Brick planter depth for camellia and hedging

Hi

I have 50-60cm high brick planters built. What depth of soil do I need for large plants and hedges. I am moving my camellia over there.

I have put some rubble at bottom to help with drainage. Someone also suggested to put a player of sand at the bottom. Would this help?

I have smaller planters of long grasses and hedges. Do I need the same depth of soil in these ?

 

Hi and Welcome to the Forum,

Your Camelia should be ok in a planter that size but you need to fill it with Ericaceous compost as they are Acid loving plants, provide as much compost depth as you can.

Assume the brick planter has a means to let the water soak away, either into bare soil or via a drain hole ? Yes a layer of stones, gravel ( not limestone!) or sharp/river sand will be needed for good drainage, say 50-75mm.
One note of caution if the planter has just been build, the mortar being fresh is Alkaline and may leach into the Acid compost, so if it is new, suggest you line the planter with some thick polythene.

As for your "smaller planters and hedges" that sounds a bit contradictory as hedges are generally big plants needing big pots or direct into the soil.
Also the smaller the pot and bigger the plant the more often you need to water, can be more than once a day in summer.
What variety of hedges and their height are you talking about ?

 

All I would say is they can be not deep enough, but they can never be too deep.
I'd always prefer they were open at the bottom to allow the roots to penetrate the soil below.