{"id":244,"date":"2018-10-29T00:16:09","date_gmt":"2018-10-29T00:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chapters.cnps.org\/oc\/?p=244"},"modified":"2018-10-29T00:16:09","modified_gmt":"2018-10-29T00:16:09","slug":"what-plants-do-you-recommend-for-containers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chapters.cnps.org\/oc\/2018\/10\/29\/what-plants-do-you-recommend-for-containers\/","title":{"rendered":"What Plants do You Recommend for Containers?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gardener\u2019s Corner | Questions and Answers with Local Experts\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

By Dan Songster, 2012 March<\/p>\n

This column is a regular newsletter feature offering chapter members and local experts a chance to briefly share information on many things related to gardening with natives. This Issue\u2019s question was: What native plant do you enjoy and recommend for use in a container?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Christiane Shannon<\/strong>-\u201cIn my garden planting in containers is reserved for annuals because the annuals don’t do well at all in the ground since the soil in the flower beds is too rocky and sandy.\u00a0Three of them have really done well for me since introduced a few years ago, coming back from seeds every winter. I only have to keep watering the pots. To make my task easier I use pots with a double bottom and the annuals\u00a0live in these\u00a0until early summer. They are Phacelia parryi<\/em>,\u00a0Mimulus guttatus<\/em>, and\u00a0Silene lasciniata<\/em>.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

Bob Allen<\/strong>-\u201cJust one? Oh, that’s difficult. Let’s say stream orchid, Epipactis gigantea<\/span>. It’s easy, beautiful, and has interesting pollinators\u2014native flower flies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bart O\u2019Brien<\/strong>-\u201cShort answers: Dudleya spp.<\/span>, Trillium chloropetalum<\/em>, bulbs, and ferns<\/span>.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Alan Lindsay<\/strong>-\u201cI love seeing my Giant Rye (Elymus condensatus<\/em>) \u2018Canyon Prince\u2019 <\/span>in its large terracotta container because I know, in there, it won’t be taking over my garden (like it has in the past.) Low maintenance, I only water it when it looks like it’s dying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura Camp<\/strong>-\u201cI don’t like to water much, so Dudleyas, Yuccas, Agaves and cacti<\/span> are my favorites.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greg Rubin<\/strong>-“Hard to beat any of the Dudleyas<\/span>. Eriogonums<\/em>\u00a0like\u00a0umbellatum<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0kennedyi<\/em><\/span>\u00a0are great, along with penstemons<\/span> and even mimulus<\/span>. Zauschnerias<\/em>\u00a0(Epilobium<\/em>)<\/span>\u00a0have also been very stable in pots as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gene Ratcliffe<\/strong>-\u201cI don’t do a lot of containers anymore because of the extra work, but I have a number of special natives in containers, mostly non-local species that need richer soil or more water than the rest of the garden: Torreya<\/em>,\u00a0Pellea<\/em>\u00a0and other ferns<\/span>, and slow species like Pinus monophylla<\/span>\u00a0that can stay in pots for years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barbara Eisenstein<\/strong>-\u201cOnce again, too many to choose from! I have put so many native plants in pots, with a lot of success, so I think I will just suggest the one in my garden that has looked great in a container, for the longest period of time, with the least care. And the winner is\u2026(drum roll)…California bay laurel (Umbellularia californica<\/em>)<\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thea Gavin<\/strong>-\u201cMy one-and-only native in a container is a Dudleya<\/span>. I planted it in a big pot couple of years ago, with some interesting rocks for companionship, and it does just fine with no summer water. \u00a0Of course it hunkers down in the dry times, but part of its charm is how quickly it plumps up in response to fall rain (which I supplement throughout the winter with occasional hose-drenches).\u201d<\/p>\n

Celia Kutcher<\/strong>–<\/p>\n

I have grown natives in large containers (14-24″) for several years and have had my best luck with spp. that are inherently small-growing & relatively long-lived.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“Heuchera<\/em>\u00a0spp.<\/span>\u00a0& cultivars best in high light shade, where they have much better soil & drainage than in my clay dirt.\u00a0 For sunny locations, Eriogonum crocatum<\/span>\u00a0is one of the best; others: Verbena lilacina<\/em>,\u00a0Ceanothus<\/em>\u00a0‘Diamond Heights’ (gets 1\/2-day shade),\u00a0Epilobium<\/em>\u00a0‘Rte. 66,’\u00a0Eriogonum parvifolium<\/em>, and\u00a0Baileya multiradiata<\/em><\/span>. Not strictly California native but good for summer color in sun: Hunnemannnia fumariifolia<\/em>,\u00a0Chrysactinia mexicana<\/em>, and\u00a0Salvia<\/em>\u00a0‘Hot Lips<\/span>.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Drew Delaney<\/strong>-\u201cI have only a small SSW facing balcony with a 4\u2019 wall around it to cultivate. All my plants are in containers of various sizes up to 16\u201dL x16\u201dW x48\u201dH. I can recommend many plants but in my opinion the two MUST haves for a balcony container garden are Epilobium canum<\/span>\u00a0and Gambelia\u00a0<\/em>(Galvesia) speciosa<\/span>. The plants are beautiful in bloom and hummingbirds cannot resist visiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan Songster<\/strong>-\u201cMy favorite native for containers are small to medium-sized Manzanitas<\/span>. With excellent drainage from a cactus mix (unlike my clay soils) they live! And when pruned a bit they can be placed on a patio for close up viewing of their fine form and in winter, flowers. (Second place-Calochortus<\/span>.)\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gardener\u2019s Corner | Questions and Answers with Local Experts\u00a0 By Dan Songster, 2012 March This column is a regular newsletter feature offering chapter members and local experts a chance to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4],"class_list":["post-244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-native-gardening","tag-gardeners-corner"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Plants do You Recommend for Containers? - Orange County Chapter - CNPS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/chapters.cnps.org\/oc\/2018\/10\/29\/what-plants-do-you-recommend-for-containers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Plants do You Recommend for Containers? 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