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Finding The Right Containers
Whether your choice is a terra-cotta pot or a found object perfect for flowers, planting containers must hold sufficient soil and provide good drainage while protecting the health of the plants they will contain.
The first and most important requirement is to clean and condition your planting containers.
Even new pots, especially those made from synthetic materials, often contain some chemical residue.
Just sitting out in the manufacturer’s yard or garden center invites dust, dirt, old root stems, mold, fungus, and other potential contaminants that settle in and pose a hazard for your plants.
Always wash new and reused containers.
Immerse each container in cold, clean water for a few hours to loosen up any debris. Scrub it inside and out with a stiff brush, hot water, and some liquid detergent.
Use a mild chlorine bleach solution to sterilize it, ridding the container of any fungus spores or latent bacterial matter. Finally, rinse the container in clean water to wash off any cleaning agent residues.
Remember to use this same process on gravel or bits of broken clay pots you will use as drainage media at the bottom of your pots.
When selecting planting containers, long-term durability is a must. Pots made from long-lasting materials save you the chore of replacement and repotting should a vessel fail or break.
With any container, whether new or old, check for cracking, chipping, flaking, and other signs of damage, wear, or weakness.
Most pots manufactured as planters include integral drain holes in the bottom or sides. Note that some handmade or recycled containers may lack sufficient drain holes or need a few drain openings added or enlarged.
Plan ahead now to keep drainage holes clean and clear so they can do their job.
For almost all potted plants, crocking is a way to promote proper drainage and also keep pests from entering.
When crocking a container, secure a section of thin galvanized wire cloth mesh over each hole on the inside of the pot, then fill over protected hole with a drainage medium. Broken bits of terra cotta or clay pots, washed granite pebbles, or other neutral aggregate all work well for this purpose.
Crocking filters out debris, fine soil, and sand that can silt or clog the drain holes, preventing standing water in the pot and around the plant’s roots.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Preparing Containers for Planting
After choosing your flowering plants and a suitable container, prepare the containers for planting.
The first demonstration reviews the container, pot, or planter selection process. Follow its tips for good results.
Each container must have several functioning drain holes. Drainage is necessary to prevent the plant’s roots from standing in water. If drains are too small or missing, the next demonstration shows how to enlarge or add drains.
Some containers must be cleaned, sterilized, or waterproofed prior to use or reuse. Two demonstrations show each of these processes.
Choose and prepare your containers for planting by following each of the steps shown for each container to be planted with flowers:
How to Select Containers for Flowers
Select containers that are made of insulating materials to keep them from overheating.
The best planting containers are made of ceramic, insulated composite plastic, terra cotta, and wood.
Add more drain holes, enlarge any that are too small, or drill your own, using a battery or electric hand drill fitted with a 3/8-in. (9-mm) masonry bit.
If you reuse containers, sterilize them as demonstrated (below).
Wear protective clothing and gloves.
Dry pots overnight before planting.
WARNING:
Household bleach is made with sodium hypochlorite, a powerful skin and eye irritant. Avoid any hazard by wearing gloves and protective clothing whenever you handle bleach solution.
Reduce deposited mineral salts on porous pots such as those of terra cotta by painting the interior of the pots with a breathable latex sealant.
Dry the sealant overnight before planting, and soak the terra-cotta pots in water before use.
How to Drill Drain Holes in Containers
Fit a power drill with a 1/2-in. (12-mm) bit.
Use a carbide bit for iron and brass containers, or a masonry bit for ceramic or concrete pots.
Apply crossed strips of masking tape to the pot’s base, then mark the drill spot or spots.
Drill the hole, allowing the bit to gradually cut into the pot’s surface.
Avoid applying too much pressure, which builds up frictional heat.
How to Sterilize Reused Containers
Wear rubber gloves, read health and safety caution warning notice (below), and follow the manufacturer’s label directions for use.
Mix a household detergent and water.
Prepare and mix bleach-water solution with 9 parts of water to 1 part of household bleach.
Each of the two plastic containers should be large enough to comfortably hold the pot.
Thoroughly wash each pot in soapy water to remove any clinging soil, rinse in ample plain water, and set aside to drain.
Soak each pot in the bleach sterilizing solution for at least 30 seconds, then remove, drain, and completely dry it.
Always dispose of unused bleach solution safely.
Pour it down a household drain, and flush the drain with water.
Warning:
Household bleach contains sodium hypochlorite, a powerful skin and eye irritant. Avoid hazard by wearing gloves and protecting clothing whenever mixing or pouring bleach solution.
How to Clean and Waterproof Containers
Prepare the container by washing and draining it (as demonstrated above).
If the pot is being re-used, sterilize it (as demonstrated above).
Allow the container to thoroughly dry before you begin to apply brush-on sealant.
Don gloves, then paint an even layer of latex, water-based sealant on the container’s inside surface.
Allow the container to dry before applying a second coat of latex sealant.
Apply a second coat of latex sealant to the pot’s interior.
Allow it to dry for at least 24 hours before planting into the container.
> Next: Soil for Flowers in Containers