The start of September is the time to evaluate your container gardens and bedding plants so you will know what to buy or order for next spring.
In my garden I found that the fast-spreading “Wave” petunias with large flowers are great for planting in beds, but not so nice in hanging baskets – they just keep growing and growing and become too rangy.
The more compact petunias such as the Proven Winners Supertunia and the SuperBells Calibrachoa (these look like mini petunias) did great in the summer heat and kept a more tidy and compact growth habit. Million bells is another type of trailing mini petunia that thrived in the heat and stayed well behaved all summer.
More rock stars that performed despite the summer heat were scavolea, sedums, yuccas, geraniums, a hanging plant with gray foliage called “Dichondra Silver Falls” and the very adaptable dragon wing begonias such as the bright orange “Bonfire” Begonia.
The end of summer is a good time to rethink and replant your container gardens with the goal of year-round color that will thrive for several years without replanting. Instead of planting for just fall color, or summer blooms these planting suggestions will look great year round with the option of adding seasonal color for pops of color.
Tip: Add some dwarf daffodil, crocus or snowdrop bulbs near the edge of the container when you are done planting the larger plants. In February you’ll be rewarded with fresh spring blooms.
All of these hard-working plants should be easy to find at local garden centers and nurseries now.
• Start with a large container with drainage holes. A pot that is at least 24 inches deep will hold enough soil to keep the biggest plant or the “thriller” happy for several years. You have the option of rotating the smaller plants into the landscape or leaving them in the pot until they outgrow the space.
• Use a quick draining potting soil, not soil from your own garden. It is fine to reuse your old potting soil from this past summer but only if you remove the old roots add a few inches of fresh potting soil and stir it all up so that the old potting soil at the bottom of the pot is once again loose and free draining.
• During the winter months place your potted plants in a protected location near the house or under the protection of the roof eaves. This will help the plants survive a big freeze and keep them from drowning during our constant winter rains.
Tip: Poke a finger into the soil and water potted plants protected under the eaves when the top two inches are dry. They may need water every few weeks even in the winter.
Ingredients for the Planting Recipe:
• One Thriller – a big, bold plant for the middle or back of the display.
• Two or Three Fillers: Shorter plants to surround the Thriller focal point.
• Two or Three Spillers: Smaller plants to cascade over the sides a bit, giving the pot a full and graceful design.
Thrillers that will last several years in the same pot include tall and narrow evergreens such as Ilex “Sky Pencil,” Yews for the shade, compact Junipers for the sun, “Goldcrest” Monterey Cypress, Dwarf Alberta Spruce or Barberry “Orange Rocket.” (Okay, the barberry is not really and evergreen but it loses it leaves for such a short time and the “Orange Rocket” has such a bright and beautiful color that I recommend it for year round color anyway.)
For smaller containers use the true dwarf evergreens that grow just a half-inch a year: Hinoki False Cypress, a spiky evergreen grass such as carex or a compact hebe.
Fillers to Surround your Focal Point Plant: Use three in large pots, one or two if you find large plants or your container is small.
Heucheras – these low growing and compact foliage plants make fabulous fillers for year round color and adapt to either sun or shade. They come in colors ranging from deep red to bright yellow. Pick heucheras to contrast or blend with your focal plant either all in the same color for a formal look or mix it up for a festive confetti collection of colors.
Herbs – the winter hardy herbs such lavender, sage and oreganos offer foliage color all winter and the foliage can be harvested with a few snips of the scissors to keep them compact and tidy.
Euphorbias – In a smaller pot these colorful euphorbias can be used as the thriller or focal point plant but once you meet the amazing foliage of Euphorbia “Ascot Rainbow Spurge” or the striking gray and white leaves of “Glacier Blue” Euphorbia you’ll want to use these easy care perennials in your beds as well as your container gardens.
Spillers to use up front: Tuck one or two of these in the front or near the edge of your arrangement so they can spill out and cascade from the container.
Lamiums – my favorite groundcover for dry shade is also a winner in year round containers. The evergreen foliage comes in a variety of colors. Lamium ‘Beacon Silver’ has gray and white accents on the leaves and Lamium ‘Golden Anniversary’ stays a cheery yellow all winter. When summer arrives you can uproot your rather aggressive lamiums from the pot and transplant them into the ground if you want room to add summer blooming begonias or impatiens to the container.
Black Mondo Grass – a touch of black will dress up any container and the dark foliage looks great next to the silver leaved herbs like lavender or tucked in with red or burgundy heucheras.
Groundcover plants like Ajuga, variegated ivy, vinca and creeping Jenny – you may even have these common groundcovers in your garden already. If you buy a 4 inch pot of groundcover from the nursery divide cut it up into two or three pieces and spread it around the sides of the container.
