Container Gardening with Green Oasis!
We offer a wide variety of products in our store to build your own planter for both inside and outside of your home. This blog post is a step-by-step guide to finding the right products for container gardening in The Green Oasis Garden Center!
Planters/pots– where size and shape matter
The best rule of thumb here is the bigger the better. Putting your seeds or new plant(s) in a bigger planter gives the plant plenty of room to grow. Not all the growth happens on the surface. The root system will almost always be twice the size of the surface plant. Viney plants require a hanging basket or an elevated planter. Make sure your planter or pot has a proper way to irrigate the excess water with either a hole in the bottom with a catcher or a self-watering pot. Picking a pot that is too small causes the plant to sometimes become root-bound and this can reduce plant growth. Trees and large plants might fall over easily if they are in plant pots that are too small. Moisture-loving plants, vegetables, and non-invasive herbs that do better in raised garden beds.
Soil Selection 101: What You Need to Know
Using the right soil is essential to growth! Taking soil from your lawn can be too dense and full of unwanted debris. Picking a lighter, fluffier potting soil for a potted plant can help retain water/nutrients around the root system, maintain proper airflow, and provide room for your plant’s root system to expand properly. Using a mix of potting soil and gardening soil can provide a broad array of nutrients for raised beds and planters.
Plants are picky eaters– feed your plants right
Plants crave nitrogen, phosphorus/phosphates, and potassium/potash! An all-purpose fertilizer is the best option to start with for container plants and make sure to follow the fertilizer instructions on the container to prevent over-fertilizing plants. Be sure to use a starter feed specifically when initially planting any seeds. You can use lime in planters and pots if your plant sheds leaves to help balance the acidity from the dead leaves that can affect the soil and plant health.
Let’s plant that plant!
Make sure you are planting a plant that’s suitable for the environment you have! Most plants come with care instructions and tags that identify what kind of environment they thrive in. There is an experienced landscaper and knowledgeable gardener at Green Oasis Garden Center who can offer free on-site advice for garden care and flower/foliage recommendations!
