Starting Lineup

Starting Lineup

Welcome back to container planting season!  I spent last weekend scrubbing out pots and I'm not quite finished yet.  Unfortunately, I lost a couple of perennials over the unusually bitter Virginia winter.  That's all the more reason to pay attention to the hardiness zone information on plant tags. When I plant perennials, my rule of thumb is to plant those with a hardiness zone that is two zones lower than the official zone I live in.  For example, in my area of Virginia, the hardiness zone is 7.  Remember that plants in containers are more exposed than plants in the ground. So to be safe, I choose perennials that have a hardiness zone of 5, that is, if I want a fighting chance that they'll return the following year.  I planted a beautiful Butterfly Bush last year.  I took a risk knowing that the hardiness zone was 6. It did not end well.  Of course, I can always look at the bright side and remember how much I enjoyed having it in the garden last year.  

So get ready to start planting your containers.  I usually wait until Mothers' Day weekend. By that time, most of the cold nights are behind us so I don't have to worry about bringing plants inside--that's a lot of trouble and I really don't have the space for them anyway.  

Now that the season is underway, I'll be posting on weekends (occasionally more often).  I'll show you what I'm planting and offer helpful hints and lessons learned.  It's time to get dirty!

Bookshelf:  Container Gardening Books