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Tip - Success with Pots andPlanters
Growing plants in containers is all the rage these days. Urban gardeners, and people with limited time or energy, may garden exclusively in containers. But most gardeners - even those of us with large traditional gardens - have at least some plants in containers. Windowboxes, deck and patio planters open up all sorts of creative possibilities, inviting us to experiment with new kinds of plants and plant combinations.
These days, there are thousands of interesting planters to choose from,in styles ranging from classical to modern, and in materials such as ceramic and terra cotta, as well as plastic, hypertufa, concrete, glass, wood and metal. Selecting a container is the easy part, compared to the challenge of deciding what to plant. I love composing new looks each spring with interesting foliage, unusual blooms and arresting color combinations.
But there's a dirty little secret about container gardening. It's not as easy as it appears. When newly planted, my containers almost always look terrific. But once July rolls around, the planters start to look a bit tired, and by August, most are looking positively ragged. My petunias have stopped blooming, the lobelia has long since disappeared, the coleus wilt a few hours after they're watered. So what's the secret behind those glamorous planters you see in books and magazines?
Like all gardening, I've found that it comes back to the soil. Providing the right soil, water and nutrients is really critical when a plant is trying to survive - much less thrive - in a few cups of soil. Container-grown plants require you to be just a little bit smarter and more attentive than you need to be out in your garden. Here are a few tricks I've learned along the way that have helped me keep my potted plants happy and looking great with a minimum of effort.
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Choose the Right Soil I'm convinced that this is the most important factor for container gardening success. First of all, don't fill your pots with garden soil - even if it's rich and loamy. I guarantee that in a couple weeks it will be rock hard and your plants will begin to suffer. And don't use peat moss in a container garden. It's too acidic and doesn't retain water. Coarse, soil-less growing mixes containing a blend of sphagnum peat, perlite, and vermiculite are best (try our Professional
Container Mix.) I always add in about 25% compost or good garden soil to provide the beneficial enzymes and soil organisms that help keep plants healthy. I'll often mix in some water-retaining polymer crystals, too. These crystals absorb many times their weight in water and hold it until needed, releasing it slowly until you and your watering can re-appear. (I had a terrible time keeping my brugmansias from wilting until I mixed some Terra Sorb into the soil).
When it comes to soil, especially in a container, your goal is to provide plant roots with a growing environment that-s loose and well aerated. Container gardens are usually much more densely planted than a regular garden, so plants are already competing for space. It's important that air, water and nutrients can move through the entire soil area. (Remember, there are probably no earthworms helping to keep the soil loose). Though it's tempting to re-use soil from one year to the next, don't do it. It will certainly have become compacted, which means poor aeration and poor water retention. That soil may also contain a build-up of fertilizer salts or diseases and pests.
Don't let your plants go hungry. You need to fertilize your container-grown plants frequently - at least every other week. There are several reasonsfor this. First, daily watering washes nutrients right out of the soil. Second, is that soilless growing mediums usually contain few if any nutrients.
Most container gardens are densely planted, and require plants to share a very small amount of soil and nutrients. Water soluble Plant Health Care for Tomatoes and Vegetables and Plant Health Care for Roses and Flowers are great fertilizers for container-grown plants. They provide macro- and micronutrients as well beneficial soil-conditioners such as enzymes and humic acids to help keep the soil loose and promote healthy root systems.
Minimize your watering chores. The last critical factor for container gardening success is water. With such a small amount of soil and so many plant roots, containers dry out very quickly - especially on a hot, mid-summer day. One trick is to nestle pots together so they can shade each other and provide some protection from drying winds. Providing afternoon shade is another way to keep plants from getting parched. Adding water-absorbing polymer crystals to your potting mix (as mentioned above) can also be very helpful. You might consider trying our new Hydro Mats which can be cut to fit inside the bottom of an ordinary pot.
