I Can't Get the Hang of Containers
Jay Tea
Posts: 27
Hello, this is pretty general but I need some advice. I've been gardening seriously for about 10 years but I've always dreaded doing anything with containers as i just can't get them right. The garden in my new house has very different soil to my last (I've gone from sand to a weird mix of chalk and clay). so if I want to continue to grow certain of my favourite plants I need to get the hang of pots.
Everytime a make up a container the same thing happens, I pot up the plant, it grows beautifully and quickly fills the pot to the point that it starts to look unhappy, next spring I'll have a look at it and the pot will be wall to wall roots so I'll either try and split the plant or repot it in a slightly larger pot after which it's never the same again and I end up having to get a new plant. Is there anyting I'm doing wrong that is causing this boom/bust ?
Posts
My thought would be to pot on sooner. If the pots are full of root the plant is 'pot bound' not good for its health. So if it is weak when you pot it on (from having been pot bound) it then struggles to establish in the new pot.
So try potting on earlier, pot plants also use up the nutrients in the soil quite rapidly so feeding becomes a necessity. If you have well fed and healthy plants they should withstand being re-potted better.
Compost only has enough goodness to last a few months, so regular feeding and potentially daily watering is important, the potted plants are reliant on you for everything, you might want to invest in an automatic system, it would save a lot of hassle
I often end up using flexi trugs for pots for things like trees. Monty did a good piece on potting up, i think it was his lemon trees, you might find it on youtube.
How big are your pots and what sort of plants in them? When I plant roses, shrubs and perennials I use big pots to start with and half fill them with garden soil mixed with manure and compost, then I fill with bought compost, as it keeps the weeds down. They need feeding much more often than plants in the ground and regular watering, not just a sprinkle.
Thanks for the replies. I'm worried about feeding, especially as I'm usually get explosive growth early on - is it normal to pot on within the first season ? When I look at other peoples containers I never notice that they turn into miniture jungles so quickly.
Bussy-Lizzie: I'm generally growing herbs and I'm suning a variety of different-sized pots. The only plant I've not had these problems with is Hyssop which has grown very happily and at a sensible pace.
Even though you arent keen on your soil, sinking the pots into the soil, even just a little bit really helps with keeping the soil moist.
The majority of herbs wont need good nutrition, but will need trimming to keep them looking good
Also remember, plants will naturally go through a period when they look a bit rubbish, it might not be anything you are or arent doing!
I grow herbs outside in pots too. I think, generally, woody ones like thyme don't need feeding and not much water, but mint and basil (same family) need feeding and watering. Of course, being winter, everthing has died down now and some isn't hardy anyway. As Bekkie says, they need trimming. When I harvest the mint and basil I use the growing tips then they make sideshoots. Thyme needs a good haircut after flowering. I let my thyme and chives flower because they are pretty and you can decorate food with the flowers. Then I chop the chives right down and chop the leaves and freeze them. Then I feed them and lovely new growth comes up.
With herbs I re-sow unless they are looking very good after the winter. Some overwinter much better than others of course, but in the time it takes for potted herbs to pick-up in the spring a fresh batch will be well on the way to being ready to use.
I do prune yes but try not to go too nuts as I want the flowers for the bees. I have especial trouble with Majoram which seems to go crazy and then just run out of steam. Maybe I need to treat them a little more harshly. Would potting them in a low nutrient seed compost help do you think ? I know that herbs don't mind a poorer soil but I've never known how far one can take that ?
Marjoram is a tough plant which grows really easily from seed, usually in the cracks of my decking! So you probably are treating it too well!
What about growing bulbs or annual seeds? they often give a great display without having to constantly mess about with them