Tips for potted plants in your garden

29 Dec 2014

Using pots and container plants adds a wonderful structural element to your garden.

Glenice Ebedes from Grounded Landscapingshares a few things to keep in mind if you want to use potted plants in your garden:

- Choose pot colours and styles that match your garden theme.

- Ebedes says when it comes to pots, you usually get what you pay for. Most concrete pots have their colour painted onto them, rather than embedded into them, and whilst this is usually not a problem, some paints can flake off in later years.

There are, however, concrete pot manufacturers who embed the colour into their concrete, and whilst these are generally more expensive, the product and paintwork usually last longer and this option is often a better investment.

- Most concrete pots, regardless of quality, will eventually develop hairline cracks; however, as with embedded colour, there are pot manufacturers whose pots will not leak when these cracks appear, as the pots have been designed to handle this natural process.

- Some manufacturers create fibreglass pots, which are lighter and easier to move around. If you choose fibreglass, make sure you choose a reliable manufacturer as the paint needs to be embedded correctly.

Ebedes says once you have selected your pots, it's time to prepare them for planting, and she offers a quick trick from the landscaping industry:

Do not fill large pots with soil and compost. Doing so simply adds unnecessary weight and pressure on the pot. Instead, place plastic bottles or other 'light rubble' in the base of your pots, before adding a soil and compost mix on top.

She recommends a layer of about 50cm, depending on the plants you're going to use. Keep in mind that the level of the soil will drop in the first few weeks as the soil settles, but thereafter will remain level.

Remember that every plant needs good drainage, and your pots should cater for this. For outdoor pots, drill holes into the base of them (if they don't already have them) and use 'pot-feet' to raise them slightly if required. For indoor pots you can use a drip-tray, or seal the holes and keep the plant in its original container, says Ebedes.