Container Planting Tips! - Dreaming of Spring

As the first eager daffodils start to poke their delicate greens up through the mulch, you're probably longing to dig back into your planters and fill them with vibrant life. You don't have to wait much longer! In this article, Ike will be guiding you through the planting process for a Spring container garden.

If planted and cared for properly, a Spring container garden can bloom all the way through Summer, providing multiple seasons of color and growth. Don't have a planter yet? Come down to Bountiful Gardens--we've got boatloads of 'em!

First things first--get your soil base in the planter!

Get a rough idea of how many plants you can include by plotting out a grid with a small pot

Once you have your planter out and ready, it's time to put in a base layer of topsoil and level it off. To measure out how many plants you can fit in your container, take an average size pot and press out a grid on the surface of your soil. The next part is exciting--it's time to pick our plants!

Coreopsis makes for a gorgeous mid-layer filler

Blue Cornflower has a gorgeous color and texture, as well as nectar and pollen that bees adore!

For this container garden, Ike decided to use Purple Cornflower and Yellow Coreopsis as focus plants and Meadow Sage as a central feature plant. To fill out the underlayer of the planter, he's going with a combo of Pansies, Muhlenbackia, Bacopa and Sweet Alyssum.

With so many Pansies, it can be hard to pick!

Sweet Alyssum is a perfect filler for lower levels of your design

The plants Ike has chosen have a variety of bloom times, which means the container will always have something flowering. In addition, Ike picked plants that have different textures and growth patterns. Some will grow tall and narrow ("thrillers"), like the Meadow Sage, while plants like Sweet Alyssum and Pansies ("fillers") will grow wider and stay short. "Spillers" like Muhlenbackia and Bacopa tend to droop over the sides of the container, accomplishing a regal-yet-wild look.

Get your plants laid out to make sure you're happy with your design

When all your plants are gathered and you're back at the planter, the real fun can begin. Before breaking them out of their pots, it's best to lay your design out in the planter to get the best idea of how to bring it all together. You can shift things around as much as you want, but if you're following the "thrillers, fillers and spillers" idea, the plants basically tell you where they should be planted.

Bacopa makes for a beautiful spiller on the outskirts of arrangements

Ike placed the Meadow Sage in the center of the planter, since it's the tallest, and surrounded it with the medium height plants, the Cornflower and Coreopsis. The outer ring of plants features our spillers and other fillers.

Tight roots can be teased loose a bit to help them establish into new soil

When planting, we recommend teasing the roots a bit with your fingers to loosen them up. This will better prepare them to take to their new surroundings and thrive sooner. Plant deep enough for the surrounding soil to just cover the top of the root ball, and then gently pack the soil down around the plant to secure it in place.

When everything is planted up, all that's left to do is feed and water your brand new container garden! For plant food, we recommend Osmocote Plus, which is a fantastic fertilizer that boosts color, vibrance, growth and blooms. Apply it as directed and watch your plants flourish!

The first watering should be nice and thorough, but don't let it get soupy! Water around the planter, let the water drain down for a minute, and then water again. Weekly waterings and monthly feedings are all you should need to provide to get the most out of your container garden.

A job well-done!

In just another week or two, we'll be chock-full of Pansies and other Spring annuals so you can be the first to get your porches and patios BURSTING with color and life this season! Be sure to sign up to our newsletter for the latest updates!!