Forum home› Plants
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

North facing porch

Elizabeth96Elizabeth96 Posts: 15
in Plants
Could anyone suggest a plant/shrub suitable for a pot by a porch which is north facing please? It would need to be something that would look ok all year rather than die back in the winter if possible 

Posts

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    edited August 2023
    How big is the pot, and what shape is it? Or, how big a pot are you able to buy and fit in the space?
    The reasons for asking about shape are 1. the kind that widen out below the rim are no good for anything except bedding that's going to be ripped out each year, because you can't get an established shrub's rootball out to repot or refresh the compost without breaking the pot, and 2. those fashionable tall narrow pots aren't any good for shrubs that want to have a wide root run.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Elizabeth96Elizabeth96 Posts: 15
    Not very big so it would have to be a smallish one
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    That limits your choices then. Most shrubs really need at least around 40 or 50cm diameter and depth, preferably bigger unless it's something that will stay very dwarf. Perhaps Gautheria or Pernettya? Both are small, evergreen and have winter berries.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Unless the pot is at least a foot in each direction, most shrubs will struggle. The sort of size @JennyJ mentions would be a starting point for a permanent planting of anything sizeable.
    You could opt for foliage plants like Euonymus fortuneii. Many of them will be fine, and give the same sort of effect as Box, without the problems it has in many areas.
    Some Hebes will actually be ok, although they like a good bit of sun, but I've had in them in shady areas and they're fine. The smaller leaved ones are better. 
    If the pot's smaller than that, it's really a case of small, ground covering types of plants, or bulbs for spring, with a change for summer with some annuals.
    Saxifraga urbium - London Pride, for example, or Hellebores. Some of those are ok in pots.  :)

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Elizabeth96Elizabeth96 Posts: 15
    Thankyou
Sign In or Register to comment.