Large outdoor planters look really attractive & adds further garden appeal to you & others. Choosing a large planter ensures that everyone can see your beautiful flowers from across the street, allows you to grow multiple plants in a single pot and makes it easier to grow strong, healthy container gardens.
Here is a few tips to successfully plant in large planters:
1) RIGHT LOCATION
Before even buying or thinking about what type of plants should be in the planter, make sure to find the right place for them in the first place. Analyse what parts of the garden is more sunny or shadier as this will affect the plants ability to grow depending on the location
2) RIGHT PLANTS
Check your plants growing conditions- some plants can only grow in sunny areas so choose wisely.
You should also choose annual plants (plants that you will replace every year) or plants that are slow growing otherwise your plant will outgrow its pot in no time.
3) USE FILLERS
One problem with large planters is you need more soil to fill them which can be expensive & make the planters difficult to move.
You don't need to fill all the planter with soil as it might not be effective in terms of the plant roots actually reaching the soil at the bottom of the planter.
How do you solve this dilemma? Simple. Fill the bottom third of your planter with a lightweight filler material. The filler material will take up space in the planter so you don’t have to fill your planter with expensive soil that your plants will never be able to use. Filler material will need to be non-toxic & won't wear during the spring-summer season.
Here is few materials to consider:
- packing peanuts (use bio gradable or recycled one as they are more environmental friendly)
- aluminium or tin cans
- milk containers
After you’ve filled the bottom of your planter with your filler material, cover the materials with a piece of landscape fabric. Then, fill your planter with a lightweight potting soil and plant your flowers. Your plants will have all the soil they need without the extra weight.
4) CHANGE SOIL EASILY
Every year you will need to add new soil in order to keep your plants healthy. Don’t worry, you won’t have to completely dump out all your soil in your planter.
Once a year, simply remove the top layer of old soil and replace it with new soil mixed with a time-release fertilizer. Blend the new soil into the old soil as much as you can without disturbing your plants’ root systems.
5) OVERWATERING
Just because you have a large planter, it doesn't mean you have to overload them with water
Bigger planters contain large amounts of soil, so it takes longer for the planter to dry out. The topsoil may appear dry while the deeper layers of soil are still damp. If your soil is too damp, your roots can’t get oxygen to your plant which stresses the plant and makes it more susceptible to diseases.
To determine whether your plant needs water, stick your finger deep into the soil, all the way to the second knuckle. If the deeper soil layers feel dry to the touch, it’s time to water your plants again.
You should also pay attention to the weather. When temperatures are cooler, it will take more time for the water to evaporate from your planter, so you won’t need to water your plants quite as often.
And there you have it! Follow these steps & you should be successful in having healthy plants & flowers.
Check out my selection of planters with the link below:
Stone Planters – SaraStoneOrnaments (saraornaments.com)