How To Grow... Container Plants

Want to keep your container plants in tiptop condition for longer? Now you can, as Anne Swithinbank reveals your best options for bountiful summer-long colour

- Anne Swithinbank

Late spring and early summer are safe times for most of the country to put out their summer bedding, including tender plants sensitive to late frosts. These have been on sale since early spring as seedlings, plugs and fully grown plants, and some gardeners will have made a head start by planting one or two containers under glass. Here in Devon, we’ve been enjoying our pot of petunias since the middle of April, popping a fleece sleeve over the top whenever night temperatures below 40°F (4°C) were forecasted.

Easy way of adding colour

Pots, urns, baskets and troughs burgeoning with showy begonias, fragrant heliotrope, sunny bidens and cool lobelia are an easy way of adding colour. They rarely need weeding, and most routine tasks such as deadheading, watering and feeding are quick and pleasant. But, compared to established plants that are able to draw up water and nutrients from deep in the soil, container plants are needy and more mlike pets. They demand commitment and even holiday care, so make friends with neighbours for shared watering duties.