1. Container
Gardening
Container Gardens Go Wild

4. Benefits of Container
Gardening
 Adds lots of impact in a small space
 Is easy to maintain for a variety of
lifestyles, less work than a large garden,
can choose your own size
 Outlet for creativity
 Instant, portable landscape
 Available to anyone with a window,
balcony, deck, doorstep or yard.

6. Benefits of Container
Gardening
 Is an option for the disabled, elderly or
homeowner/apartment dweller with little or no
land
 Is a way to have fresh fruits, vegetables, and
herbs at anytime
 Creates a new environment with less effort and
problems
 Gardener controls all variables; plants, water,
sunlight, fertilizer

8. Examples

13. Select your area
 Find a spot
 Analyze the sunlight area receives throughout
day.
 Take advantage of aluminum foil, white painted
surfaces, marble chips to increase available
light
 Herbs/vegys require 6+ hours, even in Houston
 Container angle and perspective

14. Select a Container
 Avoid containers with small diameter openings
 Adequate drainage, if none improvise including
bricks, feet
 Avoid containers with toxic chemicals
 Remember larger containers weight more,
consider dollies with wheels
 Self-watering containers
 Light-colored containers

15. Typical Container
Materials
 Wood is susceptible to rot – consider
plastic liner
 Terracotta dries quick, good drainage
with air movement in root zone
 Fiberglass is expensive but lasts,
lightweight, attractive.
 Others?

16. Typical Containers more
 Plastic containers breakdown over time
 Metal –galvanized tubs – great if not
moving, make bold statement
 Self-watering conversion kit inserts (see
gardener’s supply)

18. Color Principles
 Use more than one
color to give a
container or planting
more dimension and
make the planting
more interesting
 Color is not only the
flowers but also
foliage.

19. Cool Colors
 Blue and violet hues
 Area will seem to recede when colors
used
 Very subdued, tranquil look

20. Warm Colors
 Red, yellow and orange hues
 Area will seem to stand out when warm
colors are used
 Fun, vibrant look

21. Types of Plants
 Select plants with similar needs: water, light,
nutrients
 Succulents same low water, bright light
 Plant container plants at the same time as if
planting in beds
 Over-planting is recommended for effect
 Consider year-round interest with ornamental
grasses, evergreen and deciduous dwarf
trees/shrubs

22. Select plants according to
growth habits and foliage
 Select for growth habits/form (upright, weeping,
tufted, branching, climbing, prostrate, dense or
airy)
 Mix three types of growth habits in pot
 Provide vertical interest in center or back
 Filler plant at base of tall adds interest and
foliar interest
 Trailer droops over edge of a pot and breaks
harsh lines of pot edge

24. Theme
 Color examples, pink and white full sun (pink
flowering begonia vinca, rose pink geranium,
white petunia, white snapdragon, white
nicotiana)
 Butterfly attracting (buddleia, bee balm, salvia,
coreopsis, echinacea, liatris)
 Scented plants (geraniums, herbs)
 Multi-season interest (evergreen with spring
bulbs, hostas, ferns) and impatiens

25. Problem areas
 Make sure plants can be maintained at
the preferred height, typically no more
than 2X the container height
 Make sure foliage is not too similar, avoid
a mass of boring solid colored foliage
 Consider under-planting bulbs beneath
herbaceous plants

26. Soil Mixes
 If you provide a good environment for the
roots, the top will take care of itself.
 When plants, leave a gap at container edge for
water and mulch (1-2”)
 Do not use soil from yard
 Select soil mix based on plant needs
 Succulents sedums and cacti prefer a less
nutrient-rich mix that does not retain water.

27. Selecting soil mixes
 Annuals, perennials, vegetables need a
mix that retains water with higher nutrient
content. Slow release fertilizers are good
additions to mixes.
 Plants benefit from water-holding crystals
incorporated into soil at time of planting

28. Selecting soil mixes
 Water during the summer one or two times a
day.
 Create mix: equal parts peat moss, garden
loam, sand/perlite, and slow release fertilizer.
 If container is large, fill base with styrofoam,
place plastic tray with drain holes on top of
styrfoam and cover with soil mix

30. Maintaining Your
Container Garden
 Provide more/new soil each year for
perennials, trees, shrubs.
 In Houston, top dress multiple times/year
 Water in mornings to decrease risk of
disease and virus, and in early evening if
necessary (avoid wetting leaves)
 Prune and deadhead religiously

31. Feed Me
 Perennials, fast growing, High N in spring
for growth, K rich for flowers, 14-21 days
 Annuals and bedding plants, high
performance and hungry! Generous feed
at planting; liquid feed weekly
 Vegetables and fruits also greedy!! N to
start growth, K for fruiting

32. N–K–P
 N for greeN - Nitrogen rich for leaf
growth
 K for potassium – flower and fruit
growth/development
 P for phosphorous – for root
development.

33. Protection
 Monitor for pests daily—small size makes
it easy to stay on top of pests
 Rubber snakes
 Netting
 Foil
 Pinwheels

35. Herbs
 Grows well in full to partial sun (6 hours
or more) but in Houston, avoid direct
afternoon sun.
 In hot climates, these might still need
watering twice a day even though most
herbs are drought tolerant. They’re
tougher to grow in Houston’s summer
heat

36. Herbs
 Typically do well in strawberry jars. Plant
with lots of variety.
 Strawberry jars offer trailing plants room
 Water bottle/pvc trick
 Know the growth patterns of plants (mint,
fennel, dill, thyme
 Plant tallest herbs at top of jar
 Plant bottom up

39. Annuals
 Have a long bloom time. May need to
replant annuals for hot and cold seasons
 Require deadheading for appearance
and to prevent seed development
 Need lots of water and fertilizer to
continue blooms and displays
 Lots of variety in size, shape, texture; sun
and water requirements.

40. Annual Options for
Containers
 Sun: Marigolds, Begonias, spikes,
Petunias, Geraniums, Portulaca, Million
Bells, Pansies, Lantana, Coleus, Sweet
Potato, Asparagus, fern, Gomphrena,
Dusty Miller, Salvia, Annual Vinca,
Nicotiana, Blue daze, ageratum,
Alyssum, Celosia, Dianthus Nasturtium,
snapdragon, Verbena, Zinnia

41. Annuals
 Shade – Impatiens, begonias,
Caladiums, Wandering Jew, Lobelia

42. Annual Containers

44. Perennials
 Typically incorporated into pots with other
plants due to limited bloom time
 Do not need to be replanted every year
like annuals and most vegetables
 Like annuals, perennials have a wide
variety of sun and water requirements.
 Perennials will require winter protection
during cold spells

45. Some Perennial options
 Sun-Sage, black-eyed Susans, Veronica,
Verbena, Yarrow, Stokesia, Iris, Daylilies,
Mums, Gaillardia, Sedum, Shasta daisy
(MORE)
 Shade-Hosta, Dahlia, Astilbe, Daylilies
(MORE)

46. Perennial
Containers

47. Vegetables/Fruits
 Need at least 6 hours sunlight and high
water/nutrient requirements
 May need to be staked to support fruit
 Can be planted with companion plants
(tomatoes/marigolds) Hanging pots with
vegetables surrounded on ground by
sunflowers and sweet peas.

48. Possibilities
 Tomatoes, peppers,  Banana, blueberries,
eggplant, green blackberries,
onions, beans, strawberries, citrus,
lettuce, squash, peaches, apples,
radishes, pole beans pomegranate
and cucumbers (dwarf), lime, orange
dwarf fruit trees

50. Vegetable Containers

52. Succulents and Cacti
 Drought tolerant
 Minimal nutrients
 Winter hardy in our zone, with some
protection for most severe weather
 Needs drainage
 Great for bird feeders and shallow
fountains and other dishes

53. Succulents and
Cacti

54. Shrubs and Trees
 Can be under-planted to provide year
round color and living mulch
 Shrubs: Bay, boxwood, holly, acuba,
azalea, camellia, quince, pyrancantha,
eucalyptus, rhododendron, juniper,
butterfly bush, Japanese plum yew
 Tree: Japanese maple, redbud, crepe
myrtle, fruit trees

56. Container Size for
vegetables
 1-2 gallons - pepper, chard
 4-5 gallons - tomatoes, cucumbers
 6-10” diameter pots: leafy greens, beets,
radishes, onion

57. Grow Bags
 Garden anywhere
 Polypropylene bags designed to hold
water and soil, allows air movement
 Herbs, potatoes, strawberry, peppers,
tomatoes, salads,

58. Recommended reading
 Succulent Container Gardens by Debra Lee
Baldwin
 Container Gardener’s Bible by Joanna K.
Harrison and Miranda Smith
 New Low Maintenance Garden by Valerie
Easton
 Contained Garden, The by Kenneth A. Becket,
David Carr, and David Stevens
 Crops in Pots by Bob Purnell
 Container Gardening (magazine)

60. It’s just fun!

62. Grandparents?
Favorite aunts/uncles?

65. Every fashion show ends
with a wedding dress