Plant Beauty in Convenient Packages: Container Gardening Mary Meyer,Professor,University of Minnesota Copyright © 2007 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.

Containers for plants can be anything!! As long as it has: Drainage!!

Plant containers can be anything that holds soil !! Remember: Drainage

Know your plant’s moisture requirements ! Moisture-loving plants can stand in water: bacopa, peace lily, cannas. Plastic pots are good for these plants. Most plants cannot stand in water and need oxygen as much as moisture. Double pot these or use containers with several drainage holes. Dry loving plants require drainage and pots that dry out: terra cotta, or clay. Plastic is worse for these plants.

Container options: terra cotta or clay Classic choice because it is great for plant root growth: provides good air or oxygen exchange. Heavy Dries out quickly Develops mold, salts etching

Container options: plastic & fiberglass Lightweight, maybe too lightweight Hold moisture longer, maybe too long No staining Colorful, can be decorative and attractive

Container options: wood Minimum temperature fluctuation: good insulators Needs replacing eventually, can last many years Informal, natural appearance

Container options: glazed ceramic Beautiful Non-porous and can be too airtight for root growth May clash with plants flowers and foliage Phormium, New Zealand flax

Container options: metal Little insulation: can be very hot or very cold, less of a problem in large containers Can be very attractive

Container options: stone, hypertufa troughs Heavy in weight and cost Harder to find Moss grows on containers Drainage may be a problem.

Traditional Container Soil Mix: *1 part garden soil *1 part peatmoss (wet first: soak in a bucket) *1 part sand Use new soil each year.

Most people use synthetic soil. Lightweight; holds water and air; ideal for plant growth.

CoccCocc Coconut fiber or coir is in the ingredients.

Slow release fertilizer is in this potting soil, but in a very small amount.

Container plants need fertilizer. You can use a slow release fertilizer in the soil mix and weekly liquid fertilizer applications for actively growing flowering annuals in containers.

Watering: very important Daily in summer Small and hanging containers need extra care Type of container type makes a big difference

Pouches require lots of water, use a piece of hose in the back of the pouch.

What plants should you use? It depends on: Site Personal preference Color scheme Purpose: food, color, hide/cover, frame, soften, attract attention

Hot Sites call for careful plant selection. Purple or pink fountaingrass loves sun and warm or hot locations

Shade is easier: Begonia‘Dragon Wings’,great container plant.

Hidcote, England Fuchsia: likes cool weather and lots of moisture.

Osteospermum ’Orange Symphony’ likes cool weather; opens with sun

Personal Preference formal informal

Color scheme: red and pink

White color theme: featherreed grass ’Overdam’ Miscanthus sinensis ’Variegatus’, caladium and Zinnia angustifolia ’Crystal White’

Purpose: define a patio: Sissinghurst white garden

Define a bench: Plectranthus,sweet potato vine‘Margarita’,coleus,supertunia

Fuschia,Carex buchananii, licorice plant,nasturtium,fan flower.

Decorate: Denver Botanic Garden: Up on the Roof

Define or make a new garden with just containers

Place plants where there is no soil access.

Cover a bare wall: use tough plants.

Containers allow you to grow plants where there is no access to the soil.

Highlight a special plant collection: carnivorous plants; herbs

Denver Botanic Garden: a trough for every county, showing their native plants.

Mini-landscape: Trough Gardens; Rice Creek Gardens.

Use containers to feature an area: entryway, walkway, door, bench.

Sissinghurst entryway

Containers can highlight a flower border

Combinations for Containers Resources, fun websites: Ball Horticultural, Inc. click on: Combinationshttp://

Proven Winners: A. Lysimachia ‘Goldilocks’ 2 plants B. Lobelia ‘Laguna Sky Blue’ 3plants C. Petunia ‘Supertunia Double Purple’ 2plants “Pennies from Heaven” Proven Winners AA B B C C B

New forms of old favorites

Nasella or (Stipa) tenuissima, pony tails, Mexican Feather Grass; Osteospermum, Angelonia’Angelface Blue’, Argyanthemum ‘Butterfly’

Scirpus cernus,fiber optic grass; vinca,dusty miller,viola

Tibouchina grandiflora, large leafed gloryflower is a South American flowering tree,tropical plant.

Tropical look: Olbrich Gardens, Madison, WI Use coarse and fine textured plants. A banana shredded from hail at the Arboretum.

Nicotiana sylvestris, flowering tobacco and Hibiscus

Containers for food and horticultural therapy Use raised beds for elders, children, or where soil is very poor.

Container vegetables require: 1. Full sun 2. Lots of water 3. Fertilizer 4. Rule of thumb for container size: 3 gal of soil for every 1’ of plant

William Baffin hardy shrub rose, probably some roots in the ground, roots cannot survive above ground winters in Minnesota.

Containers for all Seasons

Containers can provide beauty and interest in winter. In our zone 4, nothing survives the winter in a container, without significant protection.

Further References: Best Annuals for Minnesota: St. Paul (USDA Winter Hardiness Z4; Heat Z5; 169 growing days) Books: Contain Yourself by Kerstin P. Ouellet, Ball Publishing.

. Copyright © 2007 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.