Container Gardens for Waterwise Planting

Container gardens are naturally water-thrifty, and the combinations of flowers, foliage and edible plants is endless!

Echinocereus triglochidiatus 'White Sands Strain'
Item # 46981 		Echinocereus triglochidiatus 'White Sands Strain'
'White Sands' Claret Cup

each $5.99
3 or more $5.79
Gaura lindheimeri ‘Pink Cloud’
Item # 53554 		Gaura lindheimeri ‘Pink Cloud’
Pink Cloud Apple Blossom Grass

each $7.99
3 to 6 plants $7.79
7 or more $7.59
Gaura lindheimeri 'Whirling Butterflies'
Item # 53555 		Gaura lindheimeri 'Whirling Butterflies'
Apple Blossom Grass

each $7.99
3 to 6 plants $7.79
7 or more $7.59
  • Topic: Container Gardening
  • Keywords: container, waterwise, drought, special plantings, Planting Techniques, containers, planters
  • Date: March 2002

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With Santa Fe looking at another dry year, we all need to be particularly conscious of the amount of water we’re using on our plants. Container gardens are naturally water-thrifty, and the assortment and combinations of flowers, foliage and edible plants is endless!

However, for successful gardening in pots, especially in a dry year, there are a few guidelines to follow:

1) Choose the Right Plants

Not all plants are well-suited to container gardens. Some are simply too big, others grow too slowly to fill out in one season, and there are those that just aren’t attractive in pots. None the less, there are countless others that perform splendidly in pots! Here are a few of our suggestions that are well-suited to containers, and can take hot, dry conditions:

Annuals & Cold Tender Perennials: African Daisy, Dahlberg Daisy, Gazania, Lion’s Ear, Marguerite Daisies, Marigolds, Portulaca, Salvia, Sanvitalia, Society Garlic, Verbenas, Vinca, Zinnia

Perennials: Artemisia, Cascading Oregano, Coreopsis, Creeping Thymes, Festuca Grasses, Gallardia, Gaura, Lavenders, Mexican Hat, Penstemon, Salvia, Santolina, Sedum, Stipa Grass, Veronica, Vinca Vine, Yarrows.

Herbs: Lavender (‘Goodwin Creek’, ‘Tenerife’, Spanish Butterfly), Oregano (Italian & Greek), Rosemary (trailing ‘Irene’ & upright ‘Arp’, ‘Spice Island’, ‘Tuscan Blue’), Sage (Garden, Golden, Purple & Tri-Color), Thyme (English, ‘Ray Williams’ & Silver Leaf).

Vegetables: Most veggies aren’t too drought-tolerant, but container gardening is an excellent way to grow them, since they’ ll require less water than if grown in the ground. Choose dwarf or determinate varieties such as Bush Cucumber and ‘Patio’ Tomato. Runner beans and corn also do great in pots, given enough space. Position pots of vegetables in areas that have afternoon shade.

Cactus & Succulents: What better choice for a hot, dry container than a cactus garden? Great choices include native Claret Cup Cactus, Ice Plant (Delosperma & Ruschia), Agave, Yucca and Dasyliron.

Trees & Shrubs: Many gardeners don’t think about using dwarf trees, conifers and shrubs in their container gardens, but there are many varieties that make excellent additions to combination planters. Remember to either choose slow-growing varieties or true dwarfs. Dwarf conifers such as Mugo Pine ‘Slow Mound’ give year-round interest to your pots! Our nursery salespeople can make other suggestions about the best woody or evergreen plants for containers.

A final consideration on plant selection: plants that are at least one zone hardier than the local climate (for Santa Fe, USDA Zones 4-5) will survive in adequately sized pots year-round. By choosing your plants carefully, you can create a container garden that will last year after year!

2) Bigger is Better!

Since container gardens are essentially self-contained microcosms, the larger they are, the more resources will be available to the plants. Most important among these is water. A larger pot holds a larger volume of soil, which in turn can store substantially more moisture than a pot half the size. Obviously, the more water a container holds, the less frequently you’ll need to water it!

Another consideration when choosing the pot is the material it’s made of. Plastic, foam and glazed clay all will retain water better than unglazed terra cotta or wood. But whatever you choose, make sure the vessel has adequate drainage in the bottom! Although we want to minimize water loss, we also don’t want to create a wetland bog, which will suffocate just about anything other than aquatic plants!

3) Use the Proper Soil

Using the proper soil mix in your pots is very important. Here at Santa Fe Greenhouses, we like to use a good soil-less mix (such as Scott’s 702 or Fertilome Potting Mix) mixed with a few amendments to ensure long-lasting blooms and increased water-holding capacity. Avoid using real soil from your garden beds. It compacts in pots and becomes unusable for the plants.

For each 2.5—3 cubic foot bag of soil-less mix, add:

2/3 cup BroadLeaf P-4 water saving crystals 3/4 cup Yum-Yum Mix fertilizer

The P-4 crystals act as tiny sponges, soaking up water and holding it for the roots to extract it. Yum-Yum Mix is an organic fertilizer that slowly releases balanced nutrients to the plants, lengthening bloom-time and promoting healthy growth. You can also mix Osmocote slow-release fertilizer into the potting mix or top dress with it later in the growing season.

4) Where to Put Your Container Garden

After you’ve planted up your container garden, you’ll need to decide where to place it. Because of Santa Fe’s high elevation and southern geographic location, 6-7 hours of direct sun is equivalent to full-day sun in other parts of the country. Therefore just about any container combination you plant will do great if it’s in shade from 1-2:00 PM on. And many pots do just fine in filtered or dappled shade all day long.

Containers placed near walls or concrete or flagstone patios will heat up more than those in more temperate locations. Not all plants will appreciate such harsh conditions, and all will need more frequent watering.

5) Watering

Your new container garden will use less water than similar plantings in the ground. However, because of their limited water-holding capacity, you’ll need to water them more frequently. Depending on the size of the pot, its placement and the plants selected, you may need to water as often as once a day. Low water use plants planted in large containers getting afternoon shade may need water only every other day or less!

One key to water retention is mulch. Just as flower beds benefit from a good layer of mulch, so can your container garden. Mulch slows evaporative water loss from the surface, and insulates the soil. Moderate soil temperature is better for the plants’ roots, and besides, the proper mulch can dress up plantings before the plants have completely filled in. Any mulch will work—pecan shells and Soil Mender Mulch are recommended.

And instead of dragging the hose out each time to water, why not use harvested water from your house? Containers can be more efficiently watered with a watering can than garden beds—and if you collect water from your sink or bath into a watering can, what could be easier? Use water barrels to collect rain and snow melt from the roof.

6) Fertilization and Maintenance

Even though you’ve mixed in Yum-Yum with the potting soil, many container gardens can use additional fertilizer throughout their growing season, especially annuals and vegetables. Use a water soluble fertilizer, applied once a week or so, or top dress with additional Yum-Yum Mix or Osmocote slow-release fertilizer in mid-summer.

Many plants will bloom longer and more prolifically if deadheaded regularly. Deadheading is simply the removal of spent blossoms. However, make sure you snip off the whole flower stem, and not just the petals. A lot of plants drop their petals after the flower has been pollinated, leaving the ovary intact. If left alone, the plant will put its energy into producing seeds inside the ovary, and not into more flowers.