HOW TO SELECT POTS FOR CONTAINER GARDENING
It’s May, and many people want to plant container gardens to use on their walkways, patios, balconies, or around the pool.
We pride ourselves on carrying an extensive selection of many styles and makes of containers. My favorites are the colorful glazed containers. These glazed containers come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. I have numerous glazed containers around my house—some of which I have had for years. I have never had a problem with them overwintering.
Choosing containers isn’t too tricky. You want your container to work for you. Two things I stress with customers are to be sure that the containers have a drainage hole in the bottom, and the second thing I advise is selecting the correct size container. One central question is: what comes first—the plants or the choice of the container? It’s like the question, which came first, the chicken or the egg? I believe the size of the container will dictate the plant selection, not vice versa.
TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL CONTAINER GARDENS
As I tell people, container gardening is a form of landscaping. To be a successful container gardener, it is essential to keep in mind that basic landscape principles also apply to container gardening.
- Decide where you want to place the container. Sun exposure will determine the plant selection.
- Decide the size of container for your space. The size of container, along with the sunlight, will determine what plants and how many plants will do best. For me, larger the better. I feel that larger containers, with more space and soil, require less maintenance and gives you more options when it comes to plant selection.
- Soil is very important for success. You want a good quality potting soil that is loose and well draining. I like to add a little organic compost and earthworm castings to my soil and gives the soil and plants lots of nutrients.
- Fertilizing is essential for success. I like to start out using ESPOMA BIO-TONE at the time of planting. Bio-Tone is a root stimulator. Remember, there is only so much soil in a container for the plants to get nutrients. So, it is important to do timely feeding.
Let your creativity flow this spring and summer and create those “one-of-a-kind” container gardens and enjoy your creation and its beauty.
Most importantly, DON’T BE AFRAID OF FAILURE!! We have all experienced failure. With failure comes experience, comes knowledge, so embrace any failure and turn it around. Don’t let failure win.
PLANT A LITTLE HAPPINESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!