Plant Containers - The Simple Way To Choose Them

 Follow some simple tips to make it much easier to choose a plant container for your indoor or outdoor gardening .

What Are Ideal Plant Containers? They should be attractive, even if not an objects of art. If they are to be placed outdoors they need to be strong, durable and able to resist all kinds of weather.

This is especially true of the large sizes, which usually remain outdoors all year around. In the North, alternate freezing and thawing is a problem in winter; in tropical climates, excessive heat, humidity, and moisture are to be considered. And in semiarid areas, there is the effect of scorching sun to keep in mind.

The ideal container must be large enough to hold a substantial amount of soil. It should have good drainage facilities through holes or other openings at the bottom or sides, though this is not absolutely necessary.

It must not rust, at least in a single season, and it should have a wide enough base to rest firmly wherever you place it. Besides this, it needs to be heavy enough to withstand average winds. In severe storms, movable containers can be shifted to temporary safety.

How Durable Are The Plant Containers? Resistance to rot is another requirement. Wooden con-tainers--except those made of rot-resistant redwood, Western cedar, and Southern red cypress--will need to be treated with a wood preservative.

Except for permanent containers, movability is another feature of the portable garden. Large boxes and planters can be fitted with wheels, and garden centers have redwood tubs that rest on platforms with wheels. A hole in the platform corre-sponds to the hole in the tub. Large containers without wheels can be pushed on iron or wooden rollers by two or more persons.

What Size And Of Which Materials Do You Want Your Containers To Be Made? An unlimited variety of planters and plant containers are available for your home and garden. These range in size from small house-plant pots to large boxes and urns.

Equally variable are the materials from which they are made. These include wood, glass, ceramics, aluminum, bamboo, straw, plastic, fiberglass, terra cotta, concrete, tin, cast iron, zinc, copper, and brass, each with certain advantages and disadvantages. What you select will depend on availability, cost, background, and its appeal to you.

In addition to traditional circular pots and tubs, there are modern and ultra-modern forms--square, rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, and octagonal. Also eligible are old iron kitchen pots, kettles, pails, jugs, casks, vases, crocks, jelly tubs, barrels and nail kegs, Japanese fish tubs, old sinks, bathtubs, bamboo soy tubs, and novelties such as driftwood, wheelbarrows, donkey carts, spinning wheels and boxes attached to roadside mail boxes.

There are also bird cages, decorative well heads, animal figures, and strawberry jars. Woven baskets may be used to conceal unattractive containers. Even tar paper pots, handled by nurserymen and florists, are worthwhile if painted or covered to improve their appearance.

There is a huge selection of plant containers available for any situation in which you want grow plants plants, as well as to suit your budget. Just follow these simple tips to make your choice easier.

Helen Wall http://www.plantergardening.com Exploring the world of container gardening, from choosing pots and planters, plants and shrubs to gardening tips and techniques.

About the author:

Copyright © 2006 Helen Wall is the owner of http://www.plantergardening.com, an informative website especially created to help you get the most out of growing container plants, choosing the right pots, bulbs, seeds, plants, shrubs, bonsai trees, gardening tools and accessories. For your success there are tips and techniques for both indoor and outdoor container gardening.

 Helen Wall

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