AVON, Ohio (WJW) — Container gardens are a great way to garden, especially if you are short on space. Fox 8’s Scott Sabol gets tips from AJ Petitti, President of Petitti Garden Centers.
The Petitti team compiles these tips to help you enjoy this type of gardening to the fullest:
- Replace the soil in your containers each year with fresh, light, nutrient-rich potting mix.
- Use the “thriller, filler, spiller” method of plant design to achieve an aesthetically pleasing combination.
- Annuals are a popular go-to for container gardening but don’t shy away from planting perennials, shrubs, and even small ornamental trees in containers.
- Perennials like ferns, grasses, and lavenders will look great all summer and then can be planted in the landscape this fall for long-term enjoyment.
- Shrubs like roses, boxwood, and more can be planted in containers and they’ll be hardy enough to survive over the next winter.
- Small, slow-growing trees like Japanese Maples are great for planting in containers to decorate the patio and add some height.
- When planting veggies & herbs in containers, remember that they start very small and grow very large over the course of the season, so spacing is important and using a tomato cage to support tomatoes but also to support vining vegetables like cucumbers is helpful.
- Keep frost cloth or bedsheets handy until we’re past the average frost-free date for Northeast Ohio (May 15), so you’re ready to cover the containers in the event a nighttime frost warning is issued. You can also easily move containers into the garage if a frost is expected.