perfect potted plants

 

Potted plants

are easy to grow if you follow a few basic steps. Successful gardening needs thought and planning. Like cooking, success depends on preparation, the best quality ingredients and care. We’ve got 10 essential tips to help you on your way to perfect potted plants.

 

1. Check the pot for sufficient drainage holes. Make sure that the bottom of the pot is lifted from the ground on pot feet to allow the water to escape. Wet roots soon rot.
2. Watering is one of the most important features of successful pot culture. Never leave a plant sitting with water in the saucer, water thoroughly until the water flows from the bottom of the pot, if after several hours there is still water in the saucer tip it out. If a pot has become too dry, several waterings in succession will make sure that water penetrates the root ball.
3. Check with the garden centre that you use the correct potting mix for the plant that you are growing. Some plants need an acid soil and others do not. Ferns, succulents, camellias, orchids, Australian native plants and exotic shrubs all do better in different potting mixes. If funds are limited buy a smaller plant, it will soon grow, rather than buy an inferior potting mix.
4. Use slow release fertilisers that are designed for plants in pots. The regular release of nutrients keeps your plant healthy at all times.
5. Feed your plants well during the growing season and reduce the frequency during the dormant months.
6. When you pot your new plant make sure that the pot is only one size bigger, soil in pots turns sour if it is not aerated by the roots of the plant.
7. Never bury your plant too deep in the pot. Make sure that the plant is at the same surface level in the soil as it was in the pot before.
8. Never buy a plant for potting on impulse, always check the conditions that it needs with a qualified sales person before buying if you are unsure.
9. All plants thrive on attention. Look at your plants everyday and make sure to notice if they are not doing well. Remember that the sun moves with the seasons. A shady place in winter may be in full sun during the summer months, and vice versa.
10. Bring plants inside when they are flowering, or looking great, but put them back outside when they start to look tired. 

 

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