Container gardens offer endless possibilities for small spaces or as focal points in larger landscapes. Containers range from traditional pots to buckets with holes, or castoff boots!
How much water a container needs will depend on its size and material ‐ is it porous or glazed pottery, metal, wood or plastic? Be sure you have a handy water source.
Here are a few easy recipes for annual flower and foliage combinations that use plants listed in Growing Tips 22 + 23, as well as other plants especially useful for containers.
Recipes for Success
For Sun - At Least 6 Hours of Sun:
These may need twice daily watering, depending on weather conditions.
Medium Container - 15" to 24" diameter
Petunias - 2 plants, same color: yellow, lime, or violet
Trailing Petunias (Calibrochoa) - 2 plants, same color: yellow, lime, or violet
Sweet Potato Vine - 1 plant, purple or "black"
Large Container - larger than 24" diameter
Marigold (French Marigolds) - 4 plants, 2 each of different color patterns
Salvia - 2 plants, blue, indigo, or violet
Ornamental Pepper - 1 plant
Feather Grass (Stipa) - 1 plant
Window Box - 24" long
Geranium - 3 plants, bold pink
Verbena - 2 plants, dark blue, indigo, or violet
Dusty Miller - 2 plants, silver
For Shade - Less Than 6 Hours of Sun:
Check water needs daily.
Medium Container - 15" to 24" diameter
Wax Begonia - 3 plants, pink
Bloodleaf (Iresine) - 2 plants, dark purple
Lobelia - 4 plants, light blue
Large Container - larger than 24" diameter
New Guinea Impatiens - 2 plants, coral or salmon
Wishbone Flower (Torenia) - 3 plants, yellow
Coleus - 2 plants, multi-colored, copper, yellow, green
Sedge - 1 plant, golden-brown
Window Box - 24" long
Rieger Begonia - 2 plants, pink
Rex Begonia - 2 plants, multi: dark with deep pink
Browalia - 3 plants, white
Seven Simple Steps:
- Choose a soilless mix designed for container growing for best results. Avoid using garden soil.
- Ensure good drainage. Shield holes in the bottom of the container with pebbles or pottery shards to prevent blockage.
- Moisten the mix lightly before planting.
- Fill the container – not tightly! – to within several inches of the top rim.
- Plant transplants 3” – 8“ inches apart. Adjust for container size and mature plant size.
- Fertilize with a water‐soluble or a slow release product according to directions.
- Water with care. Check daily!→ See Growing Tips 6 Watering New Plantings
Color, Height, Texture
- Color ideas: Choose complementary colors such as yellows and blues, or monochromatic selections such as shades of pinks or earth tones.
- Height: Combine trailing and spilling plants with bushy or filler plants. In larger containers, add tall vertical grasses or climbers on supports.
- Texture: Mix it up with ruffled plants, big leaved, narrow leaved, and stiff, spiky plants. Combine tiny and large flowers with foliage plants.
Tips
- Elevate pots on supports or wheeled platforms to allow for drainage and prevent mold and staining of surfaces.
- Empty pottery containers before hard frost to prevent cracking.
Resources
http://ag.umass.edu/resources/home-lawn-garden
http://www.mass.gov/agr/massgrown/
https://www.massflowergrowers.com/