Planting containers for spring is a great idea. To follow are some of my favorites.
My recommendation for containers this 17th of May in Michigan? Do not be thinking coleus, New Guinea impatiens, begonias, licorice in any of its forms, sweet potato vine, cannas – the list of summer container tropical that do not tolerate cold soil is long. Annual plants that are greenhouse grown for summer containers will not like our cold soil, or the cold air. Refrain from planting these cold sensitive plants until the soil and the air temperatures warm up. Containers planted with spring and cold tolerant plants deliver every bit of three months, and will happily accompany your spring garden coming on. Choose to be in real time. The choices are many.
The tropical annuals that are greenhouse grown for summer containers are living in a warm world right now. Everything regarding their culture is right as rain. They have great soil. They have been fertilized. They are growing in a warm environment. Their place on a greenhouse bench is an ideal world. A greenhouse, on a sunny day in March, gets very warm, as in upwards of 80 degrees. Those sunny days in April push those plants with tropical origins into very active growth. A greenhouse crop of container plants is usually available for purchase way ahead of predictably warm weather outdoors. The transition from a hot house to your garden can be a huge shock to those plants. If you do not have a glass house to protect annual topical plants from the late spring Michigan weather, focus on what the spring has to offer.
I understand the idea to shop now. Every serious gardener wants to purchase the best from a big collection. I would only suggest that your awesome early picks need to be, at the very least, housed in the garage until the night temperatures are reliably over 50 degrees. It can be heartbreaking, getting ahead of the weather. At this moment, I am trying to stay focused on all thing spring.
Love all the vibrant yellows and oranges. Can’t help but brighten up any yard.
gorgeous inspiration and sage advice deborah!
debra
Just beautiful! And always so inspiring.
So beautiful, the colors and the containers! You have great taste and style!
So wise, and thanks for the reminder! Good advice for those of us who have wintered over or bought those seductive blue plumbagos and other tropicals. These warm days have made me move a few things outdoors into the warm sun, only to whisk them back inside for the night.
Your spring containers are so beautiful. Love especially the sweet alyssum and lettuce with the pansies and violas, and the shiny dark green leaved things……what are they? Did you buy the alyssum, etc., earlier so it’s now big enough to weep over the edge? Most alyssums I’ve seen are in flats of tiny plants. Wish a few nurseries would grow annuals that are big in late May and early June. Our summers are so short!
Carex elata, Bowles Golden is lovely right now and would look lovely potted up with a skirt of blue pansies. It also can tolerate a bit of shade.
Two years ago (spring) I planted several planters with pansies. I thought I’d leave them there until they got tired. The bloomed beautifully all the way through October. I love the combinations you showed.
Your Blog is terrific. I am always looking for a new POST. Now ready for your Summer Pots for inspiration. I have planted my containers in the Northwest with the greys and rust colors and plenty of textures. Your plants in the terra cotta urn are spectacular! Wish we had your beautiful terra cotta containers in our area of Tacoma and Seattle.