Contain your love of green things with a plan for potted plants

Plants in containers have small footprints but can make a big, beautiful impression. They’re a welcome sight at a front door, bring life to a back patio and can even serve as a lush centerpiece on an outdoor table.

Flora Grubb, owner of the eponymous nursery in San Francisco, shares her tips on creating and caring for potted displays, from choosing striking plant combinations to keeping them hydrated and happy.

“A grouping of pots is a focal point — a part of the landscape that you want to look good all the time,” says Grubb. Here’s how to create a dazzling display.

Step 1: Choose a vessel.

“Select your pot first,” says Grubb. “It’s your investment, and you’ll have it even as plants come and go.” Take a photo of where you want to set your containers and bring it to the nursery. “Put something in the picture for scale, like a measuring tape set to the size you’d like the pot to be,” she says.

Don’t be afraid to go big. Large pots make a statement, and most plants are happier in them in the long run. Plus, a small container will need more frequent watering. Also consider color, shape and material (most ceramics, for example, can’t handle frost). And make sure it has at least one good hole for drainage.

Step 2: Pick plants.

Go for varieties that will work with your conditions. Flowers are fleeting, so Grubb prefers plants like acacia and cotinus for their foliage. Nurseries are full of an amazing variety of colors and textures, “but show restraint — not everything is beautiful together,” she says. “Choose one plant that speaks to you.” Then build the rest of the pot around its colors and textures.

Also think about how the light will hit them at home. “Plants can look different in sun or shade,” Grubb says. If your pots will be under a porch, for instance, move your picks to a shady spot to see how they look before buying.

Step 3: Help them thrive.

Use organic potting soil when planting. Top-dress containers with compost or more soil at least annually, and water thoroughly. To promote deep root growth, place a hose on a very slow trickle in the pot, and let the water be slowly absorbed until it starts running out the bottom.

For lush and robust plants, Grubb pinches back new growth frequently. “It’s an unsung gardening technique,” she says, that keeps them from getting leggy. Every year, clear the drainage hole by tipping back the planter and poking through it with a screwdriver.

Combos to try

Three’s a charm: Grubb chose a trio of plants that are interesting on their own — feathery Grevillea “Peaches and Cream,” sculptural Aloe plicatilis and Portulacaria afra “Variegata” — and potted them in complementary rust-colored and white containers to make a cohesive group.

Easy evergreens: Housed in an all-weather pot, hardy dwarf conifers include stately Chamaecyparis obtusa “Habari,” yellow-green Chamaecyparis pisifera “Filifera Aurea” and light-green Cryptomeria japonica “Little Diamond.” They can withstand even freezing temperatures.

A soft palette: Aloe striata, with its peach edges and single bloom, sets the color scheme for a tabletop arrangement. Pencil — like Rhipsalis teres f. heteroclada, a chartreuse mat of Sedum “Fine Gold Leaf” and rosettes of burgundy and sage echeveria complete the picture.

Finding a grassy patch

Grasslike mop tops, known as carex, are a gardener’s dream. They grow in wet or dry soil, sun or shade, and don’t tempt deer. “There’s one for every situation,” says Bill Kolvek, owner of Bill Kolvek Perennials, in Chestnut Ridge, New York. “They’re tough as nails and long-lived.” Plant now and they’ll pop all season.

(Top row, left to right) 1. Carex morrowii var. temnolepis “Silk Tassel” — This pompomlike shade lover works well anchoring a rain garden.

2. C. siderosticha “Variegata” — The clumping broadleaf ground cover is a welcome, pest-resistant alternative to popular dwarf hosta.

(Center row, left to right) 3. C. laxiculmis — Native to eastern North America, this evergreen variety can reach a foot in height.

4. C. oshimensis “Everillo” — For extra-vivid chartreuse foliage, plant it in a spot that gets lots of morning sun.

(Bottom row, left to right) 5. C. flacca — Also known as C. glauca, it’s drought-tolerant once established and slow to spread, so it works nicely in small areas.

6. C. oshimensis “Evergold” — This weeping variegated cultivar is a showstopper in a container or border.

7. C. conica “Snowline” — The dark-green foliage has delicate white edges, and it produces small purple flowers in spring.

This story was originally published June 15, 2017 at 8:58 AM with the headline "Contain your love of green things with a plan for potted plants."