*picture from Proven Winners - Far Pavilions container recipe*
Lyza sent a question about which plants go well in pots that are in sun most of the day. Most people put annuals in their pots because they generally have the longest lasting color. But you can put perennials in there as well. Hanging pots have pretty much the same guidelines that I’m listing. However, you are generally only looking at them from the side/bottom. So keep that in mind when planting.
To start out – some guidelines for making your pots look good.
Height
Creeping, dangly plants
Color
To start out – some guidelines for making your pots look good.
Height
Creeping, dangly plants
Color
Accents
Infill
Some plants will fulfill one or more of these guidelines.
Infill
Some plants will fulfill one or more of these guidelines.
Height
Plants with height should go toward the back, and the center of the pot. One of these will usually suffice.
-Grasses
-Roses
-Lavender
-Coneflower
-Black-Eyed Susan
-Any other plant that has about 12” – 24” of height, but that won’t get much bigger. I know
Plants with height should go toward the back, and the center of the pot. One of these will usually suffice.
-Grasses
-Roses
-Lavender
-Coneflower
-Black-Eyed Susan
-Any other plant that has about 12” – 24” of height, but that won’t get much bigger. I know
roses will get bigger than this – but they will do well in a pot.
I have seen pots with roses and other perennials in them. The fun thing about this is that you have one consistent plant, and then you can add annuals to change it out and make it different each spring.
Creeping, dangling plants should go in the front. They add visual height to the pot. At least two of these, depending on the size of the pot.
-Potato Vine – green, purple, an interesting
-Ivy – English Ivy, green, or variegated with white on the edges
-Vinca – an evergreen vine with purple flowers in spring
-Lobelia – purple, blue and white flowers – small and dainty
-Calibrachoa/Million Bells – a miniature petunia. Cute.
-Petunia – I think you all know what petunias are, I hope!
-Bidens – smallish yellow flowers
-Lotus – Ferny foliage with red flowers. Gorgeous.
Color
Most of the color will probably come from your other plants. Try to pick a theme - cool colors (blue, purple, etc) or warm colors (orange, red, yellow). You can mix the two: Have red/oranges in the back with some blue/purple lobelia dangling over the front of the pot. The blues in the front will really set off the warm colors in the back. Feel free to mix it up and think ‘outside the box’. That’s part of the fun of being creative and making a bunch of different plants look good together.
Accents
These are plants that you may have just one of in the entire pot. It is something unusual that will immediately draw your eye. It could be a bright yellow flower in all purples, or a unique foliage plant, or a grass. Basically, it is something different and unique that is unlike anything else that you have.
Infill
Infill consists of plants that are pretty…boring. They are just to make the pot look full and complete the look. They are small-ish and not that spectacular to look at (in general).
-Baby’s breath
-Lobelia
-Ferns
-Coleus – some of these varieties have pretty amazing colors
So I can guarantee you that I forgot some. There are so many different varieties of annuals and perennials. If you have a favorite that I didn’t list, feel free to comment about it!
I have seen pots with roses and other perennials in them. The fun thing about this is that you have one consistent plant, and then you can add annuals to change it out and make it different each spring.
Creeping, dangling plants should go in the front. They add visual height to the pot. At least two of these, depending on the size of the pot.
-Potato Vine – green, purple, an interesting
-Ivy – English Ivy, green, or variegated with white on the edges
-Vinca – an evergreen vine with purple flowers in spring
-Lobelia – purple, blue and white flowers – small and dainty
-Calibrachoa/Million Bells – a miniature petunia. Cute.
-Petunia – I think you all know what petunias are, I hope!
-Bidens – smallish yellow flowers
-Lotus – Ferny foliage with red flowers. Gorgeous.
Color
Most of the color will probably come from your other plants. Try to pick a theme - cool colors (blue, purple, etc) or warm colors (orange, red, yellow). You can mix the two: Have red/oranges in the back with some blue/purple lobelia dangling over the front of the pot. The blues in the front will really set off the warm colors in the back. Feel free to mix it up and think ‘outside the box’. That’s part of the fun of being creative and making a bunch of different plants look good together.
Accents
These are plants that you may have just one of in the entire pot. It is something unusual that will immediately draw your eye. It could be a bright yellow flower in all purples, or a unique foliage plant, or a grass. Basically, it is something different and unique that is unlike anything else that you have.
Infill
Infill consists of plants that are pretty…boring. They are just to make the pot look full and complete the look. They are small-ish and not that spectacular to look at (in general).
-Baby’s breath
-Lobelia
-Ferns
-Coleus – some of these varieties have pretty amazing colors
So I can guarantee you that I forgot some. There are so many different varieties of annuals and perennials. If you have a favorite that I didn’t list, feel free to comment about it!
Proven Winners - tab at the top of their page has a link to ‘container recipes’. Fill in the info that you want and you can get some tips to what plants go well together.
Try to visualize a triangle with the plants. They don’t have to be symmetrical, but it can. It doesn’t really matter how many plants you choose. They will fill in, so give each one an inch or two of space and they will look awesome in a couple of weeks!
Containers dry out much much faster than anything else because there is less soil to hold moisture. So don't forget to water them, especially when it's really hot!
Have a question about plants/gardening? E-mail me at martnicole(at)hotmail(dot)com.
3 comments:
Thank you, Nicole! now we will see if we can take that advice and use it well! I will let you know how it goes! thanks for sharing your wisdom and knowledge!!
Thanks for the plant info because I'm plant retarded. I'm becoming more motivated to have some house plants though. And now I have a little more confidence I won't kill anything.
I've been wanting some hanging pots, but they are all so expensive and I didn't know what to put in them so thanks for the help. I was wondering about my bonsi tree. It is looking sickly and yellow. I can repot it but I don't want it to get a lot bigger so should I just trim the roots and replace some of the soil or what? Thanks for the help.
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