Don’t Skimp on Drainage

While this may sound like an odd first tip, it can be a matter of life and death for your plants. When there isn’t a big enough hole or holes for water to get out of your pot, your soil becomes too wet and the roots of your plants can rot which causes the plant to die.

Evaluate Your Light

People often wildly overestimate how much sun their containers get. While you can find a great plant for almost any amount of light, you have to know how much light your container will get before you choose your plants.

To figure out how much direct light your container will get, place it where you want it and then time how long the sun hits it. You can also use a sun calculator to determine your sunlight.

Plant Good Neighbors

When you are choosing plants for your container make sure that they will play well together. This means that all the plants in one pot should all require the same amount of light and moisture. If you combine plants with different needs, some of them will not thrive. So, for example, if you have a plant that requires full sun, you want all the plants you choose for that pot to also require full sun. If you have a plant that likes to dry out between waterings, you don’t want to put it in a pot with plants that like it wet.

To find out what a plant requires, either check the plant tag or if there isn’t one, ask a salesperson. If all else fails, try to look it up on the internet.

Read and Save the Plant Tag

Plant tags are critical. They will tell you how big your plant will get, how much light, water, and food it needs and how much care it will need. The tag will also tell you if your plant is annual or perennial and if it’s a perennial, what zones it will survive in.

The tag will also tell you about your plant’s “habit,” which means its shape and how it will grow. This is important when considering your container design and how to arrange your plant combinations. For example, if you have a large pot you might want some plants with “upright habits,” to give your design height and then some plants with a “mounding habits” for filling in your design. To finish your pot, you might choose plants with “trailing habits,” to drape over the sides of your pot.

Acclimate Your Plants

Many plants don’t like abrupt changes and if you acclimate them, over a period of time to changes in light, exposure to the elements, water or temperature, they are generally happier. This is particularly important with young plants and is essential for most plants that have spent their lives in the pampered climate of a greenhouse.

When you buy seedlings in the spring, or if you grow your own from seed, you must harden off your plants. This is a slow and tedious process, but if you don’t do it, the chances of your plants thriving will be significantly reduced.

If you live in a colder climate and plan to overwinter your plants, they will also need an adjustment period to get used to less light and drier air.

Source:  thespruce.com©

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