Some gardens will begin to look a little bleak over the next few months, but plant some pots or window boxes now and you’ll have a great show of colour that will banish the winter blues.
There’s no shortage of plants that can be grown in pots over autumn and winter. Heathers, box, skimmia, choisya, euonymus and hebe are just some of the shrubs that can be combined with bedding plants, such as violas, pansies, primroses and polyanthus.
Key things to make sure you do when you make your containers:
- Make sure the container has got holes in the bottom as this is really important for drainage
- Use broken tiles or plastic pots in the bottom of the container to stop your plants getting waterlogged
- Add the compost and water retentive gel
- Make sure you don’t overfill the container, leave about an inch between the top of the compost and the top of the pot.
- Give the container a shake and firm down the compost
- Add trailing plants around the edge of the container – trailing pansies look nice – put them about 10 centimetres apart.
- Use plants to give height in the middle, for example, Wallflowers
- Water the container well
Your container may look a bit sparse to begin with and it will take about four to six weeks for your plants to establish themselves but once your plants get going they will look absolutely stunning and your container will be full of colour.
To ensure the container continues to earn its keep until spring, water regularly and dead head flowers as they start to fade. Containers are best placed on pot feet to ensure excess water can drain away.
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