Tips for Fabulous Flower Pots

It’s that time of year for planting flower containers. Last frost date is still a few weeks away but if the Home Depot and Garden Center lines are any indication, it seems like we all are ready for flowers and excited to get going. While I will avoid suggesting specific flowers, because this is a personal preference, I will share some tips for having great looking containers.

 

Prepping Your Containers

 

Like everything with gardening, it all starts with the soil. In the case of containers it is best to use potting mix. We use Black Gold Natural and Organic Potting Mix which is a combination of Canadian sphagnum peat moss, composted bark, compost, earthworm castings, perlite and organic fertilizer. Regular potting soil or garden soil can be too dense, which prevents young roots from getting oxygen. Mixes tend to stay more “fluffy” and drain better.

The bigger the container, the better! Small pots do not hold water well and dry out faster.

Fill the containers almost to the top. Too much and the mix runs out when watering and makes a mess. Too little soil drives me crazy. First pot I ever planted 26 years ago, my grandmother looked at it and said I should have put more soil in the pot. I have never forgotten this bit of advice.

Add some fertilizer to the pot at the time of planting if it is not already in your potting mix. Always read the labels to ensure proper application.

Lastly, make sure your pot has a hole in the bottom of it so the pot can drain. Good drainage is super important!!

Spillers, Fillers and Thrillers

Right Flower for the Right Place

We can all agree that picking out the flowers is the fun part. Spillers break the line of the container and give the pot a more natural, looser look. We like vinca, lobelia, sweet potato vine, trailing verbena and trailing petunias. Fillers are the substance of the container. Some common flowers we use are petunias, pansies, verbena, asparagus fern, begonias, impatiens and coleus. Thrillers are the, “wow,” like large dahlias, grasses, geraniums. This is a very basic list of flowers and, hopefully, you can get creative. Don’t forget to pick the right flowers for sun or shade. Nothing is sadder than a fried flower baking in the sun because it should have been in the shade. Flowers will not bloom in shade if they need sun.

Unless you have a greenhouse and have time for your containers to grow, plant a lot of flowers in your containers. Go big so that you can enjoy the container immediately. Why wait all summer for it to grow?

 

Watering Your Containers

I can’t tell you how many pathetic, dried up containers I have seen while someone swears that they watered them. Containers generally need daily water if the weather is hot and dry. It is best to get on a schedule and stick to it. You can decide how much water your containers need based on where you live. Do not stand 15 feet away from the pot and shoot the hose at it. Yes, I have seen this done! I would highly recommend putting drip irrigation into your pots and putting them on a timer. Inexpensive timers can be bought at Home Depot or Lowes. Drip irrigation is kinder to flowers and gives them less of a beating than shooting a hose at them.

Maintenance

Once containers have been planted and are getting regular water, the process is still not done. Maintenance is critical for beautiful flowers. They need to be deadheaded and fertilized regularly. Deadheading is removing dead flowers and certain flowers need this to promote more flowers. Dahlias, cosmos, zinnias and geraniums are a few that need to be deadheaded. Traditional upright petunias need deadheading so that they will not get leggy. Wave petunias, begonias, lobelia and many other annuals are self cleaning. I enjoy deadheading but I know some people who only want containers with self cleaning flowers.

Fertilizing once a week will help promote blooms. We use organic fertilizer specifically for blooming that contains a small percentage of nitrogen, a higher percentage of phosphorous, and a little potassium. Petunias are heavy feeders and benefit from regular fertilization.

 

 Pots, window boxes and hanging baskets are a great way to add color and interest to decks, porches and gardens. I love to move some of my less heavy containers around in the garden to fill in bare spots. Remember to use a good potting mix, water regularly, deadhead and fertilize. Get creative, get those fingers dirty and have fun planting!