Gardening Containers

Gardening Container categories:

• Gardening Supplies: Lights
• Gardening Supplies: Soil & Fertilizer
• Gardening Supplies: Tools
• Gardening Supplies: Watering
• Gifts That Grow: Bonsai
• Gifts That Grow: Flowering Plants
• Gifts That Grow: Green Plants
• Gifts That Grow: Lucky Bamboo
• Gifts That Grow: Special Occasion
• Junior Gardeners
• Plant of the Month
• Supporting Cast: Box & Pot Holders
• Supporting Cast: Brackets
• Supporting Cast: Plant Stands
• Supporting Cast: Pot & Box Holders
• Supporting Cast: Trellises
• The Greenhouse: Mushroom Kits
• The Greenhouse: Seed Kits
• The Greenhouse: Trees
• Windowboxes: Handcrafted
• Windowboxes: Metal
• Windowboxes: Plastic
• Windowboxes: Wooden
• World of Containers: Ceramic
• World of Containers: Faux Pottery
• World of Containers: Hanging & Wall
• World of Containers: Metal
• World of Containers: Plastic
• World of Containers: Wooden

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Caring for Houseplants

It would be nice to think that once potted and placed in a suitable spot, plants would happily get on with growing and living in their own humble way. But unfortunately this isn’t the case. Indoor plants need lots of regular care and attention from their owners, be it through watering, re-potting or merely keeping them in the right conditions. But don’t despair, the life of a plant owner isn’t all drudge and hard work - follow the guidelines below and your life, and that of your plants, will be stress-free!

Light and Temperature
Plants need light, although the amount varies between varieties. Flowering houseplants, or those with colorful foliage (such as African Violet, Freesia, Cyclamen and Gerbera) thrive well in places where there is lots of light. In contrast, Bird’s Nest Fern and Devil’s Ivy prefer shady corners. Keeping your plants in the right temperature is also important. Again, preferences for temperature vary between plants, so check their individual requirements. In general, during the winter months keep plants away from warm heaters or fires.

Water
Water is, of course, one of the essential requirements needed for plants. Knowing exactly how much water to give can be a problem and many people often over-water. The main point to remember when watering is to ensure you give the plant a thorough soaking - a good guideline is to stop when you see water draining through the pot and into the saucer. If any water remains in the saucer after half an hour, then empty and allow the pot to drain. To avoid over-watering, don’t water too frequently if the soil in the pot is still damp, then don’t add more!

Containers and Potting
Ensure that the containers your plants are in are the right size. Don’t leave large plants squashed up in small pots if they outgrow their original pots, transfer them to new, bigger ones. Repotting such as this is best carried out in either early Fall or Spring.

General Maintenance
Deadheading your plants allows new growth to occur, so remember to check and remove any dead areas. The foliage on plants can pick up the natural house dust, so giving the leaves a quick wipe occasionally with a damp cloth can help get rid of the dust and brighten up the plant.

Propagating Houseplants

Ever fancied creating more of your favorite house plants? Then why not try propagation! Although the term ‘propagation’ can sound technical and terrifying to the uninitiated, don’t panic - it’s not as difficult as it sounds. Put simply it is merely the act of reproducing plants and is a satisfying task that anyone can have a go at.

There are various ways of propagating, depending on the type of plant in question and the method used. If seeds are taken and planted, then it is classed as sexual propagation; this takes longer and the final quality cannot be guaranteed. Asexual propagation, however, is where copies of the parent plant are produced through various means and is far quicker than using seeds. Some of the main ways of using asexual propagation are through leaf and stem cuttings, offsets and dividing.

Leaf Cuttings
Some plants, such as African Violet and Peperomia, grow well from leaf cuttings. Take a single leaf and place in compost. New roots and leaves will form over time at the base of the leaf.

Stem Cuttings
Stem cuttings work well with many plants, such as Geranium, Busy Lizzie, and Fuchsia. Find a node the small bump below a leaf and cut slantwise a few inches from the stem tip. Remove all leaves, except for those at the tip. If possible, dip the end of the stem in rooting hormone before planting.

Offsets
Many plants produce their own ‘offspring’ that can easily be removed from the main plant to create new ones. Examples include tuberous plants such as Achimenes, succulents, Cacti, Zebrina, Bird’s Nest Fern and some Ivies.

Dividing
Dividing is ideal for plants that grow fast or become bushy and have stems at their base. Remove the plant from the container then gently pull apart, or use a knife if necessary, to form two or more plants, then re-plant. Ideal candidates for this are things such as Spider Plants and Umbrella Plants.

For all methods, except for dividing, put the cuttings in damp compost, covered with a plastic bag and place out of direct sunlight; lightly water when dry.

There’s no need to restrict yourself to only propagating your own house plants - try swapping cuttings with friends or neighbors and before long you’ll have a windowsill full of plants!

How To Select, Prepare, And Maintain Your Containers

Although you could just go out and buy a plant and plunk it into whatever container you have handy, understanding the basics of container selection, preparation, and maintenance will go a long way toward creating a successful container garden.

The material your container is made of not only affects how happy you are with the total look of your garden but how happy your plants will be growing in it. The container itself will determine not only how easy your garden is to maintain but where you can grow things -- on walls, hanging from trees, or on the ground. A combination of the container type and material will determine how much maintenance your garden will need -- and how often you need to water it.

You will need to select containers appropriate for the types of plants you want to grow and for the style of your house and garden design. Once these are clean and filled with whatever materials will give your plant proper drainage, they'll make good homes for happy plants.

If you make sure to bring in any containers that can be damaged by weather, and to keep permanent outdoor containers well mulched and mounted, you should be ready to enjoy a long-lived and happy garden.

What Makes A Good Container

A quick and easy list to review before buying your plant's new "home sweet home".

• Drainage: Must have this. Make sure there are drainage holes in the container, or that it is made of a material you could drill or poke holes in yourself.
• Porosity: Will the soil be able to breathe? Usually, you want it to, unless your climate or lack-of-interest in watering make drying out a real issue.
• Breakability: Breakable is usually bad. Use your judgement. Be careful of clay pots freezing and splitting.
• Looks: Isn't that what this is all about? Determine how much space you have, and how you want it to look. For small balconies use smaller containers and avoid plants with overly large leaves. Intense colors make a space look smaller - pale, cooler colors make a space look larger.
• Value: The best-looking, most fun containers are ones you find, drill holes in, and prop up on your balcony. These include abandoned toys, plumbing fixtures, appliances, and shipping containers. Just make sure there isn't any nasty stuff left in them that could leach into the soil and harm your plants.
• Insulation: In northern cities, a container that holds heat will prolong the life of your plants in the fall, let you plant earlier in the spring, and give you a better shot at working over the winter with items like bulbs and conifers.
• Weight: Imagine your container full of really wet mud. Is it too heavy for your balcony or rooftop? Will it be too heavy to move?

Styles Of Containers

When someone says container gardening, most of us think of pots. But that is just the beginning. Think of all the great places where a plant would look good and someone has undoubtedly created a container that will work there. Does your balcony look "blah"? Hanging baskets can work miracles. Do your windows look wishy-washy? Make them sparkle with flower-filled window boxes.

If you need to hide an ugly spot on the wall, plastic grow bags can cover a multitude of sins while looking extravagantly lovely - and they're cheap! And if you want something really extravagant looking, huge and still manageable, wire frame moss baskets can't be beat.

You can even plant vertically, using living wall modules - just imagine a wall covered with flourishing flowers and greenery. Talk about creating a garden feature!

But pots are still the mainstay of a container garden. Use them, add a few of the other interesting containers available today and you can tuck a veritable garden of Eden onto even the smallest balcony. Because if you're like most gardeners, there is always just one more plant you absolutely must have. With today's versatile container options (and a strong shoehorn) - maybe you can!

Container Preparation

Here are some simple steps to prepare your container so that your plant feels comfortable in its new home.

• Drainage Check: If you don't feel like there are adequate drain holes (at least a 1/2 inch diameter hole for each gallon of soil), make more.
• Cleaning: Used pots and pots used for other purposes can harbor germs that can harm your plants. Get a wire brush (or a hardy sponge), a little bleach, and clean `em. Rinse well and rinse again.
• Pre-soaking (clay pots): New clay pots need to be soaked for 20 minutes, or else they'll suck all the water out of your soil when you plant them.
• Cover the drainage holes: Your objective is to let the water drain out but keep the soil in. Traditionally, people used broken china, pot pieces or gravel. These work okay, but they add weight and bugs can live in them. The best way to cover the holes is a little piece of screen, or a coffee filter.
• Pick your location.

Some information sourced from our affiliate partner: Windowbox.com