Plants for Containers

Written by Dr. Bob Black

Outdoor culture of ornamental trees, shrubs, annuals and perennials has shown a marked increase in recent years.

Container culture

Gardeners find that by using planters, tubs, pots and good cultural practices, they can overcome the problems of poor soil found in many local gardens.

The limitations imposed by paved surfaces and restricted planting areas can also be partially overcome by growing plants in containers.

Culture of plants in containers affords a chance to change landscape effects periodically and makes possible the use of tender plants outdoors during the warm season and the ease of moving them indoors during cold weather. In addition, container culture facilitates the control of weeds, sometimes a difficult problem in ground beds. The most serious difficulty is that container grown plants require watering, sometimes daily, to keep them growing well.

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Planning and placement

The use and placement of containers must be considered a part of the home grounds landscape design. If containers and plants are out-of-scale, conflict in color, shape, texture or relate poorly to other parts of the landscape, the resulting effect will be disjointed and spotty. The need for careful consideration applies equally to new properties being planned for the first time and older properties ready for renovational plantings.

In planning, remember that containers and woody plants left out-of-doors during winter provide year round effect and that any moved indoors leave a gap in the landscape scene. Hardy, deciduous plants given seasons effects and do not require protection. However, they generally do not supply the tropical effect many desire around the patio or terrace. By having two groups of plants, hardy and tropicals, one can achieve seasonal interest by changing the plant during the time the weather demands this.

The cultural needs for plants grown in containers are critical. To maintain an attractive healthy appearance, attention to watering, fertilization and control of insects and diseases is especially important. In these respects, container plants are more difficult to grow than are plants grown in the soil.

Plant adaptation

Many plants are adapted to container culture. Some flowering plants that grow well in containers are:

camellia, plumbago, Texas sage, gardenia, dwarf crape myrtle, florabunda roses, azalea, duranta, dwarf pomegranate, bottle brush and others.

For shaded areas:

aucuba, mahonia, fatsia and fatshedera are good choices.

Evergreen plants that grow well in tubs are:

holly, boxwood, palms, euonymus, cleyera, cocculus, umbrella plant, dwarf banana, croton, yucca, podocarpus, agave or century plant, banana shrub, sweet olive, dwarf juniper, pittosporum, pyracantha and many others.

To enhance and enrich limited growing areas, try growing a container plant on your terrace, patio, porch, courtyard or open foyer. You’ll be glad you did.