Ask ANNE SWITHINBANK

Masterclass on: repotting container shrubs

- ANNE SWITHINBANK

Care for container plants

Q Over the past three or four years, we’ve accumulated a collection of plants in pots bought but never planted. They’re in a bit of a state and I’m not sure whether to bin them or plant them out. What would you do?
Gemma Cosgrave, Hitchin, Hertfordshire

A Impulse buys or unsolicited gifts of plants can often catch us out. We return home with our trophies, walk around the garden looking for a gap, give up and place them in a group. Before long, a ‘standing ground’ of homeless pot-bound specimens develops in need of watering, feeding and weeding.

My collection builds up on our kitchen garden patio, but in the past year I’ve made an effort to plant them out. As long as they are still alive, there is nothing to lose by at least giving them a chance and, if they die, you can always bin them later. Herbaceous perennials usually recover quickly from being pot bound, but shrubs can take longer.