Pots bring greenery to city lifestyle

Pots are becoming home to a large variety of plants in Australian city living.

A move to a smaller property in the metropolitan area has meant mother of two Terri Chant has had to scale down her garden and be content with potted plants.

“After leaving the Pilbara and the mining town where we had a lot of open space and red dirt, it was a shock to find ourselves living on a small block of land that was mainly house with a brick-paved small backyard,” Terri said.

“We had lawn and a vegie garden up there but there is no room for that here, so we are looking at potted plants in whatever space we can find.”

Terri, husband Steve and their two small children, Oliver and Charlotte, are among the many people who have had to leave the mining industry since the downturn and been forced to live in the city, close to work.

Most modern houses or units fill up the small blocks of land on which they are built and it is nearly impossible even to plant a tree in the backyard. However, potted plants can be a solution to greening up small spaces over brick paving.

Choosing the pot and the size is important for the plant you are going to put in it.

Stoneware pots are OK but need to be lined with plastic, and drain holes made in the bottom, because the material can absorb moisture and that can also stain the outside of the pot in time.

Glazed ceramic pots are good but strong plastic or metal pots will work fine. These retain moisture whereas unglazed ceramic can cause the pot to dry out.

Annual plants need soil at least 200mm deep, and grasses and shrubs need more soil than that.

Use a good-quality potting mix.

Don’t use the soil from the side of the road or from your garden because it might contain weeds and diseases.

Drainage is important.

For bigger pots, you can put perlite, broken up ceramic bits and pieces, old foam or even a bit of gravel in the bottom pot to save on buying a large quantity of potting mix. A sprinkle of slow-release fertiliser mixed with the potting mix is good, and perhaps cow manure or in the case of citrus, chicken manure, mixed in.

Stones are effective as a mulch for a pot and can be made to look attractive.

Here are some suggested plants for full sun: herbs of all sorts; annuals like petunias in summer and pansies in winter; pelargoniums and geraniums; Mexican orange blossom; bougainvilleas; New Zealand flax; most succulents like agave, echeveria and bromeliads; wisteria; most citrus trees; and Ixora (Ixora chinensis, “Prince of Orange”) in frost-free areas, plus many other like varieties.

For shaded areas, these are a few suggestions: clivia; daphne; camellias; azaleas in the cooler climes; pony tails’ begonias; and palms including rhapis palm (Rhapis excelsa) and kentia palm (Howea forsteriana).

Ferns do well in shady, moist, humid conditions, as do all types of orchids, and China doll (Radermachera sinica) is another glossy leaf plant that is attractive in a pot.

Potted plants need a varied amount of water depending on the plant and its location. A battery-operated controller on a drip line off a tap can give all pots enough water to get by and the thirstier ones can be watered more with a hose or watering can.