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Gardening with Allen: Light needs, fertilizer key to appealing pots

By Allen Wilson
Published: May 4, 2017, 6:00am

My flowering container plants have not been as effective as I would like, especially later in the season. Could you give me a formula for success with flowers in containers?

Whether choosing already planted containers or planting your own, the two most important factors are variety choice for sun or shade and fertilization.

I prefer larger containers such as minimum 10 inch hanging baskets and 12 inch pots and tubs. They do not dry out as quickly as smaller containers. Make sure planting containers have holes for drainage.

The best potting soils allow water to move into the soil quickly and have peat moss or other materials which hold moisture. Some potting soils already have fertilizer and/or moisture crystals added. If not, I like to add water holding crystals such as “Soil Moist” to help retain extra moisture. Mix these thoroughly into the bottom two thirds of the container. If placed too close to the surface, they tend to push themselves to the top.

Most nurseries and garden stores have a special section of potted flowers especially selected for containers. Many have trailing or spreading growth. Non-flowering plants with colorful leaves are often mixed in. A single upright plant is often added to the center to give some height.

If containers are going to be placed under overhangs or other shady areas, choose shade tolerant varieties. Fuchsia, impatiens, begonia, coleus, pansy, viola, lamium, browallia, lobelia, nierembergia and variegated ivies grow well in the shade.

For sunny areas, some of the most popular flowers include diascia, petunia, ivy geranium, lobelia, pansy, bacopa, calibrachoa (million bells), alyssum, trailing snapdragon, trailing verbena, lotus and sweet potato vine. Some good upright plants are salvia, dracaena spikes, snapdragon and ornamental grasses.

Some of the best plants for single variety containers are ivy geraniums, impatiens, hanging basket begonias, fuchsias, bacopa, calibrachoa (million bells) and trailing petunias.

Most of my tubs are mixed plantings. I like to plant at least 2 or 3 plants of each kind per container. I place like plants across from each other or at equal intervals around the container. I place plants so that their soil balls are almost touching each other to get a more immediate effect.

My favorite fertilizer for containers is “Osmocote” or similar coated, time release fertilizers. I mix fertilizer into the soil before planting, and add a second application on top about 6 to 8 weeks after planting. For already planted containers, I add about half rate of Osmocote and watch growth to see if more may be needed in a month or so.


Allen Wilson is a Vancouver gardening specialist who blogs at http://blogs.columbian.com/gardening-with-allen. Email Allen Wilson at allenw98663@yahoo.com.

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