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Everybody can Garden with Containers
By
James Kilkelly
Container gardening is fantastic. On its own, a terracotta pot is just a
container and summer bedding is just some plants. However, selectively plant the
summer bedding in the container, add a few sprinkles of green-fingered expertise
and you have created a miniature garden-scape. You are effectively planting a
garden in miniature. This is known to some people as container design planting.
The constructive planting of containers allows people who may just have a
balcony to enjoy a taste of horticulture; containerised planting also brings the
garden within the reach of a disabled persons fork and trowel.
Cleaning containers
To help you create thriving container plantings for the summer, please
consider the following… If you intend replanting any containers you should get
rid of all traces of compost from the previous year. Be scrupulous in your
washing as particles of previous year’s compost can harbour pests, diseases and
mould spores. To ensure a clean environment for growing, wash the heavier
covering of old compost off with a hose. Follow this by plunging the containers
into water containing a garden disinfectant such as ‘Jeyes fluid’. Scrub off any
stubborn compost with a scrubbing brush, do this whilst in the disinfectant.
Rinse the containers well under running water and leave them to dry. Use this
method on window boxes as well, particularly if you have a build up of old
compost and your planting tends to finish flowering far too early.
Container drainage
Check your container for adequate drainage holes, If you have too few or no
drainage holes at all then your plants may suffer from oxygen starvation due to
excess water. To prevent drainage points becoming blocked with compost, I
suggest placing a layer of broken terracotta or polystyrene bedding plant trays
over the drainage holes. In fact broken polystyrene bedding plant trays can also
be used to fill the main body of larger containers; this will reduce the amount
of potting compost needed.
Compost level
Fill your container with a quality peat or loam-based compost and firm
lightly. Ensure this compost stops at least 1 inch below the lip of the
container; this will be your watering space.
Planting
Hours before planting, plunge these plants in a bucket of water and
thoroughly soak them. Watering like this will prevent shock upon replanting and
will also help merge the plants existing compost to its new container compost.
Position the plants on top of the container to get an impression of what the
final planting could look like, it is better to alter positions at this stage
rather than at the mucky post planting stage.
Centre and surrounding planting
Aim to plant from the centre of the container outwards. Create a central or
offset central hole big enough for the rootball of the central plant. Examples
of good central plants would be a Cordyline or Phormium. Remove the pot (believe
me, some people forget this) and place the plant into the hole firming the
compost around it. Then, settle the rest of the plants in similar planting style
around the edges. All the plants should end up at the same depth as they were in
their original containers.
Watering
Ensure the containers compost stops at least 1 inch below the lip of the
container; this is to allow a watering space. Level the surface of the compost
with your hand and water thoroughly until water starts to flow from the
containers base. Leave the container to sit for about an hour, if after that
hour any of the compost has settled then you may top it up. Wooden and unglazed
terracotta containers usually require much more water due to their porous and
absorbent nature. I suggest you apply a mulch of mini-chip bark or gravel to the
composts surface, as well as being decorative this will lessen the containers
loss of water through evaporation.
James Kilkelly runs a professional garden design service in Galway, Ireland.
He has a regular gardening column in an Irish regional newspaper. Visit his
website at
http://www.gardenplansireland.com/ He also regularly posts his expert advice
to a gardening community at
http://www.gardenstew.com/.
Article's original location:
How to Keep Your Plants in Bloom with Dead-heading
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Kilkelly
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