between ones, are in dedicated areas. That really helps the uncertain gardener to select the right plants for their particular situations.
Now you have to think about a colour scheme. Do you want hot colours or cool colours? Do you want your planters to contrast your patio furniture and house or compliment them? Do you want containers bursting with colour that shout “look at me!”? Or, are you more into a colour scheme that whispers at you? Both are very effective.
Once you have decided on a colour scheme, you can begin selecting your plants. Here’s a hint to help you: Never mix pastel colours with hot colours. The pastels will be overwhelmed by the hotter shades. If you are going with a vibrant red, select a vibrant yellow, orange, lime green, or a dark purple to go with it. If you want to add white, use it sparingly.
Pastel colours tend to look anaemic in bright sunlight. These do not look their best in the brilliant afternoon sun, but in the morning and late afternoon to early evening, they are marvellous. If afternoon sun is what you have and you still want flowers in the pastel range, go with dark pinks, bright yellows, white, deeper blues and purples. If the containers are in some degree of shade during the sunniest part of the day, then you can go with the softer shades of pinks, blues, yellows (just a touch) and of course, white.
I should mention something about the numbers of plants you will need. Always plant in odd numbers. That means, for a medium sized container (10” - 12”) have one tall plant, three medium plants and, depending on their size, three to five trailing plants. For some reason, even numbers of plants always make the planter look unfinished.
PLANTING THE CONTAINERS:
Get yourself some slow release fertilizer for containers/hanging baskets. I use Plant Prod brand. Again, that’s just a personal preference developed during my days as a professional greenhouse grower.
Set the drainage material in the pots.
Add soil mix so the container is about two thirds full. That gives you room to play around while you’re creating your design.
Following the directions on the fertilizer jar, add the slow release fertilizer to the soil and mix it in well. Don’t even try using a trowel, just get your hands in there and start mixing.
Remove your plants from their pots and begin arranging them in the container. If the container will only be viewed from one side, place the tallest plant at the back of the container. If you’re feeling really daring, you can off set it slightly. If it will be seen from all sides, place the tallest in the centre. Next add the medium height plants. Lastly, add the trailing plants.
You may have to take the plants out as you go along and add or remove soil from the container. NOTE: They should be planted no deeper than they were in their original pots.
Once all of the plants have been positioned to your liking, top up the container with the potting mix. The soil level should be about one half to one inch below the rim of the pot to prevent the soil from being washed out when you water it or when it rains.
Give the pot a good drink of water. You may need to water it a couple of times to saturate the soil down to the bottom of the container. (For more detailed information, see my article on Watering Containers.)
FERTILIZING:
You thought you’d already taken care of that with the slow release fertilizer didn’t you? No, it’s not that simple.
Once a week the containers should be fertilized with a 15-30-15 water soluble fertilizer. Miracle Grow makes an excellent flowering plant fertilizer, as does Plant Prod. I’ve had great success with both brands. Be sure you follow the instructions to the letter. Too much fertilizer will burn the roots and you’ll lose the plants. Too little and the plants will not perform well and you will be disappointed with your efforts.
THE CONTAINER:
Almost any container will do provided it drains well. I have used wicker baskets, wooden crates, old water coolers and cooking pots, metal pails, wooden pails, and metal watering cans. For the record, I also use decorative terra cotta pots.
If there are no drainage holes in the container you select and you are not willing to take a drill to it, add a couple of inches of gravel or broken terra cotta pots (I have lots of those thanks to Misha. I refer you to the “Pets and Gardens” article). I have tried packing peanuts, crumpled up Styrofoam cups, even broken cells packs, and was not happy with any of those. I found they did not provide adequate drainage and at the end of the season when the pots are emptied, they still end up in the landfill. At least the gravel and broken pots can be reused next year.
If you are using a wooden container, you have two choices. Line it with a plastic bag or, use it as a pot cover and just set pots of plants inside it.
THE SOIL:
Purchase a good quality potting soil. Never use garden soil. It has too many weed seeds and wee beasties lurking and ready to attack your planter the moment you complete it.
There are container soils mixes that contain a wetting agent to help retain moisture. I cannot comment on those as I have never used them. I’ve never had the need to as I am very diligent about watering containers. For an excellent general purpose potting mix, I recommend “Premier BX Potting Mix”. This is the brand I used when I ran the greenhouses, and never had poor results with it. Even now, I will drive forty kilometres out of my way to purchase Premier brand. I have tried other brands, but in my opinion they are not as good as Premier.
THE PLANTS:
Great container gardens consist of three kinds of plants: Tall plants, medium height bushy plants and, trailing plants. The trick is finding the right combination of plants.
Think about where in your garden this container will be placed. Will it receive morning sun and afternoon shade? If so, you will need to select plants that like shade to part sun. If the reverse is true and the containers will be out enjoying the hot afternoon sun, you need to look for plants that will take full sun and are possibly drought tolerant. Fortunately most garden centres now are arranging their sales areas so Shade Plants, Sunny Plants, and the in between ones, are in dedicated areas. That really helps the uncertain gardener to select the right plants for their particular situations.
Now you have to think about a colour scheme. Do you want hot colours or cool colours? Do you want your planters to contrast your patio furniture and house or compliment them? Do you want containers bursting with colour that shout “look at me!”? Or, are you more into a colour scheme that whispers at you? Both are very effective.
Once you have decided on a colour scheme, you can begin selecting your plants. Here’s a hint to help you: Never mix pastel colours with hot colours. The pastels will be overwhelmed by the hotter shades. If you are going with a vibrant red, select a vibrant yellow, orange, lime green, or a dark purple to go with it. If you want to add white, use it sparingly.
Pastel colours tend to look anaemic in bright sunlight. These do not look their best in the brilliant afternoon sun, but in the morning and late afternoon to early evening, they are marvellous. If afternoon sun is what you have and you still want flowers in the pastel range, go with dark pinks, bright yellows, white, deeper blues and purples. If the containers are in some degree of shade during the sunniest part of the day, then you can go with the softer shades of pinks, blues, yellows (just a touch) and of course, white.
I should mention something about the numbers of plants you will need. Always plant in odd numbers. That means, for a medium sized container (10” - 12”) have one tall plant, three medium plants and, depending on their size, three to five trailing plants. For some reason, even numbers of plants always make the planter look unfinished.
PLANTING THE CONTAINERS:
Get yourself some slow release fertilizer for containers/hanging baskets. I use Plant Prod brand. Again, that’s just a personal preference developed during my days as a professional greenhouse grower.
Set the drainage material in the pots.
Add soil mix so the container is about two thirds full. That gives you room to play around while you’re creating your design.
Following the directions on the fertilizer jar, add the slow release fertilizer to the soil and mix it in well. Don’t even try using a trowel, just get your hands in there and start mixing.
Remove your plants from their pots and begin arranging them in the container. If the container will only be viewed from one side, place the tallest plant at the back of the container. If you’re feeling really daring, you can off set it slightly. If it will be seen from all sides, place the tallest in the centre. Next add the medium height plants. Lastly, add the trailing plants.
You may have to take the plants out as you go along and add or remove soil from the container. NOTE: They should be planted no deeper than they were in their original pots.
Once all of the plants have been positioned to your liking, top up the container with the potting mix. The soil level should be about one half to one inch below the rim of the pot to prevent the soil from being washed out when you water it or when it rains.
Give the pot a good drink of water. You may need to water it a couple of times to saturate the soil down to the bottom of the container. (For more detailed information, see my article on Watering Containers.)
FERTILIZING:
You thought you’d already taken care of that with the slow release fertilizer didn’t you? No, it’s not that simple.
Once a week the containers should be fertilized with a 15-30-15 water soluble fertilizer. Miracle Grow makes an excellent flowering plant fertilizer, as does Plant Prod. I’ve had great success with both brands. Be sure you follow the instructions to the letter. Too much fertilizer will burn the roots and you’ll lose the plants. Too little and the plants will not perform well and you will be disappointed with your efforts.
DEADHEADING
This article just doesn’t stop does it?
To keep your container garden looking its best, you must remove the spent blooms right after they are done flowering. A flower’s main purpose in life is to reproduce itself. It does this by flowering, then setting seed in the flowerhead. Once it has set seed, the plant figures it has done its work and dies. To trick it into living longer, you have to prevent it from setting seed. You do that by removing the spent flowers.
Now we’re done! Happy growing!
This article just doesn’t stop does it?
To keep your container garden looking its best, you must remove the spent blooms right after they are done flowering. A flower’s main purpose in life is to reproduce itself. It does this by flowering, then setting seed in the flowerhead. Once it has set seed, the plant figures it has done its work and dies. To trick it into living longer, you have to prevent it from setting seed. You do that by removing the spent flowers.
Now we’re done! Happy growing!
1 comment:
I just got my urns and window box done up today. Thanks for the excellent advice on keeping them looking their best.
Cheers.
Irena
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