FORTY-SEVEN members enjoyed a talk and demonstration of growing flowers in containers by Jon Mason Director of Highfield Garden World, the largest independent Garden Centre in Gloucestershire on the A38 off J13 of the M5. The talk was delivered with humour and revelations of real-life behaviour in the modern Garden Centre where impulse buying and lack of customer knowledge has led to displaying plants by colour! The business offers non-horticultural merchandise and a popular restaurant but has a large horticultural business and maintains its own nursery growing 23,000 3L herbaceous plants this year for on-site sale.

So what should you do, and not do, for container gardening? Well in Jon’s words it’s a challenge. Always ensure the container you’d love to have is big enough for the plant you want and has a hole in the bottom for drainage – if not, drill one! Then ensure the compost is good. Jon is a supporter of peat-based composts and says that no peat-free compost has given them the same results. Always ensure that the container gives room for growth and pot on plants into larger ones with time. Jon uses all their spare thin polystyrene packing instead of crocks in the bottom – a handy tip – and then fills the container to 1 inch from the top (to avoid overspill when watering), taps the sides of the pot to settle the compost and then removes compost to allow space for the plant. Firm in and ‘Who’s your Uncle’?

The keys to keeping plants in containers are: frequent watering (an irrigation system prevents drying and can be only £50-60 for 20 pots); frequent feeding – sometime 3-4x per week (e.g. High Potash feeds for fruits and flowers, high nitrogen for bays, green vegetables and lawns, balanced feeds and slow-release fertiliser tablets, avoiding infestations such as vine weevil. For those who believe in aeration to improve root systems perlite or vermiculite can be used (he doesn’t) and finally to keep moisture in and weeds out pebbles, bark or beads can be applied.

Potting up was demonstrated on six different flowering plants - Canna lillies, scented geraniums , Dianthus Pink Kisses (good scented one-off unless you really want to nurse it overwinter), Agapanthus (use a deep pot and only slightly wider than rootball since they flower better if potbound), and the climbers jasmine (Tracheospermum jasmanoides which needs frequent potting on) and new varieties of Clematis that do well in containers. These Clematis can be cut to 18 inches (45cm) every Spring but watch that jasmine that has wrapped itself around your house, you’ll never be able to repot it! If in doubt about your enthusiasm for tending plants in containers – stick it in the ground!

The Mickleton Gardening Club Summer Show will be on Saturday, August 22, from 2-4.30 pm at King George’s Hall Mickleton. Non-members are very welcome to come and to enter flower, produce, handicraft, painting and photography. Contact June on 01789 720695 for a show schedule and entry form.

JONATHAN COLLINS