Container Gardening

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Container Gardening

• By Eddie McKie
• South Region Ag Ed Office,
• Tifton, GA
• Modified by Georgia Agriculture Education
• Curriculum Office
• June 2002

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Container Gardening

• Excellent for a small area
• Gardens can be grown inside or outside.
• Offers endless opportunities to enhance our
  living environment.
• Offers creative opportunities.
• Provides you with a few options that are
  unavailable with permanent plantings.
• Ability to move the container around.

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Containers

• Need to include a drainage hole(s).
• Desired plant needs to match the container.
• If the plant is tall, the container needs to be
  tall.
• If the plant is short, the container needs to be
  short.
• Containers need to be coordinated with the plants
  to compliment surrounding décor or architecture.
• Old coffee cans, old buckets, wheelbarrows,
  homemade wooden boxes or plastic, glazed or
  terra-cotta pots can be used for containers.

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Other types of Containers

• Crocks
• Urns
• Tubs
• Barrels
• Cans
• Pans
• Chimney flues
• Baskets
• Cement blocks
• Old pair of work boots

• Pots
• Wastebaskets
• Aquariums
• Waterproof bushel baskets
• Washtubs
• Hollowed-out logs
• Crates with black plastic and holes for drainage
• Bowls

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• If you build a wooden garden box, use
  rot-resistant cedar or redwood for the
  containers.
• Do not use creosote or most other chemically
  preserved wood that might leach chemical into the
  growing media.
• CCA treated wood is usually chemically stable.
• Terra-cotta pots are porous and can leach water.
• Plastic is impermeable and therefore needs less
  watering.
• Plastic is less expensive.

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Eight Rules for Creative Container Gardens

• Its your garden!
• Use any container you want or can find.
• There is nothing stop you from using anything you
  find.
• There are very few plants that can not be grown
  in a suitable container.
• This includes trees and shrubs, climbers,
  perennials, ferns, and bulbs as well as more
  commonly grown annuals and tender perennials

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• Once you decide to grow plants in containers, you
  must never neglect them.
• You must give them the right conditions in the
  first place and continue to provide these
  throughout the life of the plant.
• Containers look better in a group.
• Unless your container is exceptionally
  decorative, a group of containers makes a far
  better feature than a single pot.
• Pots can be added and replaced as required, the
  group refreshed and new combinations can be tried
  when you get tired of seeing the same
  arrangement.

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• Grow permanent plants in their own container but
  combine single season plants.
• Can be bent, but is worth remembering
• better to use one plant per pot and group the
  pots.
• Provide winter protection and guard against
  spring frosts.
• Even in a mild climate, you must be concerned
  about the container and roots freezing during the
  occasional cool spells.

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• Dont place permanent plants in overlarge
  containers.
• Put in smaller containers and move the plants up
  as they get larger
• Dont be frightened of using containers
  extensively.
• Remember - It is your garden, you can do whatever
  you want.

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Soil Types

• The choice of growing media is extremely
  important. It must have the capability of
  holding water, but it must be porous and drain
  easily.
• Ordinary garden soil is a poor type soil since
  frequent watering compacts it, restricting root
  development.
• Garden soil increases the risk of insect
  infestations and soil borne diseases and fungi.

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• The ideal growing media is a commercially
  prepared soil-less media.
• Composed of the following materials
• sphagnum or peat moss
• sand
• vermiculite and/or perlite
• lime
• minerals and nutrients
• Light weight
• Relatively expensive

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• Commercial potting soil is acceptable
• Can be expensive also
• Sterilized media
• Heavier textured
• Composed of the following
• soil
• sand
• sphagnum peat moss
• compost
• perlite or vermiculite
• either chemical or organic fertilizer material

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• Cost can be a factor when needing a large amount
  of potting media.
• Can be offset by filling the container about half
  full of styrofoam packaging P-nuts and filling
  the rest of the container with the potting
  medium.
• Container should be filled to within 2 inches of
  the top.

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Choosing Your Plants

• Think about the situation.
• Will the plant be ion the shade or in the sun?
• Will the plant be exposed to the wind or will it
  be in a conservatory?
• Choose a plant that is right for the environment
  in which it is to grow in.
• Low-growing plants are best for container
  gardening.
• Less susceptible to wind damage.
• Take up less space.

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Planting

• Should be planted twice as thick as you would if
  you were planting in the open.
• Will fill-in the container quicker
• Must be intensively managed anyway (watering,
  fertilizing, etc..)

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• Your container will need at least five hours of
  direct light each day
• Light is critical to growth.
• Short-day plants
• flower when there is only 10-12 hours of light
• will not flower with excess light
• Long day plants
• require at least 14, and preferably 18 hours of
  light to flower
• these plants are best frown under fluorescent
  light

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Suitable Plants for Container Gardening
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Suitable Plants for Container Gardening
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Suitable Vegetables for Container Gardening
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Other Plants That Can Be Grown in Containers

• Impatiens
• Torenia
• Dusty Miller
• Caladium
• Hostas
• Lilies
• Liriope
• Astible

• Junipers
• Dwarf Hollies
• Viburnums
• Japanese Maples
• Birch
• Bracenas
• Scheffelera
• Hibiscus

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• Crotons
• Ficus
• Lilies
• Daffodils
• Iris

• Bougainvilla
• Mandevilla
• Almanda
• Ivy
• Clematis

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Watering

• Plants in containers will dry out much sooner
  and need watering more often.
• In an exposed location, container plants lose
  moisture quickly.
• Some plants will need to be watered daily
  especially during hot, dry weather
• Over-watering is the most common reason for
  container plants dying.
• Do not water the plant if the soil media is moist

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• To determine when the plant needs watering, stick
  your finger down into the soil and if it is dry
  water the plant thoroughly.
• The best time to water plants is in the morning.
• Allows leaves and soil to dry out, preventing
  diseases viruses

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Fertilizing

• Frequent watering will wash the plant food out of
  the soil and the plant will deplete the limited
  soil nutrients rapidly, so a regular feeding
  program should be established according to the
  type of plant.
• During the growing season, either a slow release
  type plant food (osmocote) or a soluble complete
  fertilizer should be used every two weeks(Peters
  Special, Miracle-Gro., etc).