Container Gardening
Tips on planting, growing and enjoying your container garden
Container gardening ....
Using containers to grow flowers and herbs is one way to eliminate most of the work involved in gardening. It is also a fun and easy way to decorate a deck or portion of your yard.
There are a few things to consider. The type of plants you want to grow will determine the size of the container. A large ficus tree will require a larger pot than a clump of parsley.
Another consideration is your climate which may influence whether you want to use resin or plastic pots or pots of clay. Those great old clay pots breath but they also will lose moisture much faster than synthetic varieties. If clay is your choice you will probably need larger pots to prevent over drying of the plants roots.
A cure for clay pots loosing moisture too rapidly is to paint them. This is done with any good oil based house paint. You can then have some brightly colored pots in which to do your planting.
Most bedding plants will take to being grown in pots. Another good choice for is succulents. Hen and chicks thrive in a large pots and will provide interest as they send the ‘’chick’ runners off over the sides.
These hardy plants are perennials that once planted will last for several years with just an occasional feeding and regular watering.
Herbs are another good choice, if one picks perennials you will have several years of growing without having to replant every spring. An added bonus is fresh picked herbs for your cooking.
What plants you choose for your container garden simply depends on whether you want bright flowering plants or something a little more exotic such as herbs, cactus, or perhaps trailing strawberries for something special in the spring and a lovely green plant the rest of the year.
Every pot should have drainage openings in the bottom. Small pebbles or broken pot shards need to be positioned in the bottom to facilitate drainage. The next addition is good potting soil. Then comes your plant. Gently break the root wad to encourage the spread of the plant roots. A good fertilizer such as Miracle Grow should be applied at potting time and routinely through out the growing season to ensure good healthy growth.
Containers do require almost daily watering in the summer as they have limited mass to hold moisture.
Do not limit yourself to regular flowerpots. Many hardware or ranch supply store will have milk buckets, and old fashioned galvanized wash tubs. For really large planters you might even consider stock tanks. These come in several sizes...just right for planting larger specimens such as bamboo, small trees and other large screen type plants.
All these items make for some great planters especially the larger containers. They can be left natural or you can paint them…always remember any container to be used will need drain holes in the bottom.
Another idea is using those large woven willow baskets we often find at flea markets. These can be turned into attractive planters by lining with moss or one of the fiber mats used for just this purpose. Granted these generally don’t last but a year or two but they can be quite lovely and their cost is minimal.
If you are using large pots you need to think about their weight if you plan on moving them during the year. This is when a trip to the hardware store is in order. You will need several packages of rollers to attach to the bottom of an appropriately sized piece of plywood. Your large pots will be much easier to move around the patio or yard on their own wheels.
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