Need help with starting my potty garden!

Hi everyone- hope I find some kindred potty spirits here. Looking for advice about where to start container gardening. I read lots of conflicting advice about how to garden exclusively in pots, but I'll give the bare essentials.

I have no soil- so my challenge is to create a pot garden.

I want to create some height (not hanging baskets, I have those) for year round interest.

I thought about small trees but have had conflicting advice.

I have thought about bamboos but again, conflicting advice here.

Someone suggested cordylines but I'm up north.

I am now thinking about maybe olive trees?

Any one with experience of growing tall things in pots that may last a few years?

My yard is very sunny- south to south west facing and very sheltered- but I'm in Yorkshire so not tropical.

Any advice appreciated!

 

Hi , how big are your pots ?

When planting up permanent pots is ideal to use a soil based compost like John innes no3 mixed with multi compost , if you are just planting up a summer display multi compost is fine .

With containers they rely solely on you for feeding / watering etc.

what sort of look of look are you looking for exotic / jungle / cottage etc ?

 

Hi Perki!

I have been shielding from the virus and decided that before getting a tree a needed a pot. I ordered the biggest one I could find on-line and it is HUGE! It is recycled plastic so not heavy and it has wheels and an inbuilt reservoir. It doesn't give volume capacity but measures 59x53 which didn't seem a lot at the time!

What look am I going for? Noting too tidy or ornamental something that will have some movement/scent/natural? Maybe I'm asking too much!

 

I've not grown one in a pot, but I can't recommend lilac microphylla enough for all-year appeal. It's a medium-sized shrub (about 4ft tall) and like all lilacs it has pretty flowers and scent in May. Unlike other lilacs though it keeps flowering sporadically all year until the frosts hit.

 

Hi, if you like flowers, you can grow roses.there are many variety. If you want very tall, climbers good and flowers in summer time.You may try camellia also, it's flowers late winter to early spring and it's give you ever green. Both will be for long term. I have grown both in pots. Hope this may help you.
Thanks
Puch

 

Thanks for this- I have considered this one. I do like lilacs and have grown them before, so this is a contender for the reasons you've outlined. I love scented plants especially- so will let you know how I get on!

 

Hi- yes, roses. I have tried in the past, and they are very resilient plants. Unfortunately roses do not like me- I have many scars from their attacks-so much so that I had to wear full length gauntlets when pruning! I may consider having some small ones eventually, though.

Camellias have been mentioned too- never grown those. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

Hi @Potty gardener , welcome!
I had most of my plants in pots in my previous house, and still have a few.

The best size for me is 50cm plastic pots, they are still movable but have enough room to accommodate large plants and the watering is reasonable.

For height, I had a Viburnum that survived and flowered every winter for nearly a decade. It's now in the ground and is thriving but it was perfectly ok during the container years. Dwarf Buddleyias are great, and why not try a full sized one? They are not that expensive plants.

Most perennials do well, and are happy with underplanting of spring bulbs. Many Dahlias are stunning, and do well in containers above the slug population.

A climbing rose climbing up a obelisk looks stunning. At the moment I have a Climbing Iceberg in a 50cm pot, it's delightful. Agree with the pruning and tying challenge though...

Raspberries (a cheapy three-season pack from Wilko) fruited well for about 6 years. Blackcurrant is a beautiful shrub and crops well in container. I'm now growing one as a standard for fun.

Permanent plants need good top dressing in spring and fertilising throughout the growing season. And watering, watering watering.

A collection of similar pots in various sizes can look very attractive. A solar powered water feature is my new source of joy, apart from the fact that it needs topping up daily when it's windy.

 

Thank-you so much for some great ideas and lovely photo! Yes, Buddleia is an option- I had one before which I had to hack down as a previous owner had just let it go- but in a big pot, why not?

Dahlia's will be an option for me too.

I'm going to stay away from fruit for a while but you've given me stuff to think about-much appreciated thanks!

 

Ha ha ha....
I never had lilacs..

 

I'm also a beginner container gardener with a ground floor terrace. One of the best things for height for me has been trough containers which I can hang on the railings. They're about chest height and I have put trailing ivy, geraniums and fuschias for a range of heights. I think it looks good, and am looking forward to experimenting with displays over the years!

Additionally, we have a bay tree which seems to be unperturbed by rain, drought or wind (poor thins falls over quite a lot... need to do something about that). It's pretty with fairy lights at night, and you can eat it.

 

Thank you- yes I do have some trailer troughs- I'm lucky that I have flat walls at a good height. I am now thinking of creating a tier of pots,with the big one at the bottom. I'm also considering a bay (laurel) for year round interest. It is so frustrating that now I'm ready to do stuff it is already July, which does not seem a good time for planting trees! And the weather has been so horrible today I have hardly done anything!