Grow Beautiful Plants in Pots and Containers
The container itself and what goes in it: choosing pots and planters, pot size, drainage, potting mix, filling big planters and reusing old mix.
7 guides published
Old potting mix can often be used again when the plants in it were healthy. Learn when to discard it, how to refresh it with fresh mix and fertilizer, and what to do with the rest.
Does a tall planter need potting mix all the way down? The honest trade-off of using lightweight filler, which plants should never get it, and the steps for filling a big container properly.
A tour of container types beyond the round pot: troughs, window boxes, hanging baskets, fabric grow bags, self-watering planters and railing planters, with what each is good for and its catch.
How to match a container to a plant: why volume matters, when depth beats width, how pot sizes are labeled, commonly suggested starting sizes and the signs a plant needs more room.
Why pots need drainage holes, why a layer of gravel in the bottom does not help, and what does: an open potting mix, clear holes, pot feet and saucers that get emptied.
Why soil from the yard packs down and drains poorly in a pot, what the ingredients in a bag of potting mix do, how to read the label and how a good mix should feel in your hand.
A step-by-step way to pick a pot: check for drainage holes, compare materials by how fast they dry and how much they weigh, then weigh up size, color and whether it ever has to move.
