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Any idea what I could grow in this pot by the door - North facing very shaded

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  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    Oh wow, actually I have some mint which I recently planted into a big pot, and it's going crazy sending out long pieces trying to spread already! I'd be happy with something green/healthy in that North facing pot, if the fern won't work. This is the mint:



    And this is the fern I just got to go in the pot:

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I wonder if your fern pot is a little small.

    For future ref, you can cut off the spreading mint and root it to make new plants, if you wish.
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    edited September 2023
    Ah, it might be too small then.  I do like this fern, and want to give it a good chance to thrive.  So maybe I should plant the fern in a very shady empty flower bed instead (where I don't know what to put there, as it's so shady), and it's moist there too.
    Then if I did want mint in the terracotta pot, next I'd need to learn how to propagate some mint from that massive pot!
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Mint is a plant that keeps on giving, for sure.
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    Actually, maybe I should not plant the fern out in the garden, as I don't know if it would be Ok with frost and snow.
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    edited September 2023
    :D Definitely so - I was thankful to someone who advised me to put the mint in a pot, not the flowerbed, otherwise it takes over she said! It's trying to take over anyway.
  • Songbird-2Songbird-2 Posts: 2,349
     @Pink678 ....   We've got ferns all over our garden, in the shade, some in the sun and have just potted up a spare fern that was outgrowing a neighbouring plant. Those in the ground are just in soil( which has been enriched over the years, with ordinary compost, some manure and topsoil). The one I have just potted up is in ordinary multi purpose compost with some added grit ( the small stuff). The pot is bigger than your pot though,approx 30c.x30cm( I'd  to check those measurements in the light) and is sitting on some little brick feet( to keep the slugs at bay). I never feed ferns as a rule but my Oh does throws around some FBB round the garden in the spring. 
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    edited September 2023
    That's really helpful, Songbird-2.  I might think about giving it a go with the fern in the pot on the wall. I might try multi purpose compost, mixed with the very fine stones, and line the pot with black plastic with a few holes in the sides.
  • Neil75Neil75 Posts: 21
    Hi, we've got sempevivems (house leeks) n a newer identical setup and they've been fine for quite a few months now with minimal care.
    Kind regards 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I don't think compost alone is ideal for any plant in a terracotta planter, especially a small one. I'd use a soil based mix, or just soil, with some grit mixed in. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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