| Author | Content |
dave963
Decatur, IL
May 29, 2006
11:02 AM Post #2328090
| This is my first message, so excuse me if I get it wrong the first time. Been living in this apartment for about a year. Tried growing a butterfly bush in a pot last summer with some success. I just recently bought 4 more butterfly bushes, blue,white, red, and yellow. I put them each in a 10" plastic self watering pot, and have them hanging off my 2nd floor small landing. I also bought one of those plastic self watering window planters, about 30" long, have put annuals in it. I have been doing alot of reading about pruning butterfly bushes, but nothing about maintaining them during the growing season. Can I keep them trimmed back to about 3-4 ft. so they will not outgrow my container. |
Stinkerweed
Fortuna, CA
May 30, 2006
02:06 AM Post #2330660
| They will do fine in pots for a year or so but after that they will need a whole lot more root space. I have one in a 16" pot that sent roots out through the drainage holes and into the ground. After the third year the roots split the pot and it has firmly planted itself into the flowerbed.
To keep it small you might be able to root prune it along with top pruning and bonsai it but I have never tried this myself.
They appear to bloom on new growth so pruning them back during the season would deprive you of blooms. At least that is true of the 3 plants I have. |
LC2sgarden
Bolivar, TN
(Zone 7a)
July 15, 2006
11:48 PM Post #2510809
| Butterfly bushes bloom from new growth in the spring, so if you prune it make sure it is right after it has bloomed. Why don't you get a nice sansevier (mother-in-laws tongue). It can stand being root bound for a yr. or so and in fact needs to be so it will produce a flower spike in the summer and bloom. Also try some spaths. Also, try some petunias in a container set near a window. My butterfly bushes are planted outside and one of them is about 8' tall and 10' wide. Another planted last yr. is already up 4'. Good luck with whatever you plant. |
City_Sylvia
Dallas, TX
October 16, 2006
05:25 PM Post #2822945
| I never knew Sanseviera bloomed ... you got a pic LC2? I would love to see one. :) |
rubysun
Dunedin
New Zealand
February 26, 2007
10:27 PM Post #3228710
| Hi all,
Lots of good information on this site!
This is a page from Phoenix talking about containers and the like as related to balcony gardening.
http://lakeviewatsuperstitionsprings.com/Balcony-Gardening.a...
ruby
---------------
http://www.garden-nz.co.nz/
Fresh Kiwi Gardening! |
cindy_in_phx
Phoenix, AZ
January 25, 2008
07:22 PM Post #4454024
| Ruby-
Thanks so much for the link to Superstition Springs. I am an apartment dweller in Phoenix and am looking for plants for my balcony. I have a southwest facing balcony that will be partially shaded in the hot afternoons by very large pines. I think I will have alot of luck with this balcony. Thanks again for the link! |
cneill
Memphis, TN
April 14, 2008
04:46 PM Post #4808376
| Hi, everyone-
Dave, my own butterfly bushes have grown really well in free-standing containers. I pruned like a madman in the late fall, but wouldn't prune them during the growing season. The small pot size will limit the growth of the roots and as a result the plant itself, so you shouldn't have to worry about the plants toppling the container or anything like that. They do suck down water at an astonishing rate when they reach 3-4 feet, however.
Good luck!
Twenty Square Feet: Life As A Container Gardener
http://twentysquarefeet.blogspot.com
This message was edited Apr 14, 2008 2:47 PM |
lorelei65
Cawston, near Norwic
United Kingdom
April 23, 2008
04:31 PM Post #4853433
| Hi Dave,
I live in England, Zone 8 in a retirement bungalow and I have found that the best plants for indoors are cactus and succulents. Some professional gardening expert at Amateur Gardening magazine told me that sempervivums are fully hardy so like a fool I put a container with several in it outside, the frost got them and they all died. It was then I decided to keep them indoors until June when the frosts will have finished.
The succulents and cacti that I have all love the sun so I can put them outside for the summer. Always supposing we get any this year - last June the whole area was flooded. I now belong to the British Cactus & Succulent Society.
Here are some of my plants - the window sill is covered with them and so is the large octagonal coffee table.
Best Wishes,
Lorraine
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
RealityCheck
New York, NY
March 10, 2009
12:45 PM Post #6247351
| I live in an apt. in NYC. I want to grow tomatoes and have seen some infomercials for the topsy turvy. Has anyone used this? How is it? |
FertiSorb
Harvard, IL
(Zone 5a)
March 11, 2009
03:01 PM Post #6252369
| I've used the Topsy Turvey and like the idea that it eliminates the need to stake plants so they don't collapse around and leave tomatoes on the ground. It would be a very good choice for someone with limited space such as an urban patio or balcony. I'll admit I'm biased, since the guy who invented the product is a good friend of mine, and has worked his butt off to make it a successful product, but I still like it. |
shebs45
Chicago, IL
(Zone 5b)
March 25, 2009
11:54 PM Post #6320925
| I've had success growing tomatoes in pots. One variety in particular lends itself to growing well in containers. It's called Patio Tomato. The plants themselves are quite manageable; the fruits are medium sized and very tasty. I buy a couple started plants from my local nusery and stick them in 12" - 15" pots and put cages around them to keep them contained. When the weather started to get cold in the fall I brought them in and put them in a sunny window. I was still eating tomatoes off the vine in November! |
cindy_in_phx
Phoenix, AZ
April 04, 2009
06:19 PM Post #6364672
| note my message last January. I lived through my first summer with this balcony, and was very pleased with the results. If you've ever lived in Phoenix, you'll understand. This spring I have planted (and starting to produce) in containers: tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, garlic, rosemary, basil, lavender and poblano peppers. Though I would rather have a garden in the country, I do well for living in the 6th largest city in the nation!!!
P.S. Am thinking of trying out the topsy-turvey, seems like a good idea. |
FertiSorb
Harvard, IL
(Zone 5a)
April 05, 2009
09:05 AM Post #6366749
| "When the weather started to get cold in the fall I brought them in and put them in a sunny window. I was still eating tomatoes off the vine in November!"
That's what's known as a "movable feast" |
shebs45
Chicago, IL
(Zone 5b)
April 05, 2009
05:20 PM Post #6368558
| fertisorb, lol :-) |
lorelei65
Cawston, near Norwic
United Kingdom
April 21, 2009
05:05 PM Post #6443784
| Hello y'all,
Just one thing I have to say, NO PLANT IN A CONTAINER IS HARDY. The only way to grow hardy plants outside is in the earth and not in a container. So treat all your plants in containers as ANNUALS. Some plants do not relish being indoors unless they are in a conservatory where they can get the sun from all angles.
I learnt this by trial and error, so let it be my trial and not your error.
Best wishes
Lorraine
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
leafytoo
May 12, 2009
01:48 PM Post #6539348
| I have some decorative folage plants (ferns, dracinas, scheffalras etc) on my patio but love homegrown tomaoes so I potted some up in strafoam small ice chests (to keep the roots cooler). They get sun until about 1 pm. They did fantastic at first but then came the green worms. When I finally got those picked off the leaves started yellowing in spots
(like some pests maybe but I can't see anything on the leaves) The little green tomatoes remain untouched. Some of the leaves also are a little misshapen and are curling downward.
Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?
Sobbbing in Central TX. |
50glee
Huntersville, NC
June 03, 2009
11:12 AM Post #6635981
| you may want to seriously consider the size of the plant before trying to grow it in a pot. Some just wont be happy in a pot. others will.
some new varieties of butterfly bushes ARE pot friendly
- but many of them are not. (Several grow to over 8 to 12 feet!)
for those interested in growing plants rather than shrubs, bushes or trees
- but with truly limited space
- Ive found EZGro stackers.
use with their growth medium or coir and perlite mix.
lorelei65 - com'on down here to NorthCarolina
- and try to grow, anything, in some of my tan and gray clay.
with plants as with life - there really are no absolutes.
- not all persons have ground soil and
- not all ground soil is good.
each makes the best of what we have. |
