container planting near pool

18 years ago

I'm a brand new member and this is my first posting. I'm hoping some of you can offer a bit of advice. We are in Ozark, MO and several years ago we had an in ground pool installed. We've landscaped around it with maiden grass and daylillies which have done very well. The area is fenced and the only tree inside the fence is a white birch which I love but an not sure how well it's going to do since it was damaged in both ice storms we've had.

My question is what kind of container plants would thrive around the pool? I've not had good luck with potted plants and I'm really not sure why. I do well with in-grouund plantings, but for some reason have never done very well with potted plants.

When we were building the pool, the topsoil they delivered seemed really nice and was full of worms, so we bought an extra load to use in the pots which I have mixed with potting soil as I've used it and I fertilize with Osmocote. I have tried a variety of plants including bougainvillea, hibiscus, dwarf cannas as well as annuals like salvia and spreading petunia and balloon flowers. Last year I bought a couple of banana trees which were supposed to grow 7' - 9' feet in one season and they may have reached 3'. I am planning on trying those in the ground this year and seeing how they do and if it goes well I'll just dig them up in the fall.

Since some of these pots are sitting on concrete or pavers (although we do have a wood deck adjoining the pavers and those plants don't do any better) I assume that this makes them dry out faster so I water frequently. It's not that the plants die, they just don't grow much and aren't very pretty.

I would love to have pots full of flowers (I especially love the look of red and purple together - seems kind of tropical) growing out there, but so far no luck. Also, I would like to add to some in-ground perennials to go with the maiden grass and daylillies.

If anyone can tell me what I'm doing wrong or suggest some plants to try, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks!

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Comments (7)

oakleif
18 years ago
Welcome to Garden web and Ozarks Forum. Hope you'll love it as much as i do. I've learned so much here.

I started container gardening last year and so far have had good luck.

First the size of your containers need to be right for what ever plants you want to grow. most of my containers are 14" by at least 18" high. Perennials need these planters such as daylillies, peonies,sedum,minuture roses. If there is any room left in planter, i add shallow rooted annuals like petunias,marigold,zennias etc.

Next is soil. I use fertilome ultimate potting soil or Baccto all purpose potting soil that i get from a local nursery.It has fertilizer and stuff to retain water. I've been told that i could mix half and half with garden dirt but so far have just used potting mix.

My daylillies, sedum,peonies look healthier than the others i left in the ground. Leaves a darker green, thicker (amt) of folage. The peony has more buds than ever before.

I'd suggest using a liquid fertilizer regularly if you use regular dirt and of course plenty of water.

That's all of my knowledge. Hope i've helped some. If not there's a container plant forum here you might read up on their site too.
vickie
christie_sw_mo
18 years ago
Wish I had some good advice. I haven't had much luck with flowers in containers either. If you don't mind foliage instead, there are different colors of sweet potato vine and it is pretty easy to grow in a container. It's easy to find at Wal-Mart or any nursery. They'll also have "Spike" plants which work good for something taller to put in the middle. It looks sort of like an ornamental grass but isn't.

A good purple flowered perennial is salvia 'May Night'. It will bloom a long time.

Please feel welcome to ask more questions.
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missfourseasons
18 years ago
I have been forced to do a lot of container planting lately since my small yard has no room left for more plants unless I dig them up and get rid of them...which I don't want to do because I like all of them :)

I've just been using potting soil and have been having a lot of success, but the key is making sure they don't dry out and also feeding them! You really have to do that religiously to keep them thriving.

After that, your picks of plants should be endless ... but I've had a lot of success with lantanas in pots and I think some angel wings will look pretty...they have a lot of color.
gldno1
18 years ago
The May issue of Better Homes and Gardens has a section on containers with both annuals and perennials and shrubs. My MIL always gives me her copy....I quit subscribing to magazines years ago.

It does have some very good ideas and, for once, all the plants are not exotics or hard-to-find ones.
ekoboat
18 years ago
Hi itsjustmeagain,
Welcome to gardenweb. I live in Ozark also. Can't tell you much about container planting. Chinese fan palms do great in pots around the pool and look great in the summer. I usually do those as plunge pots.
If you have musa basjoo banana, don't dig them up for the winter. They survive very well here in the ground. Some of mine are already over 7 feet from base to tip of the leaf with a good 4 feet of pseudostem. I have two that I did NOTHING to protect for the winter and they are coming back now, maybe 6 to 8 inches of growth so far. If you don't have basjoo, drop me a line and we'll get you a few!

Steve

cut and paste this link for other photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7464701@N02/with/431980677/

Here is a link that might be useful: Backyard 2007 Ozark, MO
itsjustmeagain
Original Author
18 years ago
Wow Steve...I looked at your pictures and you've got yourself a tropical paradise right here in ozark. I did a double take on the woody the parrot one. He looks real. lol...your 'poolscaping' looks wonderful. I'm not sure what variety of banana tree I've got. I bought them at Wickman's last year and they were only around $6.00 each. I just picked up a couple to see how they'd do. Is there a way to identify them? The leaves look the same as yours but they're kind of reddish on the underside. I can't believe you leave yours in the ground all winter - especially considering the nasty winters we've had the last two years - but I love the idea of not having to dig them up. So far all I've put out there this year is some tropical hibiscus (bought them @ Home Depot for five bucks apiece..hope that's not a mistake) and I took missfourseasons advice and refilled my pots with Miracle Grow soil with moisture crystals so they don't dry out as easily, so we'll see how those do.

So where can I get the basjoo variety? And btw..what's a plunge pot? I'm guessing it's a pot you plant in the ground, but I've not heard that term before...I'm such a newbie..lol

Thanks for your help!
ekoboat
18 years ago
Hey itsjustmeagain,
Basjoo are a bit reddish underneath when the leaves are young and the main rib or the leaf is reddish also. The simplest (and cheapest) way to get some basjoo is to grab two or three good sized pots or buckets and we'll dig them out of my yard. Take a look at the banana and tropicalesque forums to see what you can do in our zone and colder.
Yes, a plunge pot is when you plant the pot and all in the ground. Usually plants that won't overwinter here, like those tropical hibiscus. You pull the pot and all out of the ground for the winter.
Send me an e-mail and we'll set something up. ekoboat@msn.com

Steve