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Container gardening tips

With container gardening it's easy to be adventurous even if you have just a few square feet of patio, deck, balcony or rooftop.

And because plantings can be changed with the seasons, pots, hanging baskets and window boxes offer scope for originality.

In spring, try bulbs and pansies; then colorful summer and fall annuals - even perennials or ornamental grasses.


Container gardening design basics:

Container gardening

When container gardening, tailor your plantings to available light. In low light, use shade-tolerant plants with lush foliage – consider hosta heuchera, ivy, coleus and licorice plant (Helichrysum petiolare).

Rule number one is that all containers must have holes for adequate drainage.

Remember that the scale of the outdoors demands bigger gestures, so plant up the largest pots you can afford. One large container is better than five small ones.

Try to feature at least three focal point plants per pot and then add filler plants around them. Plant in odd numbers for a more pleasing arrangement.

Plants in containers won't thrive if you don't fertilize. If you find this job too time-consuming, there's an easy way to do it: just mix slow-release fertilizer pellets into top layer of potting soil. As you water throughout the season, controlled amounts of fertilizer are released each time.

More container gardening tips:

  • When grouping containers, they don't all have to be the same shape or contain the same plants, but there should be one element that ties the picture together, such as a particularly distinctive plant repeated in each pot, or having all the pots of the same material.


  • Try not to mix styles in the same grouping of pots. Terra cotta tends to be casual, while stone and cast iron are formal, so keep these container types separate, perhaps a pair of formal stone urns at the front door and a casual grouping in clay on the back patio.


  • Think foliage as well as flowers. Time-tested foliage combinations are larger leaves set against filigreed foliage. Try growing herbs in containers or even vegetables.


  • Try using perennials in containers. Hostas, hens and chicks (Sempervivum species) or small standard roses add an air of sophistication to containers. In fall, remove from containers and plant into a flowerbed.


  • Daily watering is a must during the hot months of summer, so consider placing your pots into groups and installing an easy-maintenance drip patio irrigation systemicon that can water them automatically.


  • Another watering solution is self-watering containers which have a water reservoir built in so you don't have to water daily. See self-watering containersicon, shown in the picture here.


  • Another ingenious idea is an adjustable water reservoiricon that you can use to convert an ordinary pot into a self-watering planter.


  • When gardening season is over, empty pots that aren't frost-proof of their contents, including potting mix, and store in a dry place such as a garage, garden shed or basement.

For more information:

Container gardening planting tips, plus the best pots

Tips for balcony and roof gardening

Container arrangements for winter

Flower Gardening Home