The Best Plants for Container Gardens
Container gardening is a great way to add colour and life to your doorstep. Here are our top picks for plants to grow in containers.
The Basics
Choose the right size and type of pot. Ensure water can drain freely out the bottom of the pot. Use soil specifically designed for container growing.
Plants in containers need regular watering as they do not store moisture as well as in the ground. Plants in containers will need either a water-soluble feed during the growing season or a slow-release fertilizer application in the spring.
A general rule of thumb is that plants in containers lose 10 degrees Celsius of hardiness so if a plant is hardy to -10 degrees or Celsius or less it will need protection when temperatures reach freezing.
If a plant is in the same container for too long, it will out-grow the container and need to be potted up. This is especially true for tree and shrubs. They will need potting up after two or three years depending on the initial pot size and ultimate plant size. This is a reason to choose slow-growing or dwarf varieties of plants.
Everything you need to know about caring for your container garden can be found here.
Plant Selection
When selecting plants to grow in container gardens it is critical to select plants that can tolerate the added stress of container growing. When selecting plants to grow in containers here are a series of questions that will help you to select the right plant.
Can this plant handle inconsistent moisture or dryer conditions?
Is the plant a dwarf variety or does it have an ultimate size smaller than that of standard garden specimens?
What type of root system does this plant have? Does it have a very vigorous root system with a taproot that isn’t ideal for containers, or a shallow, fibrous root system that is better suited to container growing?
Is this plant something that you can repot into a larger pot once it outgrows the pot?
Do you have the right light levels for this plant?
Do you have windows that can reflect refracted light onto the plants? If this is the case be sure to select plants that can handle hot sun.
Tips and Tricks
Plant a funky container with a simple evergreen shrub so the planter can be the star of the show.
Have fun with colour. Growing in containers is great because if something doesn’t work together you can just move your planter.
Plant a variety of foliage types: grasses, conifers, evergreen, fall colour.
Don’t forget annuals. See bare soil in your planters? Pop in some 2” basket stuffers for summer colour.
Plant Lists for Container Gardening
Vegetables for Containers
| Vegetables | |
|---|---|
| Beans | Bush beans or pole beans will thrive in containers as long as they are large enough. Provide support for pole beans. |
| Carrots | Use a container that's double the depth your variety will grow. |
| Cucumbers | Bush cucumbers work especially well in containers but vining cucumbers will also do well with support. |
| Garlic | Plant in the fall and harvest in July. |
| Kale | A great vegetable for year round harvest, plant one kale per container |
| Leafy greens | Spinach and leaf lettuce are among the many greens that you can snip to eat one day and then snip again a few days later. Grow the cool-season crops in spring or fall. They also tolerate partial shade. |
| Peas | Put tall supports in the container when planting seedlings. |
| Peppers | Try traditional bell peppers, or spice it up with hot peppers that are perfect for homemade salsa. |
| Potatoes | Determinate varieties do not need hilling and are well-suited for containers. |
| Radishes | The container doesn't have to be that large for this spring and fall vegetable. |
| Tomatoes | Determinate varieties need less support, but still benefit from a tomato cage. Tumbling Tom is a cherry tomato that is works especially well in hanging baskets. |
Fruits for Containers
Apple trees - columnar or dwarf
Blueberries
Cherry trees - columnar or dwarf
Lemon*
Pomegranate*
Raspberry - Raspberry Shortcake
Strawberries
*May need winter protection
Herbs for Containers
Basil
Chamomile
Chives
Cilantro
Lemon balm
Marjoram
Mint
Oregano
Parsley
Rosemary
Sage
Tarragon
Thyme
Perennials and Grasses for Containers
| Botanical Name | Name |
|---|---|
| Erysimum 'Bowles's Mauve' | Bowles Mauve Wallflower |
| Festuca glauca | Blue Fescue |
| Hakonechloa 'Aureola' | Japanese Forest Grass |
| Helleborus | Hellebore |
| Heuchera | Coral bells |
| Hosta | Hosta |
| Lavandula | Lavender |
| Sedum | Stonecrop |
| Viola | Violet |
Shrubs for Containers
| Botanical Name | Name | Deciduous or Evergreen |
|---|---|---|
| Arbutus unedo | Strawberry tree | Evergreen |
| Azalea | Azalea | Evergreen or deciduous |
| Bamboo sp. | Bamboo | Evergreen |
| Buxus | Boxwood | Evergreen |
| Forsythia 'Show Off' | Forsythia | Deciduous |
| Fothergilla | Witch-alder | Deciduous |
| Fuchsia | Hardy fuchsia | Deciduous |
| Hydrangea | Hydrangea | Deciduous |
| Ilex crenata | Japanese holly | Evergreen |
| Leucothoe | Leucothoe | Evergreen |
| Nandina | Heavenly bamboo | Evergreen |
| Pieris | Lily-of-the-valley shrub | Evergreen |
| Rhodendron | Rhododendron | Evergreen |
| Rose | Rose | Deciduous |
Deciduous Trees for Containers
Acer circinatum 'Little Gem'
Amelanchier 'Autumn Brilliance'
Ginkgo
Japanese Maples
Malus 'Coralburst'
Prunus incisa 'Little Twist'
Styrax 'Evening Light'
Conifers for Containers
Cedrus atlantica 'Horstmann'
Cedrus deodara 'Feelin' Blue'
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Gracilis'
Picea glauca 'Conica'
Pinus mugo 'Slowmound'
Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd'
Tsuga mertensiana
