The wide variety of available plant material can make shopping for your sponsored planters a bit overwhelming. If you are struggling to decide what to plant, perhaps this page can help.
Planting for Summer
If you're just starting out, basic container garden design suggests that you use "a thriller, a filler, and a spiller". This means that you choose a tall "thriller" plant for height and drama, such as canna, elephant ear, Egyptian papyrus, or perhaps an ornamental grass. Then you can surround your selected "thriller" plant with "fillers", typically chosen for their mounded habits. Popular choices for "fillers" are lantana (due to their drought tolerance), petunias, zinnias, coleus, begonias, and euphorbia. Lastly, "spiller" plants tumble gracefully over the sides of the planter, and soften the edges. Sponsors often choose sweet potato vine, asparagus fern, purpleheart, Swedish ivy, bacopa, or trailing verbena as spiller plants.
As you are selecting plants, remember that your planters can be viewed from all sides, so your tall plants are best placed in the center of your planting area. Also, be aware of water needs. If you can water your planter every single day, then it's probably okay to plant Egyptian papyrus. If not, select something that requires a little less water. Sweet potato vine is another one that will let you know when it's too dry, but it usually bounces back after you've given it a drink. Be advised that as your plants grow, they will require more water. On a hot day in August, a small planter will easily take 5 gallons, and one of the larger planters might take 10 gallons.
Will you be able to deadhead your plants? Aesthetically, spent canna blooms should be removed, as should coleus flowers. Coleus are grown for their foliage, so pinching the insignificant flowers helps send energy back to producing foliage. Zinnias and trailing verbena also benefit from daily deadheading.
Whatever you do, do not plant for the summer months before the threat of frost has passed. The deadline for summer planting is mid May, and it is tempting to plant earlier. A night of frost in early May is not uncommon in Pennsylvania, however, and you could easily lose your tender annual plants if you've planted too early. Be patient. When the time is right, consider planting everything with a bit of compost and some slow-release granular fertilizer. Adding a layer of bark mulch will help to keep the weeds down, and maintain some moisture.
Below is a gallery of well designed container gardens. Look for the captions to help identify plant varieties. Be sure to visit the gallery on the home page, as well. This page is still under construction, and will be updated frequently.
Planting for Summer
If you're just starting out, basic container garden design suggests that you use "a thriller, a filler, and a spiller". This means that you choose a tall "thriller" plant for height and drama, such as canna, elephant ear, Egyptian papyrus, or perhaps an ornamental grass. Then you can surround your selected "thriller" plant with "fillers", typically chosen for their mounded habits. Popular choices for "fillers" are lantana (due to their drought tolerance), petunias, zinnias, coleus, begonias, and euphorbia. Lastly, "spiller" plants tumble gracefully over the sides of the planter, and soften the edges. Sponsors often choose sweet potato vine, asparagus fern, purpleheart, Swedish ivy, bacopa, or trailing verbena as spiller plants.
As you are selecting plants, remember that your planters can be viewed from all sides, so your tall plants are best placed in the center of your planting area. Also, be aware of water needs. If you can water your planter every single day, then it's probably okay to plant Egyptian papyrus. If not, select something that requires a little less water. Sweet potato vine is another one that will let you know when it's too dry, but it usually bounces back after you've given it a drink. Be advised that as your plants grow, they will require more water. On a hot day in August, a small planter will easily take 5 gallons, and one of the larger planters might take 10 gallons.
Will you be able to deadhead your plants? Aesthetically, spent canna blooms should be removed, as should coleus flowers. Coleus are grown for their foliage, so pinching the insignificant flowers helps send energy back to producing foliage. Zinnias and trailing verbena also benefit from daily deadheading.
Whatever you do, do not plant for the summer months before the threat of frost has passed. The deadline for summer planting is mid May, and it is tempting to plant earlier. A night of frost in early May is not uncommon in Pennsylvania, however, and you could easily lose your tender annual plants if you've planted too early. Be patient. When the time is right, consider planting everything with a bit of compost and some slow-release granular fertilizer. Adding a layer of bark mulch will help to keep the weeds down, and maintain some moisture.
Below is a gallery of well designed container gardens. Look for the captions to help identify plant varieties. Be sure to visit the gallery on the home page, as well. This page is still under construction, and will be updated frequently.
