Take extra care watering plants transferred from containers

March 20, 2013|By Tim Johnson | Special to Tribune Newspapers
  • Container plant soil drains much more quickly than does soil in your garden.
Container plant soil drains much more quickly than does soil in your garden. (HANDOUT)

I am planning to install a new garden in spring. I intend to buy most of the plants grown in containers and would like some tips for best watering practices.

— Beth Swanson, Lake Zurich

Plants that nurseries produce in containers are grown in a potting medium very different from garden soil. Generally the container mix used for the plants you purchase will be coarser and better drained than the soil in your garden.

That difference means you must take extra care in watering after you plant.

Container soils have less volume and are shallower than garden or field soils. Therefore, what is considered an excellent field soil will not drain well enough for use in a container, resulting in poor plant growth and performance. Container growing media without topsoil were developed to provide better drainage and aeration. Different growers often use different containers and media.

Newly installed plants that were grown in containers will need more frequent, light watering until they are established, as the container medium around their roots can dry out more quickly than the surrounding garden soil.

Plants that have been grown a bit too long in the container can be rootbound and will need even closer attention to watering, as the plants can dry out even more quickly. When you are planting, be sure to break up any roots that have been circling inside the container to encourage roots to grow out into the garden soil.

Water will not readily move from the finer particles of your garden soil into the coarser container mix, so the garden soil can be moist while the roots of new plant are under drought stress. This can happen fast on a hot, sunny day. In the initial weeks after planting, check the growing medium right around the roots often to see if the plant is dry. Watering in the general area likely will not be sufficient; it is best to water right at the base of the plants. Weather also will have a major impact on the frequency and amount of water that the plants will need.

Once the plant roots have grown out into the garden soil, you can water less frequently and more deeply, as you would normally do.
