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Index : Container Plants & Patio Gardening
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- 23. Growing Plants in Containers - Top
- Potted plants provide a special flare, a certain old-world charm, to home landscapes. They are especially pleasing when placed on patios, porches, front entryways, and in courtyards. Anywhere that potted plants can be viewed close-up, they provide special interest and appeal.
Many types of plants lend themselves to pot culture. Some of the best for our hot desert environment are the cacti and succulents.
Barrels, totem-poles, and fishhooks are just a few of the small types of cacti suited to pot culture. Small agaves with their ground hugging rosettes of thick, pointed leaves offer great eye appeal in pots. Some of the best include: Agave desmeltiana, A. victoriae-reginae (Queen Victoria), A. parryi (Parry's), and A. havardiana (Havard's agave). Cascading succulents such as burrow's tail sedum and string of pearls look great in hanging baskets. Only your imagination and plant availability will limit your selection.
Although they require more water, many non-desert plants also look great container plants.Shrubby plants like the sago and cardboard palms, although not true palms, do provide a dramatic but pleasing contrast to our desert landscapes. For a tropical accent nothing works better that a pot of either white or tropical bird of paradise. Lots of color comes from pots of annual flowers like geranium, cascading petunias, blue salvia, lobelia, or periwinkle.
Edibles can also be grown in pots. Warm season vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and okra are especially suited to pot culture. Most herbs do especially well in containers and are as ornamental as they are utilitarian. Basil, fennel, parsley, yarrow and oregano grow tall in pots. Thyme, pennyroyal, sage, and rosemary spread and cascade over the edge of pots and hanging baskets.
Pots for planting come in all shapes, sizes, and materials. I prefer clay pots because they breath, allowing air to diffuse through the sides of the container. This provides for better root growth. But just as air moves through clay, so does moisture. This moisture lost through the pot does mean watering must be attended to carefully. Clay pots, especially those in full sun, are subject to rapid drying. If plastic pots are used, be sure they are a light color; white, tan, or green. Never use discarded black plastic containers from the garden center or nursery. Black causes heat buildup when exposed to the sun. This can end up cooking roots inside the pot.
A good quality soil mix is probably the most important ingredient to successful pot culture. Plants will not thrive if they're planted in a poor soil mix, especially one that drains poorly. The soil should have enough body to hold sufficient water and nutrients, but be light enough to provide open pore spaces for good drainage and air movement. Desert compost, made locally from landscape plant prunings, is a great soil for pots. Ask for it at your local garden center. You can also mix your own potting soil. Use equal parts peat moss, perlite and vermiculite.
One of the best ways to fertilize container plants is by using a timed release product such as Osmocote. These products come in various release times, from 3 months to 12 months, some even longer. Gear the product to what you are growing. Short crops like annual flowers and vegetables will require a 3 or 4 month release fertilizer. Long term pot plants, like perennial herbs or woody shrubs will require longer lasting formulations. Potted plants will need the full compliment of nutrients, both macro and micro-nutrients. Select a fertilizer higher in nitrogen, for leafy plants. For flowering and fruiting plants choose one higher in phosphorous.
During the hot season, pots need frequent watering. The smaller the pot the more frequent the watering. But even large containers will need a daily soaking. Containers 5 gallon or smaller may need to be irrigated two or three times daily if they are in sunny spots. Cacti and succulents are the exception, they need only weekly waterings.
Invest in an automatic watering system, especially if you have several potted plants. It's too easy to forget to hand water. Battery operated timers are available at hardware and home supply stores. These can be connected to a water faucet and irrigation tubing. Drip emitters placed in the pots should be selected on pot size. Use higher volume drip emitters on large containers and lower volume ones on small pots. This will allow for more consistent watering when all the pots are run off of a single irrigation line.
Finally, remember to water at night or in the early morning. Watering through an irrigation line should be avoided during the middle of the day. The sun heats up black poly tubing and the water inside. This hot water can damage plant roots.
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Written by John Begeman, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona, 520-626-5161.
Material originally appeared in Arizona Daily Star gardening column, on June 1, 1997
- Updated: June 1, 1997
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