Through trial and error I have learned that it is best to group plants together that have similar cultural requirements. This may sound like common sense, but all too often we let other factors determine what gets planted, and where. 

I needed a low, yellow annual in front of a wave of red coleus this year and selected portulaca. It started out okay, but I soon realized that the water requirements for the two plants were vastly different. In order to keep the coleus from wilting, I had to supply more water than the portulaca could handle. So one or the other had to go. 

It is helpful to remember this when designing planters as well. You wouldn’t want to combine lavender with hydrangeas because of the different watering requirements. Each year I like to group succulents in containers because they are so low maintenance. 

During a recent two week drought I was watering my coleus and dahlia container arrangements daily but didn’t have to provide a drop of water to the succulent containers.

The same principle applies to pH requirements. The need for some broadleaf evergreen shrubs led to the planting of some pieris and azaleas in one of my gardens. But often these acid-loving plants were sited right next to lilacs, roses and bottlebrush buckeyes, which prefer neutral to alkaline soils. As a result, I have to amend soils and alter pH in some very restricted and sporadic areas throughout my beds to try and keep everyone happy.

So if we want our plants to all get along and play nice together, start by selecting a grouping of plants that all have similar cultural requirements.

Posted by Bob Rensel

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 at 8:32 am and is filed under Annuals, Bob Rensel, container gardening. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.