Many gardeners want colorful container gardens throughout the summer,
but we don’t want them to be a time-consuming, tedious gardening chore.
Here's a tip: labor
now – lounge later.
An initial investment of time and labor while putting together
your containers will save you many hours of work throughout the summer.
You can take steps at each stage of container construction to reduce or eliminate
maintenance tasks. The most time consuming task is watering, so
use every
technique possible to minimize this chore.
First,
select the right containers. Choose
large containers that are made out of plastic, glazed pottery, or other
materials that slow evaporation. Avoid
small pots, moss baskets, and clay pots that dry out quickly in Colorado’s
low humidity and warm summer temperatures. If you want to use baskets or other decorative containers, place pots inside them. Another
trick to keep the soil cool and to limit evaporation is to provide additional
insulation by lining the interior sides of pots with plastic bubble-wrap.
Good drainage is essential for plant health, so be sure your containers
have drainage holes that allow excess water from rain or over-watering to seep
out.
Watering
chores can be reduced several other ways.
Consider installing one of the drip irrigation systems designed for
containers. An electric or battery
powered controller that turns drip emitters on and off automatically makes
watering truly carefree. Another
option is self-watering containers.
You
can purchase these at garden centers or create your own. Simply run a wick from a water reservoir up through the
pot’s drainage hole and into the soil about half way up the container.
Fill the reservoir with water as needed.
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For good water retention, use high quality potting soil that contains
perlite, vermiculite and ample organic matter.
Do not use dirt from the yard. You
may want to add a water-retaining polymer to the potting soil. (Opinions
differ regarding the benefits of using water-retaining polymers in containers.
Some gardening experts believe they are helpful and recommend their use,
while others believe they are of little benefit.)
The
frequent watering required by containers washes nutrients from the soil. Therefore, you should add a slow-release fertilizer to the
potting soil so you won’t have to bother with repeated applications of
fertilizer throughout the growing season.
Prudent selection of plants is
another key to having carefree containers.
Be sure that only plants having the same light and water requirements are
combined in a container. You can
reduce
watering chores by choosing plants that are drought tolerant.
Plan to use long-blooming plants and plants with different bloom times in
order to have colorful flowers all summer without having to replant.
Also, be sure to include plants with interesting foliage.
Foliage comes in many shades of green, yellow, silver, burgundy and other
colors. It varies in texture, shape
and size. An eye-catching mix of
foliage enables you to have an attractive container even when few or no plants
are in bloom.
For
a final touch, cover the soil surface with tiny bark chips, moss, or gravel to
reduce surface evaporation and to keep roots cool.
Now you can relax and enjoy your carefree container garden.
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