Planting your own containers can be a fun and rewarding activity! Well designed and planted containers should thrive until frost – just follow these guidelines for success!
- Light Requirements: Will your container be growing in full sun, part sun or full shade? Ensure you only use suitable plants.
- Plant Habit: When choosing plants, include a ‘Thriller’, ‘Filler’ and a ‘Spiller’. This combination of an exciting upright plant, a few mounding fillers and a few trailers is a great method to remember. Some plants overlap in their definitions – for example some plants can be mounding trailers that act as both ‘fillers’ and ‘spillers’.
- Less is More: Depending on container size, use only 3 or 4 varieties per container, but include a few plants of each. Our 14″ and 16″ round containers consist only of 3 varieties, but 7 plants.
- Colours: Consider a colour theme, ie. blue and yellow or my favourite right now – pink and orange – yes it truly does look stunning!! Single colours can look very classy, ie. all white.
- Foliage: Have you seen some of the stunning foliage varieties of Coleus or Sweet Potato Vine that we grow? Ensure you use at least 1 foliage plant for every 2 or 3 flowering plants.
- Potting Compost: This can make all the difference to the success of your container. Use fresh potting compost each year and choose a grower quality professional product. For containers in full sun, windy locations or those that will get minimum care, use our Fafard #2 compost which is a heavy blend designed to help hold moisture.
- Fertilizer: Last, but by no means least, please fertilize! We sell 2 types of fertilizer – soluble, that is applied as you water and slow release granular, which can be applied to the surface of the soil and will last the growing season. A combination of the 2 types is ideal.
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