A First Landscape: 2

May 17, 2006 Georgene A. Bramlage

The quickest way to bring flowers and color into the residential landscape is by planting containers full of bright and interesting plants.

Setting up containers with vivid and attention-grabbing plant combinations will enhance even the newest and roughest residential landscape. This undertaking is definitely time well spent. Success demands that an individual look closely at

• growing requirements of desired plants;
• growth habits such as mature shape and size of tops and roots; and
• textures and colors of stems, leaves, and flowers.

This project leads to homeowners:

• knowing more about local environmental factors that play a role in designing home landscapes;
• recognizing the suitability or inappropriateness of some desired plants; and
• developing a sense of which plants perform well with others.

1. Choose an Appropriate Container

• Select one approximately ⅓ to ⅔ deeper (or higher) than the anticipated height of the largest plant intended for the container.
• Ensure adequate drainage. If necessary, drill drainage holes in the bottom.
• Line wooden barrels, if they have been used to store wine or olive oil, with plastic lining that has adequate drainage holes.
• Think about self-watering pots available through retailers like Gardener's Supply Company.

2. Prepare the Container Bottom (This step is not necessary if using self-watering pots.)

• If using a large container, cover the bottom with at least one inch of small-to-medium size stones, broken terra cotta, dry leaves, or non-biodegradable packing peanuts. This reduces weight of the pot and cuts down on amount of soil needed.
• Place one of the following, cut to size, on top of drainage material:
  • an old stocking cut open flat,
  • landscape fabric,
  • fine mesh screen, or
  • a new vacuum cleaner filter.
  (These barriers prevent quantities of soil from sifting down and out of the container.)

3. Obtain and Dampen Soil

• One of the commercially available soil-less mixes or container mixes is the best option.
• Do not use garden soil because of variables like fertility, drainage, insects and diseases.
• To dampen soil in the bag, cut a large slit near the top of the bag and slowly add water. Allow the bag and soil to sit from one to several hours; add more water as required until soil is thoroughly damp.
(This method is less messy than putting soil into container and then wetting it.)

4. Fill Container with Damp Medium and Fertilizer

• Allow about one inch of space between soil line and top of container to prevent irrigation water from spilling over the top.
• Add slow-release fertilizer, according to package directions, if not present in soil mix.
• Rates of fertilizer release usually depend upon soil moisture and temperature. So, availability of nutrients is not always predictable or constant.
• Watering with a dilute water-based fertilizer like Miracle-Gro® LiquaFeed™ is usually beneficial to container plants even if slow-release fertilizer is in the soil mix.

Choosing plants and some examples of unique combinations are to be found in the next article.

This series begins with A Homeowner's First Landscape.

©

Text and photograph by Georgene A. Bramlage, May 2006. Reproduction without permission prohibited.

The copyright of the article A First Landscape: 2 in Landscaping is owned by Georgene A. Bramlage. Permission to republish A First Landscape: 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.