Author Teresa Odle
Container gardening is the mainstay of apartment and small-home gardeners. For gardeners with more space, containers add convenience for kitchen garden edibles, and for moving plants that spend winter indoors. There are plenty of reasons to choose containers and plenty of ways to manage water use with container-grown plants.
Choosing The Right Plant
Annuals are great choices for container gardening, since you don’t ever have to repot the plant. And since xeric perennials need little water once established, having some annuals in containers or a small bed is a perfect splurge, especially if the annuals reseed.
It’s true that container plants need more frequent watering, so low-water herbs and other xeric plants make the best choices. But you can grow edibles and any small plant in a container. At least the water for edibles produces food.
When creating arrangements, place plants with similar sun and water needs together. If you really want a centerpiece plant that uses a little more water, find a way to contain it by placing it in a plastic nursery pot (probably a few inches larger than the one it came in) inside a larger decorative one. Underplanting with flowers can disguise the trick that lets you focus a little extra water on one plant without over watering others.
Selecting Containers
It's always fun to repurpose and use fun and funky containers, but typically well-designed plastic or glazed containers work best. Plastic containers usually use the least amount of water, and glazed containers slightly more. Clay dries out quickly, so it’s best reserved for the lowest water users. And although photos always show containers filled to the edges with plants, consider mature growth even for summer annuals. For example, petunias multiply! It’s so fun to create a mini-garden scene with a big grouping of containers, especially if you have the space and money.
Prepare the Container
It’s important to use good soil for container plants and not extra dirt from the hole you just dug for your rose bush! Placing it in a pot just creates a big, clay petri dish for disease, insects and weeds to grow in. Soil also tends to compact more easily in a container. And the nutrients available for flower and fruit production are limited compared with the big, open ground.
You can reduce watering by using a potting mix with polymer crystals that hold some moisture and then release it. Just don’t use a rich mix that retains moisture for cacti or other plants that need well-drained soil.
When choosing organic potting mixes for edibles or other plants, use some caution. Many potting mixes labeled organic are so similar to compost that they contain plenty of nutrients, but are too dense to use alone. A lighter mix helps air and water reach roots. Look for organic fillers such as coco husks. And don’t overfill the pot; you need a few inches at the top for water to sit while it drains down. If you get the soil level too high, water can run out the top of the container.
Water Slowly
The key to healthy container plants and water savings is to water slowly. Flooding a container plant washes out important soil nutrients. Placing a small coffee filter over the drainage hole allows water through but stops soil and nutrients from washing out the bottom. Try to pour slowly from the pail and then return a few minutes later for a second slow watering as you make my way from container to container. Use rain water as much as possible for container watering.
If you have a drip system with good pressure, you can have it set up to water containers, especially grouped one. You could use an olla, which is a clay bottle you bury in the container that slowly seeps water and can be refilled. One of the best qualities of containers is that you can move them to meet shifting sun requirements or whims. And when a plant begins to wilt, it might not need more water – it just may need less sun.
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Author Teresa Odle - Published 12-10-2020 |