{"id":9630,"date":"2013-04-28T02:29:34","date_gmt":"2013-04-28T09:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/?p=9630"},"modified":"2013-04-28T09:29:02","modified_gmt":"2013-04-28T16:29:02","slug":"tips-for-planting-your-summer-pots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/articles\/design\/tips-for-planting-your-summer-pots\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Planting Your Pots &#038; Containers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a title=\"Long Toms by brianpettinger, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/hortoris\/4820581915\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4095\/4820581915_c56252e142.jpg\" alt=\"Long Toms\" width=\"500\" height=\"365\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Selecting a Pot<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> Use as big a pot as you can find. Larger volumes of compost do not need watering as often and take longer to dry out.<\/li>\n<li> Line a clay or terracotta pot with plastic to reduce evaporation through the sides.<\/li>\n<li> Put plenty of crocks at the bottom of the pot to help drainage.<\/li>\n<li> Use a loam based compost which holds water better than a peat based compost that tends to go dusty when dry and is hard to rewet.<\/li>\n<li> Locate the pot in place before it is full and too heavy to move. You can get base boards on casters so the pot is mobile.<\/li>\n<li> Black pots absorb heat, plastic is utilitarian and widely available, some ceramics will not be frost proof.<\/li>\n<li> If you aim to grow tall subjects weight the bottom of the pot to reduce the risk of it blowing over.<\/li>\n<li> Cluster pots together to make a micro climate and watering will be easier.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/hortoris\/4285626622\/\" title=\"Container garden by brianpettinger, on Flickr\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm5.staticflickr.com\/4071\/4285626622_c6f4eab71d.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" alt=\"Container garden\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Planting Up<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> Firm your plants in well and backfill with more compost.<\/li>\n<li> Ensure all roots are covered as they would dry out quickly.<\/li>\n<li> Water the plants and if the surface sinks add more compost.<\/li>\n<li> Leave about 1&#8243; below the rim for watering.<\/li>\n<li> Deadhead flowers regularly in summer.<\/li>\n<li> Feed with a liquid fertilizer every week after the first month. Initially the compost should contain enough nourishment.<\/li>\n<li> Select some edge plants to soften the appearance of the pot.<\/li>\n<li> Aim for height that relates to the size of your pot.<\/li>\n<li>If growing a specimen like a half standard I would mulch with a coloured gravel to finish off the overall appearance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/hortoris\/6124035440\/\" title=\"Wheel container by brianpettinger, on Flickr\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm7.staticflickr.com\/6070\/6124035440_2c12b20112.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" alt=\"Wheel container\"><\/a><br \/>\n<strong>Container Equipment<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> I ofter use a saucer under pots to help watering.<\/li>\n<li>In winter pots need to be raised off the ground on feet or bricks so they do not freeze to the soil and break. <\/li>\n<li>If pots are not frost free then give them winter protection.<\/li>\n<li>Experiment with different types and shapes of container<\/li>\n<li>A layer of grit or gravel on the top will prevent moss growth and help leave room for watering.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Selecting a Pot Use as big a pot as you can find. Larger volumes of compost do not need watering as often and take longer to dry out. Line a clay or terracotta pot with plastic to reduce evaporation through the sides. Put plenty of crocks at the bottom of the pot to help drainage. Use a loam based compost which holds water better than a peat based compost that tends to go dusty when dry and is hard to&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/articles\/design\/tips-for-planting-your-summer-pots\/\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-design"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9630\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}