Perfect pots for porch or patio

Container gardening is the perfect way to take advantage of the fall gardening season here. The rest of the garden has finished and the first frosts can sneak in at almost any time, but the weather is still great for cold-tolerant plants in containers.

Getting started

If you had summer containers on the porch or patio, they are a great place to start creating your fall displays. Summer annuals like petunias, snapdragons, primroses and geraniums will all take a few light frosts. If they look good, leave them.

Cut summer plants that have faded away out of containers. Cutting rather than pulling preserves the roots of the remaining plants. Select seasonal plants to fill spaces left by dead annuals.

What to plant

Local nurseries are full of colorful fall-blooming chrysanthemums, flowering kales and ornamental grasses that are perfect for fall containers. The chrysanthemums will come in warm shades of yellow, burnt reds and oranges as well as vibrant jewel tones. Some are low growing and others can get to a couple of feet tall which make them perfect for the mid-level and tall components of the design.

Flowering kales and cabbage are similar to their edible cousins but with colorful leaves in shades of gray-green, cream, white, and several shades of purple and pink. As the weather gets colder, the colors intensify making for an even more colorful display. They make perfect plants to soften the edge of the pot.

Ornamental grasses are at their best in the fall and they can add a surprising amount of interest and color to containers. As the weather cools, depending on the variety, colors range from golden tan to burnt orange and rusty purples. When they are backlit by the fall sun, they seem to glow.

Pick ornamental grass varieties that are one-and-a-half to two times taller than the pot to create interest and balance. Karl Forester feather reed grass and its cousins, Overdam and Avalanche are perfect.

Smaller grasses like blue fescue, Japanese forest grass, Bowles golden carex and some of the sedges work well as mid-level plants.

Because some of the chrysanthemums and most of the grasses are hardy perennials here, you can take them out of the container and slip them into the ground when you are ready to really put the pots to bed. Be sure to mulch them well to keep them from heaving out of the ground with the cold.

Look forward to the holidays

This is also a great time to create fall containers that can carry through Thanksgiving and Christmas. Use a container of quality plastic or hard fired ceramic that won’t absorb water. Terra cotta pots tend to absorb moisture and then break and flake when they freeze. The container should be at least 16 inches in diameter as plants in smaller containers can’t handle the freeze-thaw cycles that will break their roots. Pots must have drain holes to drain away excess water from rain and snow.

There are a number of varieties of dwarf and slow growing cypress, hemlock, juniper, pine and spruce that are perfect as the centerpiece in these pots. Pick plants that fit the scale of your container. Plant them in the middle or to the back of the container and then plant your fall plants around them.

A perfect place

Place ornamental pots and containers where you can water them regularly. This is especially important if they are put under the eaves near doors where the rain won’t hit them. Place the pots where they can get bright but indirect light.