Container Gardening Tips – Plan and Choose Pots

Container gardening is an attractive and simple way to garden. However, like all gardening projects there are several aspects of making a movable oasis flourish and fit with the rest of the landscape and home style. Planning and following these easy ideas practically guarantee a successful container garden and a pleasing vista for yourself and guests.

Have a Plan Before Buying Containers

Make a sketch or at the very least visualize a mixture of pot sizes, shapes and colors. There are unlimited possibilities and varieties of containers. These range from the traditional to the use of discarded watering cans, wheelbarrows, iron pots, jugs or just about anything else the gardener can find.

Traditional containers can range from large to small and from a variety of materials including wood, glass, clay or terracotta, fiberglass, and plastic, each with advantages and disadvantages. Choosing the type and number of pots is important and needs to be determined based on the location, the landscaping and the preferences of the gardener.

Visualize how containers will be arranged; clusters of varying sizes and colors or window boxes or hanging baskets. Colorful or unusual containers are perfect for highly visible areas such as porches, steps, decks, patios and even adding to existing flower beds. Hanging baskets don’t have to hang from porches or overhangs. Placing baskets in trees or even laying them on the ground to create a ‚”spill over” effect creates a colorful and unique look. Knowing where the containers will be placed also helps determine the types of plants needed for the container garden plan.

Choosing Containers

• Consider the local climate- Choosing some of the newer plastic or fiberglass pots allows year round use in colder areas, while terracotta and ceramic pots are subject to cracking in cold months. Wooden planter boxes will also work well in colder climates but be sure to use plastic liners to avoid wood rot. The gardener needs to determine if the pots and containers will be left out year round or removed and stored in winter months.
• Picking the container size – Ensure that containers are chosen that are large enough to offer growth room for plant roots. There are an unlimited variety of containers available for your container garden from small pots to large boxes and planters. Before buying these know what plants are going to be used and the potential root ball space needed.
• When plants are first potted there should be plenty of space and even a sparse look to the pots to allow growth. The gardening plan should take into consideration plants types, mixing sizes and heights of fully grown plants. Plants can include bulbs, almost all perennials, annuals, herbs, vegetables and even small shrubs and roses.
• Pot drainage- Containers must provide good drainage, usually through holes or other openings at the bottom or sides unless a water garden is planned. When purchasing pots that will be placed on decks and stairs make sure to buy saucers to place under the containers to hold the runoff water. This will save costly staining and rotting of patios and decks.

In the event that the gardener wants to use a container without holes, the container should be filled with gravel, broken pot fragments from older pots or rocks to allow drainage for plants. When watering container plants ensure that watering is continued long enough to reach and soak the roots, usually until water runs out of the bottom of the pots. Now it’s time to select plants and begin potting.