Container Garden Checklist

http://www.hgtv.com/landscaping/container-checklist/index.html

Container Checklist

Follow these do's and don'ts in container gardening.

Master gardener Paul James offers tips for creating successful container gardens:

Figure A

Don't forget to cover the drainage hole.

Water should be able to drain freely from the drain hole, which is why James doesn't suggest to cover it with stones or little pieces of broken clay pots. However, as important as it is for water to get out, you also don't want certain critters to get in. Sowbugs, or pillbugs, aren't especially troublesome but can do a number on strawberries and other plants. Earwigs can devastate plants. That's why he prefers to cover the drainage holes of pots with a piece of pantyhose (figure A) or window screen before filling them with potting mix.

Pack the potting mix when filling containers.

Potting mix tends to be fairly light, so if you don't pack it down as you add it to the pot, it will settle the first time you water. This can cause the rootballs of newly planted plants to become exposed and therefore susceptible to drying out.

Figure B

Once you've filled your container about a third of the way full with potting mix, press it firmly with your hands (figure B). Then add another third and firm it again, and so on until ready to plant.

Figure C

Tease the roots.

It's extremely important to loosen or tease the roots of plants (figure C) before sticking them in a pot, especially those that are rootbound. The process may look a bit extreme, but it's actually beneficial.

If you don't tease the roots, they'll just continue to grow in a circle rather than reach out into the surrounding potting mix. When that happens, the plants won't be able to absorb the surrounding water and nutrients, and they'll wilt and lack vigor.

Provide enough headroom.

When filling a container with potting mix, avoid adding the mix all the way up to the rim of the container. Without sufficient headroom at the top of the pot, water will run off rather than soak into the pot. Instead, leave at least an inch of headroom below the rim of the pot (figure D) so thirsty plants will have an opportunity to drink the water.

Water newly potted plants right away--then water again.

The initial watering will likely run out of the drainage hole quickly because of all the pore spaces in the potting mix. However, the mix will settle within a few minutes, at which time it's a good idea to water again slowly, allowing the mix to soak up all the moisture.

Mulch

Container-grown plants benefit from a light layer of mulch. This is especially true for those that are grown in terra-cotta pots, which tend to lose moisture fairly quickly due to the porous nature of the clay.

Figure E

When mulching plants in containers, the trick is to match the mulch to the plant. This hydrangea (figure E) prefers steady moisture and acidic soil, so a one-inch layer of sphagnum moss is ideal. The moss will keep the soil moist between waterings and slowly acidify the soil as well.

Figure F

At the other extreme, the cacti and succulents in this trough (figure F) prefer dry soil and a nearly-neutral, slightly-alkaline soil. In this case, a mulch of pea gravel is perfect because it lets the moisture evaporate and keeps the pH within the ideal range. What's more, the lightly-colored gravel reflects the sun, thereby giving these plants the warm environment in which they thrive.

Similarly, you can use a light layer of sand to mulch cacti and succulents. Sand mulch can also help control the gnats that sometimes seem to pop out of nowhere.

Figure G

Also in the house, decorative, polished stones (figure G) can give containerized houseplants a little something extra. Or you might consider bark mulch made specifically for houseplants.

Figure H

There's always shredded bark mulch (figure H). It works nicely on container plants and enhances their overall look.

Figure I

For plants that are prone to slug attack, consider crushed pecan shells (figure I) because slugs don't like to move across their jagged edges. For something a bit more exotic, try crushed cocoa shells. They also deter slugs and look great. What's more, they smell just like chocolate.

Figure J

Yet another great mulch worthy of consideration is moss. Whether it's sphagnum, Spanish (figure J), or sheet moss, these mosses are all available for purchase in bags.

Figure K

And finally, try this new mulching material--a bag full of terra-cotta balls. Placed around the base of a container plant, especially one in which the base of the plant is highly visible, these balls add a unique decorative touch to a container (figure K).

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Fruit in Containers

http://www.hgtv.com/landscaping/growing-fruit-in-containers/index.html

Growing Fruit in Containers

Extend your garden's harvest by growing citrus, blueberries and more fruiting plants in pots.

If you crave fresh, homegrown fruit picked ripe from the plant, consider growing fruit in containers at home. Even if your garden is already crammed full of plants or your yard consists of a tiny patio with limited space, there are a variety of fruiting shrubs and trees that will produce a bountiful harvest when grown in pots.

Fruit gardener Ed Laivo grows many varieties in containers, including citrus, figs, avocados, jujubes, pomegranates, pawpaws and even cherries.

Blueberries are among his favorites for containers. Blueberry plants are notoriously fussy about the pH level in soil. In pots, however, a high-acid potting soil takes care of that. "Blueberries are the easiest fruit to grow in containers," he says.

One group of fruit trees, however, doesn't make great container plants. "Peaches, plums, nectarines and other stone fruit are so vigorous that generally the roots will outgrow the container in a short period of time and, in some cases, even before the tree is able to produce fruit."

Planting fruit trees in containers

To grow healthy container trees for years to come, it's important to start with good soil. Laivo recommends using a mixture of three parts potting soil to one part perlite and one part 1/4-inch pine bark. The perlite helps to oxygenate the soil, while the bark adds organic matter to help the soil mixture break down more readily.

When the soil mixture is ready, Laivo adds just enough of the mix to the bottom of a plastic container so that the tree's root ball will sit about three inches from the rim of the pot. Laivo uses plastic pots because they're durable and easy to move. He firmly presses the soil down in the pot to remove any air pockets. Then he places the fruit tree into the pot and adds more soil mix around the sides and top of the root ball, firmly pressing it in place. When the fruit tree is planted in its new pot, Laivo recommends adding a layer of mulch as a top dressing. This will help to conserve moisture, keep weeds down and add some nutrients to the soil. Keep plants watered and don't allow them to dry out completely.

Painting the bark

Laivo paints the bark from soil level up to where the major scaffolding limbs begin, using white interior latex paint diluted 50 percent with water. Painting the tree's trunk protects the bark from nature's elements. It also makes it easier to see if there is insect damage.

Pruning — the roots as well as the top

Root pruning helps to maintain smaller sized, healthier plants by keeping the roots from becoming pot bound. Pruning the roots also stimulates root growth. Laivo recommends removing about one third of the roots from the root ball; he uses a square point shovel to cut the roots. This process is best done in early spring when the plants are getting ready to put forth a lot of new growth.

Laivo also keeps his fruit trees pruned to about eight feet tall. This helps to keep the trees at a manageable size for easy harvest. "Pruning helps to keep plants under control. Plants absolutely adapt if you make them adapt. It's not a question of whether or not the plant is going to grow too big; it's a question of whether or not you're going to let the plant grow too big," he says.

Final note

If there is a downside to growing fruit in pots, it's that containerized trees won't produce as much fruit as a tree planted in the ground. The upside? They often bear fruit a year or two earlier.

Enjoy it while it lasts. "In a container, the oldest one I've probably worked with is about 10 years old. After 10 years, the trees get pretty mangled from all the aggressive root pruning. So after 10 years, you should look at replacing the trees," says Laivo. Either transplant the tree into the ground or throw it away and start fresh with a new plant.

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Container Gardens

Gardening with containers is a way to keep the outside

just as organized as the inside of your home.

The upkeep is minimum and containers allow you to change up the landscape often.

You can even transfer the containers inside your home to bring an outdoor oasis indoors.

Here are some tips from HGTV.com

Gardens can be quite interesting if they're designed in a series of discreet spaces made to feel like a little collection of rooms. An easy way to create these garden rooms is by using pots. Container gardener Steve Silk offers tips on how to design and arrange containers to add beauty to the landscape:

Use pots to define garden spaces. Cluster small- to large-sized containers to enclose a garden space or frame a view. Create "hallways" through a space by placing pots with different shapes and sizes to provide a sense of enclosure; place pots on risers to make plants look taller.

When creating any kind of garden space, whether it's a room or a hallway, start with a corner. "As long as you have strong corners, it feels much more like a room," says Steve. "Then you can easily connect the dots between the corners and enclose your room."

Add architectural interest with variety in your potted collections. Mix it up with a variety of sculptural plants with strong shapes to draw attention. For example, elephant ear, which is a tropical, has much different needs than agave, which is a succulent. By planting them in individual containers, each plant gets the ideal soil, fertilizer and watering regimen to suit its needs, and you can play around with the various textures, shapes and colors of these plants.

Take advantage of containers as a forgiving (and movable) form of garden design. If you don't like the way the pots look together, simply move one out and another one in until you get something you like.

Use containers as a means of traffic control. If you want to get people to slow down, group as many pots together as possible to form a nice, tight passageway. This naturally causes garden visitors to slow down as they make their way through the space.

Place fragrant plants near walkways for a sensory-enhanced stroll.It's almost impossible to walk right through a space without detecting the fragrance of pineapple sage, scented geraniums, rosemary, lavender and other herbs.

Use pots to signal change in the landscape. Planters can handily mark transition areas in the garden — the beginning of a flight of stairs, a path or an entry to a new garden space.

Combine containers with annuals, perennials and other plants in complementary colors. Enhance the look of a colorful pot with matching or contrasting seasonal flowers and foliage.

Even empty pots can be useful in the garden. "Find a pot with a nice sculptural form or beautiful color, and it becomes an art object all on its own," says Steve. Place an interesting pot as a focal point or to anchor a seating area.

Cards on a Wire

Cards on a Wire, originally uploaded by It's Great To Be Home.

Great DIY idea. take out some of the girlishness and it would be a really interesting focal point