Large potted perennials for our climate?

[Anonymous]

I'm vacationing in a warm dry climate, and the yard is full of big potted plants. It looks great, I would love to reproduce that at my home.

They have figs and citrus and other things that won't live outside here in the DMV. What could I plant for a comparable look? Hollyhock?

[Anonymous]

Hollyhock is an annual.

[Anonymous]

The plants you mentioned are all shrubs. Is that what you’re looking for? Because potted plants are more susceptible to winter damage, you will need to protect them or bring them to a porch/shed/garage in the winter.

You can grow figs in the DMV. Try Brown Turkey or Hardy Chicago. Tropical looking hardy plants include hardy hibiscus, ferns, hosts, agapanthus, yucca, passionflower, gunnera, etc.

[Anonymous]

We have almost all native perennials in posts and it's fantastic: Ferns, catmint, coneflowers, black-eyed susans, lobelia, and others. We had a fig in a large pot and it did great. We recently put in the ground (last year) and had lots of figs this year.

[Anonymous]

If you’re not a dedicated gardener, the best thing is to plant up your containers with annuals in the Spring. Remember they will need frequent watering and fertilizer (more than a plant in the ground). For me, hooking up automatic watering is very worth it in our climate.

In the fall you can replace with ornamental kale, pansies, etc. or cut evergreen branches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you’re not a dedicated gardener, the best thing is to plant up your containers with annuals in the Spring. Remember they will need frequent watering and fertilizer (more than a plant in the ground). For me, hooking up automatic watering is very worth it in our climate.

In the fall you can replace with ornamental kale, pansies, etc. or cut evergreen branches.

Isn't this more work than planting something once and caring for it? I'd just have empty pots half the time.

[Anonymous]

Get as big pots as you can, use high quality potting soil and water correctly and you can grow almost anything. I love Japanese maples in pots and grow boxwoods and hydrangeas too. In the shade I use various shrubs and at base I will add ferns and hellebores and in sun (if protected from deer) sedums mixed with grasses. For color I depend more on annuals and replace them seasonally. Adding pots into the irrigation is amazing.