Re: planting in pots revisited

John -

I like 'Mulligan stew in a pot' - very good.

This type of mixed planting is still quite in vogue, more like floral
arranging than horticulture.  If you think about it, many of the places in
which this is practiced extensively are cold winter regions where many of the
plants in these pots would never have a chance to overwinter.  So, they are
planted again next year, with new plants and perhaps a different experimental
color scheme.  That's fun, to be sure, but not sustainable with a year-round
growing season where these plants can thrive beyond Karrie's 'two seasons'.

I would also agree that one plant per pots is a better idea, though I
sometimes like to mix a few succulents together (some of these need repotting
periodically to look their best anyway).  I am especially fond these of a
larger pot full of a small plant, a nice big grouping of something that could
be potted individually in a single smaller pot.  This massing makes for a more
dramatic display and is actually better pot culture (larger pot dries out more
slowly and give everyone more root run).  Succulents are usually not displayed
this way so I find this to be very effective for them:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hortulus_aptus/2310224619/
The above Echeveria pulidonis rosettes can be 4-6in across, and I used to keep
them in separate pots as they multiplied (thinking somehow that I needed to do
this).  One day I planted them all together in a very large pot and now I find
them far more exciting as a mass, especially when they flower (you see only
1/2 the pot in the above photo).

The nice thing about a single species to a pot if that when it is spent, you
can take it out of the picture.  I have a large, low pot of Tritonia lineata
that I was to see why in flower (for it beautiful pale salmon-orange/cream
flower) but it is completely dormant right now and I've stowed it away from
view.

Seán O.

Seán A. O'Hara
sean(at)gimcw.org
www.hortulusaptus.com


------------------------------ Original Message ------------------------------
Subject: Re: planting in pots revisited
From:    "John C. Macgregor" <jonivy@earthlink.net>
Date:    Sun, July 27, 2008 10:20 pm
To:      pkssreid@comcast.net
Cc:      medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
------------------------------------------------------------------------------


On Jul 27, 2008, at 7:45 PM, Reidfamily wrote:

> As for mixed plantings in pots, I have given it up.    I find it very
> difficult to match watering requirements, and I never seem to build an
> arrangement that looks good for more than 2 seasons at best.  Then
> I am left
> with an unbalanced arrangement which I inwardly moan about and
> procrastinate
> in fixing.  (Can anyone relate?)  My solution has been to plant
> lots of pots
> with only one species and arrange them according to their best look
> and
> season.  It is so much easier and would allow the person interested in
> planting special bulbs to give them exactly what they need, and
> then just
> put them on the side of the house when they are dormant!  It seems
> like a
> bit more work, but in the long run I find I waste fewer plants and am
> happier with the look of things.

Carrie,

I came to exactly this same conclusion several years ago.  I have
abandoned the "Mulligan stew in a pot'' effect for a more flexible
and fluid arrangement of one-species pots that can be rearranged with
the seasons or completely recomposed for ay special occasion.  Also,
when one plant goes bad, it can be replaced or repotted without
disturbing the other plants.  I find in multiple species pots, no
matter how well you think you have selected companions, one species
always takes over and dominates, requiring constant trimming to keep
it from shading out its companions.  For me, this usually happens
within a couple of months--not even one whole season.

The one exception is where I have a tall, treelike plant in a pot and
I use another plant as a groundcover.  But even this can work out
badly when the roots of the tree fill the pot and starve out the
groundcover.  I am finding that a mulch at the base works even better.

John C. MacGregor
South Pasadena, CA 91030
USDA zone 9   Sunset zones 21/23

On Jul 27, 2008, at 7:45 PM, Reidfamily wrote:

As for mixed plantings in pots, I have given it up.    I find it very

difficult to match watering requirements, and I never seem to build an

arrangement that looks good for more than 2 seasons at best.  Then I am left

with an unbalanced arrangement which I inwardly moan about and procrastinate

in fixing.  (Can anyone relate?)  My solution has been to plant lots of pots

with only one species and arrange them according to their best look and

season.  It is so much easier and would allow the person interested in

planting special bulbs to give them exactly what they need, and then just

put t hem on the side of the house when they are dormant!  It seems like a

bit more work, but in the long run I find I waste fewer plants and am

happier with the look of things.


Carrie,

I came to exactly this same conclusion several years ago.  I have abandoned the "Mulligan stew in a pot'' effect for a more flexible and fluid arrangement of one-species pots that can be rearranged with the seasons or completely recomposed for ay special occasion.  Also, when one plant goes bad, it can be replaced or repotted without disturbing the other plants.  I find in multiple species pots, no matter how well you think you have selected companions, one species always takes over and dominates, requiring constant trimming to kee p it from shading out its companions.  For me, this usually happens within a couple of months--not even one whole season.

The one exception is where I have a tall, treelike plant in a pot and I use another plant as a groundcover.  But even this can work out badly when the roots of the tree fill the pot and starve out the groundcover.  I am finding that a mulch at the base works even better.

John C. MacGregor
South Pasadena, CA 91030
USDA zone 9   Sunset zones 21/23

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