A container garden can be an artistic composition of color, form and movement, pleasing to the senses, a softening of a terrace, deck or patio or showcasing an entryway. Ideally, such a garden in a pot consists of a variety of plants-one or two stretching upward, others spilling gracefully over the rims. Filled with flowers and fascinating foliage, some gardeners even use them as artistic statements directly in garden beds. Many gardeners are discovering that brightly glazed or painted ceramic pots, spilling over with attractive flowers and foliage, brighten a landscape and serve as sensual focal points. * But for success with containers, you need to take a few precautions to ensure healthy plants. Because roots are confined in spaces smaller than landscape beds, it’s crucial to make sure the plants won’t be stressed by under or over watering. The first requirement is to select the right size container. Trade in the tiny pots for those that provide adequate size for roots and won’t dry out quickly. That’s the sage advice offered by Evelyn Weidner, founder and owner of Weidner’s Gardens in Encinitas, California. Weidner specializes in hanging baskets filled with flowering or foliage plants. A real hands-in-the-dirt gardener, she’s been doling out garden advice along with plants for decades.
“The common mistake so many gardeners make is using containers that are just too small,” she said. “An eight-inch pot is the minimum size I recommend so plants won’t dry out too fast.”
She also cautions against placing a two-inch plant in an eight-inch container.
“Although people think they’re giving the plant lots of room and plenty of water by doing this, what really happens instead is that all too often water isn’t absorbed by the roots and runs out the pot instead.”
When designing container gardens, there are several options. You can select a showy plant to use by itself. For more drama, group several containers together. This technique also helps the plants by increasing humidity in the location. Or you can plant a miniature landscape in an upright or hanging container. Follow these recommendations and you’ll enjoy success with your container gardens:
1. Invest in good quality containers, the bigger, the better. Lightweight decorative containers made from molded resins, fiberglass or plastic capture the look of expensive antique containers and are light enough to move around. Select hanging baskets with enough depth and diameter to accommodate several different types of plants.
2. Use good quality potting mix. If you’re replanting in the same container, replace the mix with fresh to minimize fungal diseases.
3. For pots, use a woody plant like Hollywood juniper or some other conifer as the feature piece in the center. Surround it with a combination of flowering plants with a mounding habit. Then complete the planting with flowering plants that cascade down the sides of the container. Change out these annuals seasonally when peak flowering is over. For hanging baskets, use an upright plant in the center, surrounded by several mounding plants, and complete the design with a few trailing plants.
4. Keep the container well watered. In summer, this may mean watering daily if containers are in sun or temperatures exceed 90 [degrees]. Make sure plants are adequately soaked by watering, waiting a minute, and watering again. Or you can set containers on a drip system with a timer.
5. Fertilize at least once every two weeks with a liquid fertilizer prepared according to package directions. Although the cost is higher, a time-release pellet fertilizer applied at the time of planting simplifies container care because each watering releases fertilizer on a constant basis.
6. Deadhead regularly to increase flower production. Prune or pinch plants to shape. Replace individual plants when they’re past their peak of performance.
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