Category: Plants in containers

In this article, we will be discussing how to grow the low-growing, clump-forming plant of Erigeron in containers. They are plants for the herbaceous border or alpine garden but they are also home in the container garden. There are many varieties that can be grown with their solid, daisy-like blooms but the most common are based on Erigeron karvinskianus, the Mexican Fleabane.

The small white flowers that fade to pink with age are produced over a long period of time from spring to first frosts in autumn. Other varieties produce blooms that come in shades of blue, pink and purple.…

In this article, we will discuss how to grow the wonderful colourful corm called Cyclamens in containers. Cyclamens will add beauty to the container garden, where the 20cm tall plants are covered in elegant blooms that are either red, pink, purple or white. You tend to find them on offer as either corms or garden-ready plants that appear in the outdoor patio section of shops.

They are tender cyclamens and hardy cyclamens but as you guess you need to grow the hardy cyclamens to do well outside here in the UK.

The flower with upswept petals are beautiful but the …

In this article, we will discuss how to grow the firm favourite summer bedding plant of Verbena in containers. They are plants that will attract pollinators with their rich nectar blooms produced all summer long. You will short varieties more suitable as part of container summer display schemes or you have Verbena bonariensis, a hardy verbena that can be grown as a sole specimen in containers, they do well in the ground and do well in containers.

The leaves are small and velvety green but this is nothing to the mass of white, blue, purple, pink and red blooms produced …

In this article, we will discover how to grow the beautiful flowering Mirabilis in containers. If you have holidayed abroad in the Mediterranean, you will have seen this tender, tuberous rooted perennial growing.  Its Latin name is Mirabilis jalapa and is often grown for its flowers that open in the afternoon (hence the common name of the Four o’clock plant). It is a leafy plant that forms a rounded bush that is easy to overlook during the day.

Later on in the afternoon, the flowers open that are magenta-purple or crimson orange and sometimes orange, yellow or striped. What is …

In this article, we will discover how to grow the beautiful fern of Dryopteris in containers. They are low maintenance plants that have the common name of male fern or copper shield fern, depending on the species grown.

The main advantage is that they will grow in a wide range of conditions from poor soil to rich soil in the shade and even in full sun if you are prepared to water.

Several ferns can be grown in pots but the one that is normally recommended is Dryopteris filix-mas, the male fern that has a shuttlecock-like habit. In spring as …

In this article, we will discover how to grow the wonderful colourful plant of Cuphea in containers. The plant has many common names depending on what variety and species are grown. You may find them sold as firecracker plants, cigar flower, Mexican cigar plant, Bat Ear flower, Bunny Ears or False heather. It is a tender perennial/sub-shrub that is often grown as an annual in the UK.

The leaves are glossy, oblong and come in shades from bright green to bluish-green, but they are nothing compared to the flowers that are produced. The flowers are typically long and tubular in …

In this article, we will discover how to grow ipomoeas (Morning Glory) in containers. Ipomoeas are beautiful old-fashioned annual climbers that bring much colour and height to the container garden. You can grow them up canes, trellises, pergolas, walls and fenced where the tendrils grasp on to.

If you do not have much ground to grow morning glories in the ground, why not grow them in containers and find out how to do this in this article.

First, growing Ipomoeas in containers will keep the rampant vines from taking over the garden. In this way, you will need less vertical …

In this article, we will be discussing how to grow Helichrysum in containers. Helichrysums are either an annual, evergreen perennial or shrub. They are small plants growing anywhere between 10cm to 50cm high depending on the species and varieties grown.  Some are grown for their flowers, whilst others are grown for the silvery-grey leaves that they produce (such as Helichrysum petiolare).

The ones grown for their flowers tend to produce long-lasting blooms that are paper-like and come in vibrant oranges, yellows, reds or whites. They can be bicoloured as well.

The ones familiar to gardeners in the UK is Helichrysum …

In this article, we will discover how to grow the architectural plant of Hemerocallis (Daylilies) in containers. It is a plant with large, strap-like green leaves and on top of these, strong upright stems that have sculptured flowers appear in summer.

The flowers are exotic-looking, trumpet-shaped and translates from the Greek meaning ‘Beautiful for one day’. This tells you that the flowers will only last one day, but they will be a succession throughout the summer months

Some flowers in fact will open late in the day and stay open to the next day, whilst others will open in the …

In this article, we will discuss how to grow the tender perennial and half-hardy annuals in containers. The tender perennial, Felicia amelloides has the common name of Blue Daisy, whilst the half-hardy annual  Felicia bergeriana has the common name of Kingfisher Daisy. They are often grown for the truest blue flower that you can find in the container garden.

They are low growing tender perennials or annuals that originate from South Africa. The biggest problem with Daisies is that they come in many colours but not true blue and this is where Felicia comes into play. The flower may be …