Starting a Seattle Container Garden Now

15 years ago

Hi all,

I posted this over in the container gardening forum, but I haven't gotten any responses, so I'm also posting here as I think this might be a better place.

I will be moving to a new apartment here in the greater Seattle area in 10 days, and I would like to start growing some plants in containers on our patio, which should get plenty of sunlight (although I can't tell you how many hours at the moment, as I'm not sure).

My question is what plants would grow well in containers that would be appropriate to start this time of year? I like vegetable gardening and have successfully grown tomatoes and peppers from seed for the last two summers (I never gardened prior to that). I'm also intrigued by the possibility of growing some sort of dwarf conifer or small tree (especially if it would be a foot or two tall by Christmas!).

Thanks for everyone's input here.

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Comments (3)

oliveoyl3
15 years ago
You could try the dwarf Alberta spruce for a Christmas tree & tuck a combo of evergreen groundcovers like golden creeping Jenny, Vinca, and Lamium. I've posted about the groundcovers before so you could search to find them.

I also like grouping pots of seasonal plants around a larger specimen like ...dwarf boxwood, lilies, ferns, euonymous, dwarf sweet box, hydrangea, hardy upright fuchsia. There are numerous choices this time of year & many to last through hard frost or some to last all winter.

For veggies you could grow cool weather crops mostly salads & greens pretty easily in at least 5 hours sun: lettuces, greens, green onions, chives, radishes, pansies, calendula, beets, Swiss Chard, & probably more. The sizes of your containers will be your only limitation. Shallow containers need more watering, but lettuces do fine in them.
Embothrium
15 years ago
Spruces and true firs are bug magnets in this area, you often see the dwarf Alberta spruce with sections of prematurely discolored or absent needles. A dwarf arborvitae or cypress would probably be the most reliable.
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
15 years ago
Virtually anything that is grown in the ground can also be grown in a container, provided one keeps in mind container size and scale and provides the necessary care. Most of my personal gardening is done in containers and that includes a lot of more or less permanent plantings.....Japanese maples, dwarf conifers, various perennials and then the usual seasonal selections of veggies and annuals.

A good loose, fast draining and durable potting medium is the most important consideration, followed closely by concerns regarding hardiness. Plants grown in containers tend to be more vulnerable to freezing temps and root damage than do the same plants grown in the ground but the upside is that a) the containers can be moved or otherwise protected in the coldest weather and b) fast drainage in containers often offers the ability to more easily overwinter plants that are not fond of our cold, wet winter soils. Plants like agastache, salvia 'Hot Lips', various succulents and NZ flax overwinter fine for me in containers but don't often survive inground planting through winter :-)