Ideas for plants to put in these pots

[PunkRotten]

Hi,

I have 2 long shallow pots. Depth is around 4-6 inches. I had some green onions in one of them and they grew pretty good but I got bored of them and took them all out. I had lettuce in the other and they weren;t growing that good. Any ideas on something that can be grown in shallow pots? Any flowers? I got Alyssum, marigolds, nasturtiums. Also got spinach, thyme, sweet marjoram, and catnip.

[Spyderco1116]

Funny you say this because I have the same type of planters with Marigolds in them. I have four in each. Yellow, orange, yellow, orange... I love Marigolds because they smell like honey and they are very hardy.

[Susan W]

As your pots are shallow, and you are hitting summer, have limitations. I would try a couple of annual flowers and have a bit of pretty. Nasturtium and alysum tend towards cool. A small and/or shallow pot gets water, then dries, has more extreme heat and cold than larger pots. If it is in the sun will parch in a matter of hours.

[RogueRose]

Hmmm you can do chives, cilantro....maybe basil and arugula. I just planted a bunch of arugula. It's way long in the season to be growing it, but well I had some seed and wanted to see how it goes. I am obsessed w/ arugula.

[RogueRose]

Oh and MINTS! I like growing them in pots bc they don't take over the garden (at least mine hasnt yet like it did at my old house). Plus - mojitos!

[PunkRotten]

Got a huge clump of chives already, got a few Basils around the garden, cilantro too and mints. And I got a huge mound of arugula that is already flowering and seeding. Maybe in a week I am gonna clear the whole thing out.

[applestar]

Out of the ones you listed I would say thyme is most likely. Are you talking about starting from seeds though because it takes a while for them to get to any kind of size.

I might buy started thyme of several different kinds/colors and keep them clipped in a neat little miniature hedge and let some trail down the sides.

For flowers in such a shallow container, I would recommend portulaca.

[Kisal]

I think applestar's suggestion of portulaca would be the best choice of all that have been suggested so far in this thread. The plants are small, produce attractive flowers, and can tolerate dryness. Susan W is very right in her comments about how quickly shallow containers dry out. Even Portulaca would need more frequent watering than it would if planted in the ground or a larger container, but it would be more likely to survive in your shallow containers than just about anything else I can think of, even of you forget to water it now and then.

[PunkRotten]

Cool thanks for the suggestions. ABout that Thyme, would they prefer regular potting soil or something closer to cactus mix? Are they shallow rooted?

[applestar]

Off the top of my head, I would say somewhere in between. Maybe half cactus mix and half good quality potting soil or just add a bit more sand to the potting soil mix.

I don't think thyme is "shallow rooted" in the true sense. Most drought tolerant plants grow deep roots in search of moisture. But they are low-growing -- not needing to anchor with their roots -- with small leaves so their transpiration needs are low and they have fibrous roots that can handle shallow containers.

Most thyme varieties are also perennial, in case that wasn't mentioned. In my zone, some varieties don't survive the winter freeze outside.

[Kisal]

I think, and it's just my opinion, that in shallow planters that are going to dry out quickly anyway, it would probably be best to just use regular potting mix. I don't think such planters are going to have a problem with waterlogged soil. As I said, though, it's JMO.