gardening
BY RACHEL FOSTER
Carefree Color
Container gardening can be low-maintenance
T
he cool, wet spring set a lot of
gardeners back this year, myself
included. I’m still stuffi ng
ornamental plants in containers. Plants
grow much faster once the weather warms
and I know they will soon catch up, so it
doesn’t bother me that it’s July already.
The only problem is that there is so much
else to do in summer.
If tending and harvesting veggies (or,
for that matter, hiking, wind surfi ng and
botanizing) keeps you busy all summer
you probably don’t welcome the extra
work of grooming and deadheading high
maintenance container plants. Some
traditional annuals like geraniums and
petunias certainly deliver a big color punch,
but they can look a mess if you fall behind
on deadheading. There are, however, ways
to achieve container plantings that deliver
plenty of visual excitement with very little
attention. Set up drip-lines to your pots and
you can almost forget about the watering,
too.
I’ve never fully accepted the argument
that container plants are water hogs. After
all, the water is specifi cally directed at
the roots. Plants in porous terra cotta
containers take more frequent watering
than those in plastic, fi berglass, concrete or
stoneware, so it’s a matter of convenience
as much as conservation to confi ne terra
cotta pots to cooler, shadier locations and
use impervious pots in hot spots. Morning
sun only is my general rule for terra cotta.
Here are some other ways to achieve
happy, low maintenance pots and perhaps
conserve a little water, too:
• Use large containers (12 inches and
up) in sunny places to reduce heat and
drought stress. Large pots dry out more
slowly and also keep roots cool.
• For ideal root development and
growth, use soil-free potting mix that is
formulated for containers. It may seem
expensive, but with a little amendment you
can use “potting soil” again and again, as
long as you have no problems with disease.
I usually mix old soil with some new, and
add a little dolomite lime and a couple of
handfuls of balanced organic fertilizer per
cubic foot.
• Keep plants growing all summer with
adequate water and fertilizer. The new
growth of plants that are actively growing
hides those spent fl owers. After about a
month of growth in warm weather, I begin
feeding every two weeks with an organic
liquid plant food such as fi sh emulsion.
You can skip this chore by using a slow
release product such as Osmocote.
Then, of course, there is the all-important
matter of plant selection. Plants with small
fl owers and fl owers that drop off as they
Ptilotus ‘Joey’
fade spare you the chore of deadheading,
and plants that don’t mind drying out now
and then are easier to manage in sunny
places. That includes succulents, plants
with gray or silver leaves, some grasses
and many small-leafed shrubs.
Here are some examples, old and new,
annual and perennial, of plants that qualify
in one or both areas: Felicia, brachycome
(Swan River daisy) and many other
daisies; Salvia gregii (autumn sage) and
many hybrids and relatives; agastache
(hummingbird mint), million bells,
snapdragon, impatience; Ptilotus ‘Joey’,
an amazing plant that starts the season
with demure gray-pink cones of bud that
become ever more intensely pink as they
expand; fuchsia, astilbe (no dryness,
please); bacopa, thunbergia, diascia,
verbena. Smaller fl owered geraniums,
such as those with scented leaves and a few
old varieties that stick around because they
have some other special characteristic,
such as variegated leaves.
For shade or partial sun there are many
exciting new begonias with striking leaves
and small fl owers. Cane or angel wing
begonias have stout stems that hold the
fl owers aloft. They are becoming more and
more popular as new varieties appear. Be
careful not to overwater them, and sweep
up the fallen blooms occasionally. That’s
about it.
Medium to large containers can
accommodate small shrubs. Some of my
favorites include the various hebes, Drimys
lanceolata, Ceratostigma willmottianum
(‘hardy’ plumbago), silver thyme, Senecio
‘Sunshine’ (also known as Senecio greyi or
brachyglottis) and variegated osmanthus.
All these will overwinter with a little
shelter, and larger specimens make great
center pieces for grouped container.
Semi-trailing Mexican daisy (Erigeron
karvinskianus) is a useful and drought
tolerant fi ller for new shrub pots.
Plants that don’t bloom don’t need
deadheading! Consider ferns, sedges,
New Zealand fl ax and a long list of
tender foliage plants with colorful leaves.
Heucheras love to grow in pots and offer
an amazing range of foliage color. Yes,
they have fl owers, but they need only
occasional preening to remove spent
stems. Grasses tend to bloom late in
the season, and the fl ower heads remain
attractive into fall.
ew
Rachel Foster of Eugene is a writer and garden
consultant. She can be reached at rfoster@efn.org
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JULY 21, 2011
EUGENE WEEKLY
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