Beginner's Guide for Outdoor Potted Plants

If you have a small yard or a hilly landscape, you can still enjoy container gardening year-round. Growing potted plants is a little harder than growing plants in the ground, but our REALTORS® have some gardening tips to help you develop a green thumb in no time. Are you ready to grab your gardening gloves and start planting?

1. Make a List of Plants You Like
   Before you head to the nursery, think about how you want your container garden to look. Do you want drought-tolerant succulents, leafy green ferns, colorful blooms, or a variety of different plants? If you're a beginning gardener, go online to get ideas of plants you like, then make a list or take pictures with you to the nursery.

2. Evaluate Your Light
   Light is important for healthy plants. The amount of light needed varies between types of plants, but all plants require some amount of sunlight to thrive. To determine the amount of sunlight you get during the day in Nassau County homes for sale, choose a spot in the yard and watch for morning sun, afternoon sun, or full sun most of the day.

3. Choose Your Plants
   When choosing your plants, it's important to read the tag on the plant that shows growth requirements for best results. The tag will note requirements for sunlight (full-sun, partial-sun, or shade), watering (keep moist, allow to dry out), and soil (clay, loam, peat, sandy). Different soils have different pH levels that impact plant growth.

4. Save Your Plant Tags
   Plant tags are critical, so save them. They tell you how much light, water, and food your plant needs, how big your plant will grow, and how to care for your plant. Tags also tell you if plants are annuals or perennials which relates to planting and blooming seasons. You can check the planting zones for Suffolk County homes for sale.

5. Choose Containers With Drainage
   Since you're planting in pots rather than the ground, your containers need good drainage. Whether you choose clay, ceramic, plastic, or wooden pots, drainage holes on the bottom need to be 1/2-inch to 1-inch in diameter. If you choose pots without drainage holes, you'll need to drill them. Good drainage means life or death to potted plants.

6. Don't Skimp on Potting Soil
   Healthy plants need good, rich potting soil to thrive. Don't be fooled by tricks like adding peanuts, pebbles, and food scraps to increase plant moisture and nutrition. The more potting soil you use in your pots, the more water your plants will retain in their roots. When the potting soil in containers gets low or dries out, add a fresh supply to make sure plants stay moist and healthy.

7. Feed Your Plants
   Most types of potting soil don't contain plant nutrients, so you need to add fertilizer to your potted plants. A slow-release organic fertilizer can be added into the potting mix. It's best to empty a big batch of potting soil into a bucket, mix the fertilizer into the soil, then fill your container for planting. After the initial planting, you should fertilize weekly or bi-weekly with a good liquid fertilizer.

8. Plant Good Neighbors
   When planting container gardens, make sure all of the plants in the garden have similar growth requirements. Don't plant succulents that need full sunlight and little water in the same area with plants that need shade and moist soil. For a healthy, thriving garden, always combine plants with similar care and growth requirements.

If you're interested in Long Island real estate, contact us for information on available properties and prices that fit your lifestyle.