Throughout this book we will show you our favourite easy-to-create containers and give you all the ingredients you need to make them yourself. However, there are a few little things you need to remember when planting in containers, rather than into your garden, so here you’ll find a few of the basic ‘rules’.
(Where certain plants have particular cultivation requirements, such as acid soil or well-drained compost, this information appears with the relevant pot.)
Choose the right-sized pot. Sounds obvious, but it’s easy to underestimate how much or, more rarely, how little growth a plant will put on in one season. It is important to think about a plant’s needs when choosing a pot (some might prefer to be pot-bound), and whether you will be able to fit in all the plants you require for a display and give them room to settle in. If you are planting a more permanent display to last more than one season, find out what the long-term size of the plant will be, or bear in mind that you might need to pot it on. If your pot needs to sit somewhere specific, make sure it fits the space!
Check containers for drainage. Unless you’re planting a bog plant, all plants in pots require drainage to prevent their roots becoming waterlogged and being deprived of the oxygen they need to survive. So, make sure the pot you use has holes for drainage, and if not, make them yourself. And to make doubly sure plants are not waterlogged, keep them happy by placing an inch or so of gravel, stones or crocks from broken pots in the bottom of your pot.
Get the right compost for your plant. Most plants will be happy with a general multi-purpose compost, but for any trees or shrubs that will stay in their pots for more than a year, choose a loam-based compost, such as John Innes No.3. Check the label of your plant or seed packet and find out if they have any specific needs, such as lime-haters requiring ericaceous compost, succulents and cacti needing specialist compost, and alpines wanting the very free-draining soil produced by mixing horticultural grit into compost.
Plants in pots are higher maintenance than those in the garden, so think about ways you can keep them, and you, happy in the hotter days of summer. When preparing the compost for the pot, mix in some slow-release fertiliser, such as calcified seaweed or Osmocote, to reduce your feeding chores. Remember that some plants, such as vegetables or greedy feeders like clematis, might also have specific needs.
To reduce your watering chores in the heat of summer it is also worth including some water-retaining granules. If you are going away (and we’re not subject to a hosepipe ban), it’s worth investing in a timer to water your plants. Simply gather together your pots, attach the hose system to the tap, set the timer and put a dripper into each pot – then you need not worry about asking a favour of your neighbour!
Before planting up, give potted plants a good soak. If you are planting a mixed arrangement it’s also a good idea to lay out the plants in their final positions before you remove them from their pots. First fill the container with compost to the level of the base of your largest pot then place the plants (still in their pots) in position. When you are happy with how the display looks, remove the plants from their pots and backfill around them with more compost. Firm the soil, but don’t press it down too hard or you will deprive the plants’ roots of the oxygen they need to thrive.
Finish the soil level a couple of centimetres below the top of the pot, to allow for watering.
So that’s the basics to remember, but now it’s time to read on, to be inspired and, above all, to get planting!