You can grow many different types of plants in containers and place them directly in the garden or use them to decorate a deck or patio. When growing ornamental grasses in containers, you must take drainage, soil content, pot size and moisture into consideration. Following a few tips can help you successfully grow ornamental grasses in containers and incorporate them beautifully into your landscape design.
Use A Step-By-Step Approach for Potting Grasses
Before planting your ornamental grass in a container, understand the steps in doing so.
Don't Drown Your Plants
Unless your ornamental grass grows directly in water, you need a potting medium that allows free passage of air so the grass roots get oxygen. If soil does not drain, plants get waterlogged and often develop root rot, which can kill them. You must also have enough organic matter in the soil to to keep it from drying out too quickly, especially if containers are placed in direct sunlight.
A good soil mixtures is easy to make. All you do is combine a good bagged potting soil with a bagged topsoil, or you can mix fertile garden soil with with builder's sand. To help drainage you can also throw in a handful of vermiculite. Avoid using peat moss. It is difficult to get wet and doesn't work well for growing grasses.
Make Sure To Feed Plants
Because potted ornamental grasses often require frequent watering, it leaches nutrients out of the soil. You have to replace these nutrients to keep plants healthy and vigorous. For ornamental grasses, use an all-purpose liquid fertilizer about once each month. Make sure to follow package directions for diluting and using the fertilizer. If you do not dilute it according to directions, the fertilizer can burn your plant foliage.
Don't Scorch Your Plants
Newly-potted ornamental grasses need sunlight, but don't place them in direct, afternoon sunlight right away. Doing so might scorch the leaves. You can keep them out of the hot sun for a few days after potting them to let the plants get settled in their new environment before placing them in a sunny location.
You can use your creative gardening sense to place these potted ornamental grasses in areas that complement your landscape design. You can place fountain grasses in decorative clay pots and line them up along the edge of the patio or terrace. Or, brighten up the edge of a patio or top of a wall by placing a row of potted ornamental grasses along them.
If you have questions about using ornamental grasses in your landscape, contact a landscaping service like Four Seasons Nursery. The professionals can help you choose grasses that grow well in your area and fit your needs, depending on your landscape design.
27 January 2015
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