Garden Planter Information

Overview

In addition to putting a plant in a plastic pot or making the plant a part of the landscape, gardeners can use larger planters. A large planter can give the gardener more flexibility and can serve as a focal point in the landscape. These planters are made out of a variety of materials and can come in different designs and themes, adding creativity to the garden.

Size

Garden planters are large containers for plants. The size of the plant can range from 20 inches to 48 inches in diameter or larger. Custom-made planters can be as large as desired. While pots are best planted with specimens that do not need a large amount of root space. Larger plants than usual can be planted in a planter given the extra space these planters have. For planters built into parking lots of the landscape, narrower planters are used in areas where there is a lot of foot travel and less narrow planters are used for tree planting, according to landscape architect Garth Ruffner .

Decoration

Garden planters can come in different designs and colors, adding decoration to the garden. The planters can also be designed to match the design of the overall home. Garden planters provide gardeners with flexibility regarding how they arrange their plants so different plants with different colors and styles can be rearranged. Mixing and matching different plants with different planters can also change the aesthetics of a planting.

Location

Garden planters can be used either in an urban setting or in a more traditional garden since garden planters do not take up a lot of space. The garden planters can sometimes be moved indoors for a long period of time when the gardener wants to protect the plant or finds the plant to be more attractive indoors. Garden planters can be moved to any area in the garden. This can allow gardeners to move their plants to areas where the plants receive more sunlight in order to maximize the plant's growth. The mobility of the garden planter also makes it easier for gardeners to cross-pollinate plants.

Weeds

Weeds are a lot easier to keep out of planters than they are to keep out of areas of the garden that are not contained. This is because the seeds that the weeds reproduce from have a more difficult time getting into the higher-up planters. Some weeds do get into the planter, often transported by birds or other animals, but they are much less common and are easier to remove as the soil in planters is generally looser than garden soil.

Conditions

The conditions of the soil are easier to maintain in the planter since the nutrients do not seep through the soil into other areas and plants that need specific soil conditions, such as plants that need lower soil pH, can be kept separate. Planters are also more environmentally safe, since chemicals added to the plant's soil are less likely to leach into the groundwater. Drainage holes and increased root space found in garden planters also create better conditions for plants than a smaller flower pot, according to University of Illinois Extension.