Container Gardening Offers Advantages

Container gardening is a growing trend for home gardeners. Portable pots can be moved around or re-potted throughout the four seasons while offering color and texture in the garden. While gardeners commonly pot up vegetables and annuals, not as many consider selecting woody plants for containers.

Jonathan Wright, horticulturalist at , provided tips on growing shrubs and small trees in containers at the Woody Plant Conference last week. Chanticleer is well known for its outstanding use of a variety of plants in various containers in its multidimensional gardens.

"Container gardening is a great way to add a sense of drama to your garden," said Wright. "You can use large plants in containers and put them on a patio or balcony if you don't have much garden space."

Container gardening offers many advantages to gardeners:

●portability

●good for gardeners of all levels

●good for courtyards, patios, decks

●good for areas with poor or rocky soil

●plants can be easily changed each season

●adds instant color and texture to any area

Retailers offer a variety of containers such as terracotta, concrete, wooden, synthetic resin, metal and glazed pottery. If you want to leave your containers out year-round select resin, plastic or wood for best results. If you prefer colorful glazed pots, make sure you elevate the pots in the winter, said Wright. Use bricks, stone, or pot feet to elevate the containers off the ground. This will increase drainage and help prevent freezing conditions that cause pots to crack.

Most gardeners have made that impulse buy at the nursery, only to return home wondering where to plant that garden "find." "Plants you don't know what to do with can work well in containers," said Wright. For example, for that "must have" fig tree (native to Mediterranean regions), try planting it in a container that you can move to a protected area during the winter. Potted fig trees can be moved to a storage area such as an unheated garage where they will stay dormant throughout the winter.

Figs add a tropical flair to containers in the Teacup and Entry Gardens at Chanticleer. Some of the varieties include Afghan Fig, White Adriatic fig, variegated fig, and black mission fig. Figs are great container plants because most bear fruit at a young age and do not need cross-pollination.

Dwarf evergreens such as spruce, pine, and cypress work very well in containers, said Wright. Consider using evergreens as a backdrop for potted perennials and annuals. Gardeners can change the color mix from year to year for an easy-care, interesting landscape.

If you do not have room in your yard for a specimen tree, consider planting one in a container. Many smaller cultivars grow well in pots since they have slower growth rates and smaller root systems. Japanese maples are an excellent choice for containers, said Wright. If you fall in love with your Japanese maple and move, you will be able to take it with you in the container.

Tropical plants work well in containers if you have a spot for their winter storage out of the cold. Tropical container plants, a favorite at Chanticleer, include papaya, variegated pineapple, Angel's trumpet (Brugmansia), jasmine, papyrus, agave and even a coffee tree!

Don't discount vegetables in containers, ornamental or otherwise. Ornamental corn 'Field of Dreams' sports green and white variegation with touches of rose, and dark corn kernels. This new introduction adds interest to containers at Chanticleer.

The talented horticulturalists at Chanticleer have created stunning containers with other vegetables as well including asparagus, cabbages, sugar snap peas, 'Bulls' Blood' beets, and even trombone-shaped zucchini (‘Tromba d’Albenga’).

Cut branches are a popular choice for winter containers. Red and yellow stem dogwood branches, evergreens, smokebush, curly willow, and pussy willow add texture and color during the winter season, said Wright. Cut branches of deciduous winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) brighten up winter containers with its striking red berries.

Wright is a graduate of Temple University and the Longwood Gardens Professional Gardener Program. Last fall Wright, one of Chanticleer's seven horticulturalists, was inducted into Temple's Gallery of Success because of his outstanding achievements and success as a horticulturalist. Currently, Wright is responsible for Chanticleer's Teacup, the Entrance and the Tennis Court gardens.

For more information visit: www.chanticleergarden.org, www.woodyplantconference.org. Swarthmore will host The Perennial Plant Conference this fall with many of the same co-sponsors including Chanticleer and Longwood Gardens. Visit www.perennialplantconference.org for more information.