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Planting up a big planter
Hello,
We're not good gardeners. We have a courtyard/town garden which we recently had block paved (with full drainage). We're planning on putting in a large wooden planter (2.5m long, 40cm wide and 50cm deep. I went on one site and it said we would need 1 ton of topsoil to fill it! Can we put stuff at the bottom of it so we need less soil? Does it need to be top soil or is multipurpose compost ok? We are thinking of having a couple of lavenders in it and a hardy perennial (?) and perhaps something else ... but nothing that grows more than say ...... 75cm wide and 75cm high. We want things that are low/zero maintenance, provide all year round colour and flower sometime in the year. Ideally we'd like to do it in the next month or so .... but is it something we should leave to do next spring?? Your expert advice appreciated. Phil |
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I had charge of a similar sized planter, built in brick. The bottom third was filled with rubble to provide good drainage. A drainage outlet is essential. The remainder was filled with a mixture of John Innes no 3 soil based compost, composted wood bark, and a little composted manure. It was allowed to settle, then topped up with more John Innes before final planting. It was planted with a prostrate rosemary, a Temple bamboo, a small black phormium, Bergenia, and bulbs to come up through the other things in the spring. The owner subsequently also planted a shrubby convulvulus. Until last year, when the house was sold, everything survived and flourished. Watering was only carried out when there had been more than three consecutive days of dry,hot weather. |
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best wishes and good luck from Cornwall |
Planting up a big planter
"beccabunga" wrote in message ... Phil C;863683 Wrote: Hello, We're not good gardeners. We have a courtyard/town garden which we recently had block paved (with full drainage). We're planning on putting in a large wooden planter (2.5m long, 40cm wide and 50cm deep. I went on one site and it said we would need 1 ton of topsoil to fill it! Can we put stuff at the bottom of it so we need less soil? Does it need to be top soil or is multipurpose compost ok? We are thinking of having a couple of lavenders in it and a hardy perennial (?) and perhaps something else ... but nothing that grows more than say ...... 75cm wide and 75cm high. We want things that are low/zero maintenance, provide all year round colour and flower sometime in the year. Ideally we'd like to do it in the next month or so .... but is it something we should leave to do next spring?? Your expert advice appreciated. Phil I had charge of a similar sized planter, built in brick. The bottom third was filled with rubble to provide good drainage. A drainage outlet is essential. The remainder was filled with a mixture of John Innes no 3 soil based compost, composted wood bark, and a little composted manure. It was allowed to settle, then topped up with more John Innes before final planting. It was planted with a prostrate rosemary, a Temple bamboo, a small black phormium, Bergenia, and bulbs to come up through the other things in the spring. The owner subsequently also planted a shrubby convulvulus. Until last year, when the house was sold, everything survived and flourished. Watering was only carried out when there had been more than three consecutive days of dry,hot weather. -- beccabunga Hello beccabunga, that's very helpful. Tks very much. Phil |
Planting up a big planter
"lannerman" wrote in message ... Phil C;863683 Wrote: Hello, We're not good gardeners. We have a courtyard/town garden which we recently had block paved (with full drainage). We're planning on putting in a large wooden planter (2.5m long, 40cm wide and 50cm deep. I went on one site and it said we would need 1 ton of topsoil to fill it! Can we put stuff at the bottom of it so we need less soil? Does it need to be top soil or is multipurpose compost ok? We are thinking of having a couple of lavenders in it and a hardy perennial (?) and perhaps something else ... but nothing that grows more than say ...... 75cm wide and 75cm high. We want things that are low/zero maintenance, provide all year round colour and flower sometime in the year. Ideally we'd like to do it in the next month or so .... but is it something we should leave to do next spring?? Your expert advice appreciated. Phil Hi, Phil, you don't say where you live ? Regarding the planter, makesure that you have drainage holes in the bottom. If you had some stones or rubble you could put a 20-30cm layer over the bottom, and there is nothing to stop you using multi-purpose compost apart from the cost. Ideally a mixture of topsoil and multi-compost or even just plain Irish moss peat would do but try to put a layer on top of pure compost to stop the weeds. Also its important that you leave 10cm gap between the top of the planter and the compost to give you a watering space for when it's very dry. -- lannerman Hello lannerman. Tks for the reply. All very useful. We are townies from Gloucestershire. Tks again. Phil |
Planting up a big planter
On 2009-09-05 22:53:05 +0100, beccabunga
said: Phil C;863683 Wrote: Hello, We're not good gardeners. We have a courtyard/town garden which we recently had block paved (with full drainage). We're planning on putting in a large wooden planter (2.5m long, 40cm wide and 50cm deep. I went on one site and it said we would need 1 ton of topsoil to fill it! Can we put stuff at the bottom of it so we need less soil? Does it need to be top soil or is multipurpose compost ok? We are thinking of having a couple of lavenders in it and a hardy perennial (?) and perhaps something else ... but nothing that grows more than say ...... 75cm wide and 75cm high. We want things that are low/zero maintenance, provide all year round colour and flower sometime in the year. Ideally we'd like to do it in the next month or so .... but is it something we should leave to do next spring?? Your expert advice appreciated. Phil I had charge of a similar sized planter, built in brick. The bottom third was filled with rubble to provide good drainage. A drainage outlet is essential. The remainder was filled with a mixture of John Innes no 3 soil based compost, composted wood bark, and a little composted manure. It was allowed to settle, then topped up with more John Innes before final planting. It was planted with a prostrate rosemary, a Temple bamboo, a small black phormium, Bergenia, and bulbs to come up through the other things in the spring. The owner subsequently also planted a shrubby convulvulus. Until last year, when the house was sold, everything survived and flourished. Watering was only carried out when there had been more than three consecutive days of dry,hot weather. Is Temple bamboo Nandinia domestica, aka Heavenly bamboo? -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics. South Devon |
Planting up a big planter
"Phil C" wrote We're not good gardeners. We have a courtyard/town garden which we recently had block paved (with full drainage). We're planning on putting in a large wooden planter (2.5m long, 40cm wide and 50cm deep. I went on one site and it said we would need 1 ton of topsoil to fill it! Can we put stuff at the bottom of it so we need less soil? Does it need to be top soil or is multipurpose compost ok? We are thinking of having a couple of lavenders in it and a hardy perennial (?) and perhaps something else ... but nothing that grows more than say ..... 75cm wide and 75cm high. We want things that are low/zero maintenance, provide all year round colour and flower sometime in the year. Ideally we'd like to do it in the next month or so .... but is it something we should leave to do next spring?? You will need drainage holes in the bottom of the planter as others have said and a layer of rubble or shingle in the bottom to aid drainage. Soil is OK and will probably be your cheapest option and delivered by Builders Merchants. John Innes Compost is also OK as it's also loam based. However, do not use a peat based type compost (multipurpose) as it will quickly stop providing any nutrients, is difficult to wet once dry, and is loved by Vine Weevils and their grubs. It's not meant for permanent planting. Lavenders need full sun to thrive, will get straggly in time and will need replacing. If it is in sun then other herbs might be a good idea too, sage and rosemary never get too big and can be pruned anyway. Then there's thyme, marjoram and oregano for ground cover, all pretty maintenance free, all flower and attract butterflies. Being Mediterranean plants all do need full sun. -- Regards Bob Hobden just W. of London |
Planting up a big planter
"Bob Hobden" wrote in message ... "Phil C" wrote We're not good gardeners. We have a courtyard/town garden which we recently had block paved (with full drainage). We're planning on putting in a large wooden planter (2.5m long, 40cm wide and 50cm deep. I went on one site and it said we would need 1 ton of topsoil to fill it! Can we put stuff at the bottom of it so we need less soil? Does it need to be top soil or is multipurpose compost ok? We are thinking of having a couple of lavenders in it and a hardy perennial (?) and perhaps something else ... but nothing that grows more than say ..... 75cm wide and 75cm high. We want things that are low/zero maintenance, provide all year round colour and flower sometime in the year. Ideally we'd like to do it in the next month or so .... but is it something we should leave to do next spring?? You will need drainage holes in the bottom of the planter as others have said and a layer of rubble or shingle in the bottom to aid drainage. Soil is OK and will probably be your cheapest option and delivered by Builders Merchants. John Innes Compost is also OK as it's also loam based. However, do not use a peat based type compost (multipurpose) as it will quickly stop providing any nutrients, is difficult to wet once dry, and is loved by Vine Weevils and their grubs. It's not meant for permanent planting. Lavenders need full sun to thrive, will get straggly in time and will need replacing. If it is in sun then other herbs might be a good idea too, sage and rosemary never get too big and can be pruned anyway. Then there's thyme, marjoram and oregano for ground cover, all pretty maintenance free, all flower and attract butterflies. Being Mediterranean plants all do need full sun. -- Regards Bob Hobden just W. of London Hello Bob, That's really useful stuff. You guys and girls certainly have green fingers. When the jobs done (by the end of the month) we'll post and let you know how it ended up. Any further advice still gratefully accepted. Phil |
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