While I can’t seem to stop experimenting when it comes to the perennials in my flower beds, I’m much more consistent when it comes to my flower pots! I always reserve my pots for planting annuals, because they only last one season anyway, and it’s nice not to worry about them over the winter.
I’ve been planting and maintaining flower pots more or less the same way for over 20 years now. So while I may not have a breadth of knowledge when it comes to potted plants generally, I do have a depth of both knowledge and experience when it comes to growing flowers, and more specifically, petunias! :-)
(Speaking of petunias, and in case you’re interested in planting some this year, I thought I’d mention that I grew Supertunias for the first time last year. To say they thrived would be an understatement, because by midsummer, I had so many petunias that they were actually spilling over the edges and down the sides of my massive planters. Super, indeed!)
Now that planting season is upon us, I thought that I’d share my best tips and tricks for planting flower pots with you in today’s post. Whether you’re new to the game or just want to refresh your memory before getting your hands dirty, these tips will help you plant beautiful, healthy flower pots that you can enjoy all season long! :-)
11 Tips For Planting Flower Pots That Will Thrive
1. Choose Large Pots
While it’s easy to assume that larger pots require more care, it’s actually easier to grow plants in large containers than smaller ones. This is because large containers hold more soil, and the more soil there is in the container, the more moisture it will hold on to.
Small pots, on the other hand, have less soil, making them much more susceptible to drying out during hot weather. (This is particularly true for small hanging baskets, which may need to be watered upwards of twice per day to keep them from drying out.)
2. Don’t Forget About Drainage
When shopping for pots, look for ones with drainage holes at the bottom. Drainage holes allow excess water to escape out of the bottom of the pot, helping to prevent issues that can arise from overwatering (like withering leaves, wilting, and even root rot.)
For small or medium sized pots, the ideal size for drainage holes is about 1/2” in diameter, while larger pots should have holes that are about 1” in diameter. (And despite what you might read online, filling the bottom of a pot with stones, gravel, or other materials is not an adequate substitute for drainage holes!)
3. Fill Pots With Soil Only
And speaking of putting stuff in the bottom of your pots (a popular “plant hack” I often come across online), I would advise against it. Some people will fill the bottom portion of their larger pots with packing peanuts, empty containers, and other junk material because it makes the pots less heavy, but it also offsets the benefit of using a large pot in the first place!
The less soil you have in your pot, the more prone it will be to drying out. If you still want to be able to move your pots around once they’re planted, you’re better off investing in a few rolling plant stands rather than filling your pots with anything other than soil and plants!
4. Use The Right Type Of Soil
But which type of soil should you use? Look for soil that is specifically recommended for use in pots or containers, such as potting soil, raised bed soil, etc. These light and airy soils contain moss and other organic materials that help to retain moisture and deliver a steady supply of oxygen to potted plant’s roots.
5. Make A List Before You Shop
As tempting as it can be to simply run off to your local nursery or garden supply center and start shopping, it’s better to have a plan before you go! Having a list of plants to look for, supplies, and equipment will help you avoid “plant panic” once you’re actually roaming the nursery aisles.
At the very least, you’ll want to decide how many pots you’ll be planting and where you want to put them. That way you’ll have an idea of what plants to look for based on size and how much sun they’ll get throughout the day.
6. Group Plants With Similar Needs Together
While I like to stick with one type of flower in one or two colors in my plant, that’s just my personal preference! You can definitely mix and match plant types in your pots—as long as they have similar needs, that is!
More Ideas You'll Love
Ideally, all the plants sharing the same pot should have similar water and sunlight requirements. If you’re not sure if two plants will play nicely together in one pot, ask a salesperson at the nursery or garden center and they should be able to help you out!
7. Read The Plant Tags
Another good source of information about a plant’s needs? Its plant tag! Be sure to read the tags that come with your plants to learn important details like how big it will get, how much light and water it needs, how long it will grow, and its growing “habit.”
Habits refer to a plant’s expected shape and growing behaviors, which is especially important to know if you’re mixing and matching different plants in the same pot. For instance, you could put a plant with an upright habit in the center of your pot where it can grow tall, then add plants with a mounding habit to fill in the space around the taller plant.
For added drama, put plants with a trailing habit at the very edge of your pots where they will drape artfully over the sides as they grow. (Oh, and don’t bother trying to keep track of all those tags—just snap a photo of each one with your phone so you can reference it later.)
8. Tease Twisted Roots
Plant starts at nurseries and garden centers are often root-bound in their containers, meaning that the roots have run out of room inside the container. It’s easy to tell whether a plant is root-bound or not, because the roots will be visibly coiled, twisted, and growing in the shape of the container.
When planting root-bound plants, it’s a good idea to “tease” the roots before putting them in their holes. Just use your fingers to loosen up the tangled roots, which will make it easier for your plant to make itself at home in its new container.
9. Don’t Pack The Soil Down
When planting pots, position the largest ones first before moving onto the smaller ones. And when you’re burying the root balls of your plants, you want to firm the soil around the plant without packing it down tightly.
Packing the soil too firmly makes it harder for water, light, and air to get to your plants roots, so try firm the soil around your plants just enough that they’ll stay upright.
10. Water Right After Planting
Just like you would when planting a vegetable garden or flower bed, it’s important to water pots immediately after planting. (Try to water them as gently as possible to avoid doing any damage, preferably using a rainshower-style watering can or hose attachment.)
The goal is to completely soak the soil, so you may have to water newly planted pots a few times over the course of a few minutes until you see water coming out the bottom of the pot. (Oh, and if you’re doing the planting in one spot and then moving them to their final destination, it’ll be a lot easier to move them before watering them!)
More Ideas You'll Love
11. Elevate Your Pots
Once you’ve planted your pots, consider raising them off the ground by setting them on plant stands, casters, or “feet.” This simple measure can help prevent damage and discoloration to decks, concrete, and other surfaces, while also promoting airflow and drainage to keep your plants happy and healthy.
What are your favorite flowers to grow, or what flowers would you like to try growing?
I miss my garden! Now I’m in a duplex but the ground is hard as a rock. I bought (yrs. ago) 2 corner plants shelves for my deck. I now buy hanging plants from a nursery. One I hang, the others go on the shelves. I have one plant the lady next door gave me but it’s a tropical plant (in New England, no less!). I believe it’s part of the Mandella(sp) family. I’ve been nursing it inside all winter. It looks like there’s 3 plants. I know it’s an upright vine. It needs a trim but there’s also green growth. I’m taking it to the nursery and let them figure it out. They’re the experts on potting but hopefully I can save it. I’m always on the lookout for pots with red, white & blue flowers that can withstand the heat and I drape my star-shaped red, white & blue fairy lights on them all summer. The lights are battery-operated so (just in case) I wrap the battery box in a baggy. It’s been a long winter!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Please please stop using Miracle Gro. It contains chemicals and salts that are harmful to your plants and the earth. Google it. There are many sources that will explain. The salts can actually burn your plants and the chemicals get washed into the earth and kill beneficial worms and other insects. Eventually all these chemicals get washed into waterways and the ocean. Use compost, that is what nature uses.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Since I am out of work – what can I use for home-made fertilizer for flowers and veggies grown in containers?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Make your own compost with mostly leaves and some kitchen scraps. Sometimes you can get free or cheap bins from a local government agency. Look up You Bet Your Garden podcast for many tips on composting and gardening. You could start a worm bin which would make compost faster. If you can afford it to start buy organic compost
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Cheers for this extremely good posts. I was wanting to
Please log in or create a free account to comment.know whether you were planning of publishing similar posts to this.
Continue writing excellent articles!
I am genuinely thankful to the owner of this web site who has shared this impressive paragraph at here.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your website and in accession capital
Please log in or create a free account to comment.to say that I get actually loved account your weblog posts.
Anyway I will be subscribing to your feeds or even I fulfillment you get
admission to consistently quickly.
Nice post. I was checking continuously this blog and
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I am impressed! Very helpful information specifically the last part :) I care for such information much.
I was seeking this particular info for a very long time.
Thank you and good luck.
How about providing oil changes for those
Please log in or create a free account to comment.driving to the food bank to pick up food for the
week. There is a limit to how much financial aid a homeowner can receive through RRAP, depending
on your geographical location. Another option is to help a non-profit with storage space.
Wow, that’s what I was looking for, what a stuff! existing here at
Please log in or create a free account to comment.this blog, thanks admin of this website.
The most favorable are those where a prosecutor is willing to
Please log in or create a free account to comment.reduce a drinking and driving charge to a less serious traffic violation. Here are a handful of positive aspects of
selecting a excellent DUI legal professional:. A DUI lawyer is not
there to excuse all your mistakes and let you off Scott-free
if you have been drinking and driving.
Hmm it seems like your website ate my first comment (it was super long) so I guess I’ll
Please log in or create a free account to comment.just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog.
I too am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to everything.
Do you have any points for beginner blog writers? I’d certainly
appreciate it.
This patient is hard to cure of superficial manifestations because the root of
Please log in or create a free account to comment.his condition is this deeply rooted miasma and as soon as one symptom is gone another pops up.
The internet & Long distance Relationships When the relationship
starts through the internet without the couple seeing
each other the problem becomes even bigger. Teecee Go writes
articles focusing on love, romance and save relationship helping people get back with their ex.
* Do you need training in massage that is easy
Please log in or create a free account to comment.on your hands and wrists. Marion Mccants enjoys writing about massage chair
recliner and heated massage chair as well as related products.
A Sarasota, FL massage spa recommends getting regular massage treatments to keep your mind and body healthy and free from stress.
Hey there! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to
Please log in or create a free account to comment.give a quick shout out and say I really enjoy reading through your
blog posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that go over the same subjects?
Thank you so much!
Hello very nice site!! Man .. Beautiful .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your blog and take the feeds also?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m happy to seek out a lot of useful information here in the
put up, we’d like develop more techniques on this regard, thank you for sharing.
. . . . .
Terrific post however I was wondering if you could
write a litte more on this topic? I’d be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit more.
Thank you!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You’ve got a really good website, Pleased I discovered it through search engines.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Greate pieces. Keep writing such kind of information on your blog.
Im really impressed by it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hello there, You have done a fantastic job. I will definitely digg
it and in my opinion suggest to my friends. I am sure they’ll be benefited from this site.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about gardening.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Regards
Wow! In the end I got a weblog from where I be able to in fact obtain valuable information concerning my study and knowledge.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Very soon this web site will be famous amid all blog visitors, due to it’s pleasant articles
Please log in or create a free account to comment.or reviews
Undeniably believe that which you said. Your favorite reason appeared to
Please log in or create a free account to comment.bee on the net the simplest thing to be aware of. I saay to you, I certainly get irked while people
consider worries that they just do nott know about.
You managed to hit the nail upon thhe top and also defined out thhe wyole thing without having side-effects , people can take a
signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thanks
We’re a bunch of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our community.
Your website offered us with useful info to work
Please log in or create a free account to comment.on. You’ve done an impressive job and our whole neighborhood will likely be thankful to you.
Good respond in return of this matter with firm arguments and describing everything regarding
Please log in or create a free account to comment.that.
But the true reflection of an organization stands in the customers, not
Please log in or create a free account to comment.the businesses website claims.