SOME PICKS FOR POTS

Some plants are at home in pots and others are not. The seed catalogues often indicate which plants love a container.
1) Begonias. I like them better in window boxes or big pots than in the garden bed. The hanging varieties are not as floriferous as the regular. Begonias like semi shade and local begonia aficionados buy special fertilizer for them.
2) Geraniums – old favs for window boxes and containers.
3) Lobelia – is there anything more lovely than a pot of dark blue lobelia? For the shade or semi shade.
4) Pansies – OK, they have to be deadheaded and, as July wears on, the blooms get smaller and smaller. But I put them with the begonias and by the time the begonias are in full bloom in late July, the pansies can be pulled. Pansies are just so appleaing and a window box full of pansies is a joy.
5) Nasturiums – easy to grow from seed so even the kids can do it. There are hanging varieties that work well in a window box or on the edge of big pots. For some reason, they and begonias do not get along – chemistry I suppose.
6) Roses. See past post on sleeve roses.
7) Hostas look good in pots and in late August they can be transplanted in the garden.
8) Wave petunias are great (but expensive) as are the miniature petunias which do not have to be dead headed.
9) Many, many small annuals that do not have to be dead headed. such as dianthus, ageraturm, alyssum, impatiens, gaillarda, Dahlberg daisy etc. Check you nursery catalogue for suggestions.
10) Acidanthera (see post)
11) Herbs. I like herbs in pots near the back door where they are handy. Most herbs are slow growers and, if you put them in the perennial bed, the other plants walk all over them. My daughter makes up a big pot of mixed herbs – dill, basil, cilantro, parsley and oregano. They all clump in together and grow well on her deck. I put the various pots in a window box on the railing outside my back door. On the other hand, you might want to leave the herbs inside in a sunny window.
12) Pitiful plants. Perhaps you see a neglected perennial at one of the temporary nurseries set up around town (Wall-mart, Canada Tire, Zellars etc). By late June, the left-overs are a pitiful sight. But they are on sale! Rescue it, put it in a container, give out with the TLC and plant in the perennial bed in early September. If you put a weak, droopy, broken-down plant in among your healthy perennials, the chances are the patient will not survive. Nearby healthy plants will steal all the sun and suck up all the nutrients and the patient cannot defend itself. It’s war out there. So, first, pamper it in a pot of its own.
13) Feverfew. This intrepid volunteer, growing wild all over town, does well in pots. A back lane freebie. Wild ox-eye daisies or black-eyed susans are other free pot plants.