| The Combination Of Indoor Outdoor Culture |
| Written by Keith Markensen |
| Thursday, 04 February 2010 08:40 |
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Container gardening combines most of the pleasures of both indoor and outdoor gardening, but cuts down on much of the care and work. It's like moving your indoor plants outdoors to better cultural conditions, or putting your flower border plants in boxes or pots where they're easier to tend.
Container gardening combines most of the pleasures of both indoor and outdoor gardening, but cuts down on much of the care and work. It's like moving your indoor plants outdoors to better cultural conditions, or putting your flower border plants in boxes or pots where they're easier to tend. Successful container gardening is a combination of good indoor and outdoor culture. For plants in small or large movable containers, you should rely on the principles outlined for growing indoor house plants. Perennial vines in permanent planter beds are treated like garden plants. Light and Sunlight Adequate light and sunlight are no less important to container-grown plants than any other. But here is a way you can have a riotous display of flowers in a shady area. Just replace plants, as they fade, with a fresh new supply from the garden center, or from some out-of-the-way spot where they grow to flowering size with all the sun they need. Pots sunk to the rim in a moisture-holding medium like peat are particularly easy to remove and replace. Humidity Depending on the weather's whims and the climate where you live, summer air can sometimes be either too dry or too moist. So select plants that are most likely to be happy with your growing conditions, and then make some adjustments. In sections where summer sun and wind are hot and drying, you can cool and freshen plants and the air around them by misting in morning and evening with a fine spray from the hose. Wet down walls, walks, and nearby lawns even more often. Or try hanging moist burlap as a screen between plants and wind and sun; partially enclosing plants in a tent of scrim or double-thickness cheesecloth; or building a lath house. If containers are not too heavy, you can move them into the shade for the hottest part of the day. Where humidity is constantly high, avoid overcrowding plants. Don't let anything get in the way of free circulation of air. And hold back on watering; let soil dry thoroughly before you wet it again. About the Author: Unpack for yourself why so many people are interested in mexican desert plants. Visit our evergrowing library at http://www.plant-care.com/1602-ponytail-palm.html. |