A planter, sometimes known as a container garden, is a container in which you grow your plants. It’s easy to find container gardening ideas, just remember that some plants are best begun in a container, before being transferred to a natural environment once they start to mature, while other plants are designed to remain in the container for their entire life cycle.
Planters come in a variety of styles and designs. Some prioritize functionality, while others are all about putting on a great display of your best flowers. For an example of this latter type, take a look at ePlanters – Decorative Planters. So, whether you are looking for practicality, or for aesthetics, here’s what you need to consider when choosing a planter.
Size
If you are looking for a planter for your plant to live in for the duration of its life, you will need to make sure that it has enough room to grow and expand. Even if you plan on transferring it out of the planter later, you will still want to make sure it has a generous amount of space.
Remember, while it is the part of the plant above the ground – the flower – that we humans are most interested in, the really important bits are all down below. Underground, the plant’s roots need room to stretch out through the growing substrate.
Drainage
In the wild when it rains on a flowerbed, the rain slowly drains and evaporates away via a number of different mechanisms. If your planter isn’t draining properly, the soil will quickly become waterlogged, and your plant will end up drowning!
In order to avoid this, try mixing up some of the substrates that you plan to use. Before you plant any plants in it, simply pour some water over it from a watering can and see how well it drains.
Right Materials
When you begin looking at your different options regarding planters, you will quickly realize that they come in a seemingly endless array of shapes, sizes, and materials. Each of these different types serves a distinct purpose and you will come to learn what these are as you gain experience.
The most important materials for those who are new to planters are wood and unglazed ceramic. Both of these materials will not only look great in your garden, they are also porous. This means that they will allow your plants to breathe, and they will drain efficiently. However, you might need to compensate by watering more often.
Weight
Most planters are very light when they are empty. As you can imagine though, once you start filling them with soil, the weight quickly increases. With smaller planters, however, even when filled with soil, they might still be very light. You want to make sure that your planters aren’t going to fall over. For smaller planters, adding some more weight, such as stones, or finding a stand for the planter, will help to improve stability.
On the other hand, if you have a very large planter, make sure no curious pets or children are likely to try and tip it over.
Choosing the right planter isn’t as complicated as it might seem at first. If you have a specific plant in mind and aren’t sure whether a planter is suitable, check out this growing guide for common flowers.
