Have you ever drooled over gorgeous container gardens in garden centers and shown in magazines or television? These showpieces lavishly use large, unusual varieties. Beautiful, yes, but costly.
Here is how to plant beautiful pots full of flowers when you are on a budget.
- Pick the right pots
- Use good potting soil
- Buy flowers that work in pots by the flat or multi-pack
- Fill containers with soil, then plant flowers
- Water as needed; fertilize weekly
We’ll explain more about each of these in future posts.
1. Pick the Right Pot for Container Flowers
The ideal pot has drainage, is wide enough to hold several plants, and not too deep. Forget the elaborate although beautiful cement urns and look for a durable plastic pot. If you only need one or two pots then the cement ones are fine, just be sure you do not intend to move them!
Pot with Central Vinca and Side Dianthis Planted
Many plastic pots lack drainage. Use an electric drill to put several holes in the bottom.
Pots that are 15 inches inside diameter (measure across the interior) hold 10-15 plants, which is enough for good variety. Ideally look for pots that are 6 to 8 inches deep. It is nearly impossible to find containers that are this shallow yet wide enough; I find it works well to get a deeper pot and fill the bottom with something other than dirt.
We’ve used foam peanuts, rolled up bubble wrap, rocks. This year I purchased mesh shelf liners, wadded up a couple feet for each pot and pushed into the bottom. These give good drainage without weight.
Pot with Mesh Filler Ready to Add Soil
2. Use Good Potting Soil
I use Miracle Gro potting mix that has time release fertilizer. This is light and fluffy, easy to work with and the fertilizer is a bonus. Don’t use regular soil. Do look for a mix that’s designed to work in containers.
Potting Soil and Mesh Filler
The potting soil will be dry when you open it. You can wet it before planting, but that makes it messy and harder to plant the flowers. I leave mine dry then water well when everything is planted.
3. Select Flower Varieties that Work
I like to combine flowers of various heights in harmonious colors, such as verbena or vinca for height, dianthus and begonia to fill in, with lobelia or allysum to dangle over the edges. Most years we’ve used verbena and not vinca but I didn’t find verbena in pretty colors this spring.
Dianthus with Lobelia Trailing Over the Edge
Smaller plants, the ones sold in 3- or 4-packs, will do very well. It takes a week or so to catch up with containers made from larger plants but you can cut your cost by 75% or more. (3 or 4-Packs here are about $2, or $.50-$.75 per plant; the larger 4 inch pots are about $4 per plant.)
Dianthus is my go-to flower for pots! It is beautiful, reliable and one of my favorites. There are other mid size flowers and we’ll talk about them in later posts.
Dianthus Are the Mainstay of This Planter
4. Fill the Pots then Plant the Flowers
Put the dunnage material in the base of the pot, then fill within 4 inches of the top of the pot, add gentle fertilizer, then fill the rest of the way. I use a trowel or my hands to scoop out spots for each plant after the pot is filled with dirt. Put the taller plants in the middle (or back if you intend to place against a wall), the mid size ones around the middle and finish with the draping flowers.
Pot with Central Vinca Flowers Planted
Edmund gave us two oval pots filled with impatience one year, and we reuse them every year. These are about 13 inches by 8 inches and 6 inches deep. I use a different method for these. First, fill the pot about 3 inches deep with soil, then plant the impatience, 1 plant one each end and 3 along each side. Try to get the plants to stand upright, push them into the dirt a little hold them in place. Gently add more soil mix around the plants.
Impatience in Oval Pots
This second method – fill partway with dirt, then add flowers, then add the rest of the dirt – has never worked for me except with these oval pots and impatience; usually the dirt gets all over the plants and the porch.
5. Water as Needed and Fertilize Weekly
The Miracle Gro bag says it has fertilizer but don’t rely on this to feed your plants all summer. We use a locally-blended fertilizer made up from composted cow manure and other yummy (if you are a plant) things when we plant the containers. I use bloom boosting liquid fertilizer and Spray-and-Grow weekly all summer.
That’s it! Buy healthy plants, use the right size container and good soil, water as needed, fertilize. Beautiful planters will abound!
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