As with other types of gardens, the first step in creating a container garden is deciding on the result you want to achieve and how much time you are willing to invest in the project. All plants grown in containers require regular watering and feeding, but additional upkeep, such as pinching, pruning, training, and repotting, varies greatly from plant to plant.
From the beginning, be realistic about how much care you are willing to give your container garden, and choose plants, containers, and locations accordingly. Many plants that need full sun will grow in containers, but a sunny exposure also increases the amount of watering you must do to keep your plants from being chronically thirsty. Lanky, long-stemmed plants that are supported in the garden by their neighbors may need to be staked, as will plants grown in windy locations. Flowering perennials that put on a brilliant show for a brief period, such as lilies and balloon flowers, may need to be moved to a less conspicuous location once their blossoms have faded and replaced with other plants.
Also bear in mind that growing plants in containers can be a short-term or long-term adventure. For example, a pot of tulip bulbs planted in the fall will develop in spring to dazzle your deck for a few weeks, but then the show will be over. However, a shapely juniper or Japanese maple may grace your patio for many years. Keeping at least one small shrub or tree in a container is rewarding, especially during the winter, even if most of your container-gardening projects involve comparatively short-lived summer flowers.
You can grow any type of garden plant in a container, including annuals, perennials, vines, ground-covers, bulbs, shrubs, and trees. Those listed here always do well when grown in pots, but check the plant profiles in the encyclopedia section to see if a plant that interests you is known to grow well in containers. Frequently, specific cultivars are preferred for container culture because they possess characteristics needed for potting. Also study displays at local nurseries and garden centers to see what varieties are used in hanging baskets and other containers or are recommended for use in containers. You may also find certain varieties particularly suited to container gardening listed in garden catalogs.
The Characteristics That Count
When choosing plants for containers, look for those that possess these special attributes:
- Long period of bloom or bloom period that fills a seasonal niche
- Attractive, persistent foliage
- Tendency to branch well without frequent pinching
- Pleasing silhouette
- Good tolerance for dry soil
- Sturdy stems that don't need staking
- Ability to recover quickly from transplanting
- Ornamental features, such as seedheads or berries that prolong visual interest
- "Self-cleaning" flowers that don't need to be manually removed once they fade
Classic Container Plants
Whether you grow them in individual pots or in combination, these care-free plants adapt easily to life in containers:
Annuals: Ageratum, begonia, browallia, chrysanthemum, coleus, cosmos, dusty miller, fan flower, flowering tobacco, fuchsia, geranium, globe amaranth, impatiens, lantana, licorice plant, lobelia, nasturtium, ornamental grasses, pansy, periwinkle, petunia, portulaca, salvia, snapdragon, stock, Swan River daisy, sweet alyssum, sweet potato vine, and verbena all shine when grown in containers.
Perennials: Artemisia, astilbe. balloon flower, bergenia, bugleweed, candytuft, coreopsis, daylily, dead-nettle, dianthus, euphorbia, ferns, hens and chicks, heuchera, hosta, lady's mantle, lamb's ears, lavender, lily, lungwort, ornamental grasses, phormium, primrose, rose campion, stonecrop. sun rose, and thyme all make good container specimens.
Vines: Clematis, scarlet runner bean, sweet pea, and wisteria can all be grown in roomy containers.
Bulbs: Caladium, calla lily, canna, crocus, daffodil, hyacinth, and tulip are good seasonal pot plants.
Shrubs: Azalea, bluebeard, boxwood, camellia, hydrangea, juniper, mugo pine, rose, and viburnum are compact enough to grow in pots.
Trees: Flowering cherry, Japanese maple, and snowbell can be grown in half barrels or big pots.
Groundcovers: Ivy, liriope, and vinca are handsome cascading plants for pot.
Starting Off Right
While it's always important to buy healthy plants, this is especially true of specimens intended for containers. Pots are subject to more stress than open gardens, and because the season for containers is often limited, there is no time to waste nursing sub-standard, struggling plants.You want vigorous youngsters that will quickly mature into strong adults without needing extraordinary care while they grow.
Look for starter plants with fresh green leaves unmarred by spotting or yellowing and sturdy, stocky stems lined with foliage. Make sure the plants are well developed overall, not full on one side but bare on another. Select small plants with robust growth and a good number of buds, rather than larger plants in full flower; younger plants often adapt more quickly and grow more readily in a new location.
Also check the base of the pot. If roots are growing rampantly out of the drain holes, the plant has become "potbound" and may not establish easily when transplanted. Fresh, whitish roots should just be emerging from or visible around the drain holes.
Container Communities
To keep your container collection care-free, place plants together that have similar preferences for light, fertilizer, and water. For example, plants that tolerate hot, dry conditions, such as portulaca, hens and chicks, stonecrop, and sun rose, make a fine container community for sun-drenched decks. And it's easy to satisfy the needs of thirsty shade lovers, such as caladiums, ferns, and impatiens, if they are growing near one another.
Cluster together plants that need training or regular deadheading. You will be much more likely to steer sweet peas toward their trellis or pinch off old blossoms from nasturtiums or pansies if the plants are grown in close quarters. When planning containers for distant places in your landscape, such as near your mailbox or as accents for a rear entry gate, use low-maintenance plants, such as ornamental grasses, sweet potato vine, or juniper.
Chanding With the Seasons
Container gardens are an ideal way to celebrate the changing seasons, because it takes little time or effort to change the plants to seasonal favorites. And, because containers can be kept in protected places, you can often push the growing season a little bit. For example, if you pot up pansies as soon as they are available in late winter and keep them on a deck, sheltered from wind, they'll bloom before the last
snow has passed. Ornamental cabbage and kale will provide rich color through the short days of autumn and become even more colorful in winter.
Some traditional container plants, such as spring hyacinths and summer impatiens, fade quickly after they bloom heavily for several weeks. Rather than lamenting their passing, relegate the faded plants to the compost heap and replace them with plants suited for the coming season.
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