Handouts

Container Gardening

I. Hardscape-Terrace or Rooftop:

A. Hardscape can create a microclimate. It can determine what you will plant and were you will place the pot.

Terraces: They are often enclosed. Walls cut down on air circulation, act as heat traps or reflect sun. Tiled floors can also store/reflect heat.

Rooftops: Do you have a covered area or is it full sun all day? Either/or will effect choice of plants and types of pots. Is it enclosed with walls or railings? Here your pots and plants are subject to winds, storms, hot sun.

II. Containers:

A. Choice of glazed/fired, clay, or plastic, depends on how much you want to spend, where the pot will live and what you will be planting in it.

B. Saucers/ Pot feet/holders, rolling stands. You can use or not depending on what type of plant is in the pot, flooring the pot is on, time of year, availability of water, and if the pot is on the ground level or up on the roof.

C. Potting mix will depend on the type of plant. Additions to the mix: jal, peat moss, charcoal, sand, builders dirt. Additions can also be dictated by where you are placing the pot. Containers on roofs, with plants that offer a lot of leaf surface for the wind to push against, need some extra weight in the bottom of the pot. This prevents the wind from pushing the pot over and breaking the plant.

III. Planting, Pruning, Feeding

A. Choice of plants is not limited. You can grow almost anything in a pot. For some plants you just may need to buy large pots. This is a VERY short list

Easy Vegetables- Cutting/leaf lettuce, bush beans, snap peas, tomatoes, peppers.

Dwarf trees- Citrus, figs, roses, abutilon

Shade-Hanging pots- callisia, ivy, ferns, calathea, begonias, columnea, orchids, anthuriums, browallia, caladiums, jasmine, platycerium-stag horn fern, saxifraga-strawberry plant, scindapsus-golden pothos, thunbergia-black eyed susan vine, zebrina-wandering jew, fuchsia

Shade-Pots- stretocarpus, african violets, gloxinia, begonias, gynura- purple passion vine, impatiens, calla lilly, spathiphyllum, camellia, anthuriums, cyclamen, gardenias, philodendrons

Sun- Hanging pots-lantana, burros tails, moss rose, plectranthus-swedish ivy, many of the sedums,

Sun-Pots- Almost anything! Limited only by what you can find locally. Herbs, hibiscus, palms, ficus, bird of paradise, ginger, roses, perennial flowers, cacti.

Indoors:

Aglaonema or "Chinese Evergreen," excels in relatively low-light. There are many varieties, all prized for their beautiful variegated leaves. These plants are slow growers, enjoy soil that is barely moist, and are not particularly fussy about fertilizer

An old standby is the Aspidistra or cast-iron plant , aptly named since it can withstand more neglect than most other plants. However, if provided with some TLC, this plant can reach three feet. This plant can tolerate night temperatures in the 50s.

Of the palms, only the Kentia palm and the Parlor palm do well in low light. Keep the growing medium constantly moist and fertilize often as these plants are big drinkers and feeders.

Any of the begonias; all have attractive leaves, some have small but pretty flowers. Silver vase- aechmea faschiata, grape ivy, the dumbcanes, false aralia, dracena, fatsia japonica, peperomia, spathiphyllum-peace plants.

B. Pruning, especially on shrubby plants is very important. Roof tops are subject to windy storms. Enclosed courtyards lack air circulation. You need to keep shrubby plants pruned so that air can pass through easily. This prevents the wind upstairs from knocking them over. Downstairs or up plants that are pruned for good air circulation are less apt to be attacked by spider mite, whitefly, or fungus.

C. Feeding is a constant with potted plants. Choices: pelleted slow release, added when potting-Osmocote, liquid fertilizers like Miracle Grow, systemics which fertilize and protect against disease, Granular 5-10-5 or some other formulation again depending on the plant..

If you are driving you can bring in bare root plants. Stop before the check point take them out of their pots, shake off dirt , wrap roots well in wet newspapers and place in a plastic bag, seal with a twist tie being careful to not nick the bark. This should hold them until you get back here to lakeside. Keep the newspaper moist. Repot them after the check!

Most of what RD considers houseplants, we grow outside here! Still very good info on propagation and growing conditions. Extensive plant list. May have to look at Powells as I think it is out of print now.

2. Gardening Without A Garden-Search, Gay, DK Publishing - Lots of themed boxes and pots, also designs small gardens using pots. British publisher, so some of their info on growing conditions might not be the same here!

3. The Practical Guide to Container Gardening, Berry, Susan and Steve Bradley, Storey Books- Discusses where to place pots, propagation, feeding watering. Has a small but good list of plants