Growing Flowering Annuals In Containers
by Dr. Robert Black, Consumer Horticultural Specialist

Now, during the in-between season for planting colorful summer and fall annuals, is an excellent time to select plants and seed and to locate easy-to-care for pots and containers.

Annuals are easy to care for and are fast to perform. They adapt readily to containers provided they do not outgrow the size of their containers.

Dwarf varieties of summer annuals may be planted several to a pot, spacing each plant approximately six inches apart. One plant should be enough for a six or eight inch pot. Be sure the annual you choose is a summer flowering type and one that will endure the heat and long days of summer and fall.

Dwarf and compact varieties of marigold, zinnia, dahlia, begonia and cosmos adapt readily to pot culture. Other "children of the sun" which will reward summer days with vivid and continual color in pots may include vinca or periwinkle, impatiens, portulaca, verbena, gaillardia or blanket flowers, and ornamental peppers.

There are non-flowering plants, too, for containers, which have a wide range of colorful foliage. The gay summer and fall colors of coleus, alternanthera and acalypha or copperleaf are quite adaptable in planter boxes or other containers, and perform well until the arrival of winter.

Lush summer greens for pots may include ferns, fatsia, banana, English ivy, elephant ear and aucuba. Unlike most of the flowering annuals and colorful foliage plants, the greens demand a shaded location in the garden.

Even though container plants are easy to care for, they do have their demands for success. The major requirement is that of watering. The hot days of summer quickly dry out the container; therefore, they will need watering at least three times a week, if not more often. Use a slow stream of water so as not to disturb the soil or shallow root area. Potting soil should be loose and well drained to insure good water penetration and to prevent soil compaction.

Plant nutrients in the potted soils are quickly washed from the soils with continued watering thus need replacement with a biweekly application of a complete liquid houseplant fertilizer.

The removal of faded blooms of flowering container plants is important, as it is actually a slight pruning process which encourages more branching and more blooms. Terminal shoots of young plants may be pinched back to form a more bushy and well-branched plant in the container even before it starts flowering and during early stages of growth.

The wide selection of colorful summer and fall plants for pots, and the portable aspect of pot gardening which allows for a change or rearrangement in placement or pot groupings, will guarantee fun and attractiveness in home landscaping. Pot gardening also uses a limited amount of room and a small investment for such big rewards. The gardener who will plan ahead may add rich and vivid color with potted summer and fall annuals to grace the patio, poolside, wall or doorstep.