How to Plant in a Large Container for Shade

Containers placed strategically around your outdoor deck can help fill the gaps in shady areas. Containers add visual interest on your deck, porch or even placed within a mulched garden with different heights and contrasting foliage. Planting in a large container simply requires a larger number of plants that can tolerate low light. Planning for your container garden requires choosing plants that are shade tolerant and are of different heights to create depth within the container.

Things You'll Need

• Potting soil Mulch Trowel Small potted plants Medium potted plants Tall potted plants Watering can Empty soda cans Gravel Screwdriver

Instructions

Choosing Shade Container Plants

1. Decide if you'd like to replenish the planter every year with annuals (die every winter) or plant a more permanent container arrangement with perennial plants that rejuvenate each year. Consult with the nursery to find the best choices of plants for your area.

2. Choose your tallest plants first. Nurseries generally keep these plants inside the greenhouses since the plants cannot handle direct sunlight. Some great choices for height and foliage include hosta, ferns and ornamental grasses (spikes). Hostas have variegated leaves to create foliage interest in the container. Ornamental grasses come in a variety of colors and heights. Most perennial ornamental grasses won't winter very well in a container.

3. 

   Check out the variegated plants that don't bloom but have vibrant leaf shadings of deep magenta, pinks, light green and dark green. Coleus and brunnera come in a variety of colors and sizes to add a non-blooming splash of color to your shade container garden.

4. 

   Choose a few shade-loving blooming plants. Begonias, impatiens, geraniums, New Guinea impatiens, and bleeding hearts add color to the container. Make sure to choose just a few plants to allow room for the plants to grow and bloom. Plan to break up the flowers with interesting variegated plants to add variety or bunch the blooms together in the front of the pot to draw the eye up to the taller ornamental plants.

5. Include a few vines in your purchases from the nursery. Vinca vine or ivy will grow to drape dramatically over the edges of the container. Vines add a finished look to the planter and fill in the gaps between larger plants.

Planting your Large Container

1. Place your large container where it will permanently rest. Choose this location carefully since the largest containers require a good amount of dirt.

2. Punch multiple holes in the sides of at least a dozen empty soda cans. Line the bottom quarter of the container with these empty cans. The cans help drainage and also lessen the overall weight of the container.

3. Add a layer of gravel above the cans in the container. This layer should be about 4 inches thick to allow water to percolate from the upper layers of potting soil.

4. Add a layer of potting soil above the gravel to about 10 inches from the rim of the container. Leave room to place your plants comfortably within the container to allow plenty of space for the plants to grow.

5. Plan the container layout by placing the plants (inside the pots from the nursery) in the container. Move things around to decide what looks best. In general, position taller plants in the center or near the back rim of the container if you're planning to place it against a wall. Heights should decrease from the center to the edges or from the back to the front.

6. Squeeze the plastic pots of each plant to loosen the dirt. Grasp the plant down low on the stalk near the soil and pop it out of the plastic container.

7. Cup the plant in your palms and gently press your fingers into the sides of the plant. This loosens the roots to allow the plant roots to grow out rather than back in on itself.

8. Plant tallest to smallest plants into the container. Fill in around each plant with potting soil, making sure to press the dirt firmly into place around the plant.

Tips & Warnings

• Shade containers need plenty of water just as sun-loving plants do. Make sure to water your container regularly to keep your plants healthy.

References

• GardeningKnowHow.com