Hi Amy,
Large containers CAN get kinda heavy after they've been watered especially,
but the plants really do need the soil for their roots. When the roots run
out of soil, they will start to decline, hence the term 'pot-bound'. But
there are a couple of things you can do to make the larger containers more
manageable.
1. Use the lightweight pots that just LOOK like the heavier ones but aren't.
2. put your pots on those trays with casters to move them around easier.
3. fill up a small portion of the bottom of the container with packing
peanuts.
In regards to your 'dirt pit':
If nothing grows well there already it would be in your best interest to
figure out 'why' to avoid future disappointments. Probably the soil needs
to be amended from years of compaction. You could take a soil sample and buy
a kit at your local garden center to see what it needs.
A pretty general soil 'fix it' solution would be to remove all vegetation,
dump a good 6" of peat moss on top of the soil and turn it all over and mix
in well.
If it were MY area, that's what I would do. But I'm in zone 5, Ohio and we
have pretty lousy, clay based soil in my neighborhood. Whatever you do,
don't just plant something without doing something to amend the soil as you
would be wasting your money and wasting the plants. Obviously, you weren't
planning to do that or you wouldn't have brought it up..lol.
Some key things to consider when picking out plants to plant there once you
get the soil amended:
Is the area close enough to water easily? If not, consider planting more
drought- tolerant type plants such as coneflowers and ornamental grasses.
How far away from your viewing area is this 'dirt pit'? If it's quite a way,
you'll need to plant taller growing flowers , shrubs or even trees in order
to see them at all. If it's pretty close up, shorter flowers will do.
Don't forget to plant some flowers for blooming in spring, some for summer
AND some for fall as usually none of them bloom ALL the season through.
Plant bulbs such as tulips and daffodils in the fall to bloom in the early
spring. Daylilies are great for peaking the middle of the summer and are a
real low maintenance plant that will give you years of enjoyment.
ALWAYS read the tag that comes with a plant BEFORE you buy it to make sure
how tall the plant will be at maturity. it might be in full bloom in April
when you buy it and be only 10" tall (it was coddled in a greenhouse under
more perfect growing conditions) but the next season it might not bloom
until June and grow to 2' tall. You'll need to know it's mature size in
order to know where to plant it and beside what other plants.
A 'layered' bed of multiple kids of flowers looks much better than one row
of all same size and same plant like a row of marching soldiers. For optimum
'balance', plant your taller growing varieties in the back, with medium
growing vasieties next and shorter, grown cover type along the front edge.
Also, you mentioned Peonies... They're perennials (come back every year)
that grow into a shrub shaped form and bloom for only two weeks or less
around Memorial Day but their foliage makes a nice backdrop to later
blooming plants. The branches of Peonies do tend to 'flop' from the weight
of the blooms so I always use one of those peonie 'cages' that you stick in
the ground around them before they get very tall that will keep the branches
from falling over onto your other plants. They are lovely plants though and
very long lived. I recently inherited some that came from my deceased
grandmother's garden, who got the original plant from her mother -in-law,
when she first 'set up housekeeping' in 1903. This one peonie plant has been
divided and passed around over the years to 5 generations of descendants! I
like that about peonies! :)
As far as what plants would do well in that area, well, that all depends on
trial and error. What might grow well in your neighbors yard may not grow
well in yours and visa versa. Generally speaking, anything sold at your
local garden center should do well in your area, taking into consideration
plating shade-loving plants in the shade and sun-loving plants in the sun,
if their soil and water requirements are met. I know that sounds pretty
vague, but you just have to start somewhere and experiment. Half the fun of
gardening (for me) is moving things around. When I plant a new plant, I give
it ONE season to show me it's stuff. If it doesn't do well in THAT area, I
move it somewhere else. If it doesn't do well at ALL after my TLC I give it,
it's history. But then, I don't have alot of growing space to begin with, so
I have to be choosey.
I'm personally drawn to long blooming perennial plants such as Coneflowers
and Daisies for color and ornamental grasses for ease of care. I love
daylilies for their ease of maintenance and I love some annuals for their
all-season-long blooms like Scaviola, Geraniums and Lantanas (which
butterflies love).
What LOOKS good growing together is a personal preference kinda thing. Some
people plant flowers together in the same color range in different shades,
some people plant them in colors of sharp contrast, some in hot colors
(reds, yellows, purples) some in cool colors (whites, pinks, pale blues,
salmons, peaches). A thing I like to do that probably drives people nuts at
my local garden center is I like to drag several different kinds plants out
on the floor and play around with the pots seeing how those colors and
shapes might look growing together.
I suggest you do some Google searches for seed and plant retailers and go to
their websites and order catalogs. Most all of them are free and once you
get on their mailing list, you will usually get their catalog for several
years, which is a great source for dreaming about next years planting
projects!
Have fun and keep us posted!
Becki
Liatris is another that needs staking around here as the flower stalks can
reach 3' or more.
m: "amym1031"
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I havea question, I want to get some pots ready for spring (yes i know
im thinking ahead wishfully!) What is it that you can put in the
bottom of pots to take the place of dirt so that they arent so heavy??
Also, I live in zone 4 upstate NY. I have a kidney shaped area in the
corner of my lawn which I refer to as the "dirt pit". Nothing has
grown well there, it is in full sun, and I'm just not ready to give
the area up yet to grass again. What plants do you think might go well
there, and go well together? The only thing I had to well there was a
peony and some liatris?? Any ideas?? I'm so bad at matching plants and
garden design that I figured I would ask some of you all to see if you
had any ideas. I figured since winter is coming, maybe someone might
take an interest and help me with some ideas for the "dirt pit."
Thanks so much!!
Amy
If you're growing annuals, which tend to have shorter roots, a tip I've
read to fill up space in large pots is to turn empty pop can upside down
in the bottom of the pot.
Take care,
Randy
Zone 4
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Packing peanuts (ghost poo) will work fine. An inch or two can
lighten a pot alot. But becareful not to make them too top heavy.=20
And use a light potting soil too. Heavy on the peatmoss and
vermiculite. You could even do a thick layer of vermiculite or
perlite in the bottom.=20
And get those castors to roll them around, or buy a handtruck.=20
Having a good handtruck is really nice.=20
bahB (Dolly and ghost poo... sHeeeeheheheheesss
--- In TheRookieGardener@yahoogroups.com, "amym1031"
wrote:
> I havea question, I want to get some pots ready for spring (yes i
know
> im thinking ahead wishfully!) What is it that you can put in the
> bottom of pots to take the place of dirt so that they arent so
heavy??
> Also, I live in zone 4 upstate NY. I have a kidney shaped area in
the
> corner of my lawn which I refer to as the "dirt pit". Nothing has
> grown well there, it is in full sun, and I'm just not ready to
give
> the area up yet to grass again. What plants do you think might go
well
> there, and go well together? The only thing I had to well there
was a
> peony and some liatris?? Any ideas?? I'm so bad at matching plants
and
> garden design that I figured I would ask some of you all to see if
you
> had any ideas. I figured since winter is coming, maybe someone
might
