If you haven’t planted your garden containers yet, it’s time to get planting. Now that the weather has warmed up a bit, most gardeners are in full spring mode. Hopefully, your yard and garden are starting to take shape. You’ve cleaned up the winter debris and you’ve been preparing your flower and vegetable beds. But the quickest way to some spring color in the garden is planting flowers in pots.
Maybe you have some daffodils and tulips. Or an ornamental fruit tree that’s blooming. But it’s going to be awhile before the lilacs are blooming and the peony blossoms are ready. So you can begin to add some color and variety to your spring garden with these 3 steps to planting your best flower pots.
Related: How to Create a Vibrant Spring Garden
3 Steps to Planting Flowers in Pots…
Step 1: Plan Your Containers
The first step is to decide on a theme. This could be specific types of flowers that you want to grow in your pots or it could be your choice of colors. I like to use a combination of both of these. I have about 9 very large terracotta pots spread around my yard that I fill each year. So I choose similar types of flowers for all of these pots. That way the backyard will have a cohesive look to it. You don’t have to have identical plants in each pot, however having similar colors and textural properties will help your yard to look balanced.
You will want to keep your garden micro-climates in mind. Some of your pots might be in full sun while others are in shade. And you can also have containers in between. Choose your plants to match your lighting conditions. Also consider the plant’s water needs. You do not want to include moisture-loving plants with plants that like a drier pot.
How do you decide what to plant in your containers? You can certainly look through garden catalogs and magazines or visit some online sites. But at this point in spring, my favorite way to decide is to head out to a nursery or two. As you walk through the rows of colorful plants you can begin to get a vision for planting your flower pots.
Here is the general rule of thumb for filling your containers. Include a thriller, some fillers and a spiller or two.The thrillers are the plants that will take center stage. They need to be taller, upright plant choices. The thrillers make a visual impact for the flower pot. The fillers are low growing, rounded plants that will fill in with massive amounts of flowers or contrasting greenery. The spillers are the plants that will cascade over the edges to help soften the lines of your flower pots. I’ve listed some choices for each of these categories to give you some ideas.
Thrillers…
- Caladium
- Canna Lily
- Ornamental Grasses
- Dahlia
- Angelonia
- Geranium
- Coleus
- Small Evergreens such as a Cyprus
Fillers…
- Petunias
- Heliotrope
- Calibrachoa
- Marigolds
- Lantana
- Begonia (this could also be a thriller in a smaller container)
- Upright Verbena
- Oxalis
- Dianthus
- Dusty Miller
Spillers…
- Sweet Potato Vine
- Bocapa
- Allysum
- Creeping Jenny
- Lobelia
- Euphorbia
- Verbena
- Nasturtium
Step 2: Plant Your Containers
Once you have decided on your container garden plants and purchased them, you will want to get them planted as quickly as possible. Begin by cleaning up your containers. Remove any dead plants and winter debris. The next step is to replace or renew the top one-third of your soil. Many gardeners recommend that you start with fresh potting soil each year. However, that can get a little or a lot expensive. My terracotta pots are huge. I have had them in place for over 25 years and I don’t want to spend the money to replace all the potting soil in these containers each year.
Instead, you can refresh the soil. The soil line often will drop during the previous season so mix in some fresh potting soil as well as a good dose of compost. This will add fresh nutrients to the soil which can leach further down as you water regularly. You should also consider adding a slow release fertilizer and some water absorbing crystals. Gather your flowers and let’s get started.
Begin with the thriller plant. Place it either in the middle of your pot or towards the back. It just depends on if you will see the pot from all sides or just from three sides. Next, begin to add in your fillers. You want your fillers to complement your thriller in some way. They can be contrasting colors or similar shades of the thriller. Plant these fillers all around your thriller. Finally, squeeze in the spillers that will cascade around the edges. You might only need one spiller depending on it’s size. For example, sweet potato vines can grow massively over the summer so you won’t need more than one per pot.
Once you have planted your pot be sure to water it gently. As your flowers begin growing you will need to fertilize them every few weeks.
Step 3: Maintain Your Containers
To keep your containers looking good all summer long you will want to water them regularly and keep them trimmed of dead leaves and spent flowers. Some plants might need to be deadheaded in order to keep them blooming. Another problem that you might notice is that sometimes plants will start to die back. For example, spring bloomers don’t do well when the summer heat increases. How can you keep your pots looking great? Here are a few suggestions.
- Replace the dying plant with a fresh alternative. The biggest problem here is that when the plants stop producing, it can be difficult to find replacements. I will often plant a few filler flowers in single pots and when I need a replacement I can use one of these plants.
- Fill in the empty or dying area with faux flowers. There are so many great imitation flowers out there. Choose a few stems that match the color and style of the pot. Carefully insert them into the pot so you don’t damage the plant roots. You will be amazed at how this can perk up a late summer pot.
- Fill in the empty areas with decor items. For example, tuck in a branch with a bird nest, use a garden flag to camouflage the empty area or place a piece of statuary or lantern into the pot. All this takes is a little creativity and trial and error to see what might work well.
There is nothing more enjoyable then filling up your garden containers in the spring. Just being able to work in your garden and see the progress is so wonderful. Planting flowers in pots is a great way to get your garden blooming. Whether you use the latest and greatest plants or stick with the old-fashioned varieties, planting your spring containers is the beginning to a long, productive gardening season. Happy Gardening friends.