Container plants make beautiful additions to your landscape. And let’s be honest—who doesn’t need more plants? For those kind of dull corners of the yard or the deck, container plants add a fresh burst of color. However, having container plants also means caring a little bit more for them than your regular garden beds.

Here are the top tips to keep your containers full and blossoming:

• In the heat of the New England summer, container gardens need more water than garden beds, as the water in containers tends to be used up faster. When watering, you know you’ve watered enough if you begin to see watering seeping out the drainage holes.
• But wait! What if I don’t have drainage holes? The best strategy for containers with no drainage holes is to create a drainage layer. This is usually done with stones. Lay a couple inches of stone on the bottom of the pot, and then top the stones with your potting soil. The stones will aid in drainage so that the roots of the plants are not submerged in water, which can rot them.
• Another tip to keeping your container plants happy and blooming is fertilization. Since the fertilizer is washed out every time you water, it’s important to replace it regularly. We recommend feeding your containers with full-strength liquid fertilizer every two weeks or with half-strength fertilizer every other watering for the best results.
• As the plants begin to flourish, you may notice that they get slightly leggy. A quick trim will do them well and will help them to branch out and produce more flowers. A pair of snips works best for trimming back container plants. For annuals that aren’t self-cleaning and require deadheading, simply pinching back a plant’s growing tip will be enough to spur it into producing more side shoots.

Follow these tips to make your container plants last beautifully throughout the summer. For any questions, our experts are always available to help you.