Kitchen Garden Forum

I have again had some physical proof that growing in pots needs to be carefully considered, I am still growing in pots and clearly some plants look happy though I have yet to move those plants to either bigger pots or put them in the ground for comparison.

The plants I have moved all responded by growing bigger and healthier than those in either smaller pots or in the ground.

For us novices the marketing that this-or-that plant will happily grow in a pot is interesting and compelling, so far I'm thinking, "Nonsense".

Perhaps it's just the deep rooted plants ? Right now for me pots are a transition or a convenience.

I bought three new Mrs Jessops upright rosemary, two went into ten inch clay pots, the third went into a clay pot that had been designed for rosemary. It was about six inches square at the top but very tall, four inches taller than my conventional clay pots.

Same compost, the plant in the specific rosemary (smaller) pot is half the size of the other two

This is just one of a number of comparisons I've made this year, in each case it's been the same outcome and my thoughts are to get everything in the ground as quickly as possible or accept stunted growth.

Less bugs in pots ?
Choose your position ?
Some of us just don't have the ground.

Growing plants have advantage to change their places when you wish or want to experiment with changing places of pots.

Hi Alex.

I'm not talking about the aesthetics of planting in pots, I'm talking about practical matters and marketing.

Apple trees that have been photo-shopped over a tiny pot so you'll buy to grow in a pot because a huge market exists for container growing. We're being encouraged to grow just about everything it pots without the trade doing much to find plants suited to pots.

Many plants, maybe annuals, do ok in pots. If you're happy with ok then it's ok. The marketing people don't tell you that growing in a pot of a certain size will reduce the performance.

For a number of years I've taken my potted plant problems back to our garden centre, these people are horticulturists rather than plant purveyors. Each time they have said, "put it in the ground or a much larger pot". This advise has always worked.

These pots were sown with the same seed at the same time in a compost I had a lot of success with this year, the wildflower array on the bank just had the bank glyphosated, then raked, seed scattered and slapped down with a spade..

You tell me.

The plant in gravel is a self seed corn marigold, I have them all over the place but cannot grow them in pots.