Would you like to have a colorful garden during the entire growing season, but find you have limited space or time? Would you like to minimize your water usage, but still create an oasis on your patio or deck? Do you have plants that need dividing, but nowhere to put them? Single or grouped containers planted with perennials may be just the solution you have been looking for.

First, pick a container or group of containers and after providing adequate drainage, fill these with amended soil. When selecting the container, consider its placement; for example terracotta containers may break apart if left outside during winter months.  Container perennials seem to thrive in amended clay soils and need only sporadic fertilization with a balanced fertilizer. Alternatively a slow release fertilizer could be mixed into the soil prior to planting. Mulch will help conserve water and protect the plants during the winter months.

Many herbaceous perennials prefer sunny locations, but plants for all microclimates are available and provide the opportunity for creative plantings. When selecting perennials for containers, consider their water needs, plant characteristics (e.g., height, bloom time, color, texture, etc.) and then group them for seasonal variety or bursts of color during a selected time. Creeping phlox, candytuft, iris and basket of gold may be used for early color. Russian sage, yarrow, salvia, coreopsis, penstemons, obedient plant and daylilies may be planted to provide color through much of the summer and finally a showing of asters and mums and autumn joy sedum might be used to round out the season. Many other perennials suited to our growing conditions are available through local resources.

Information on container gardening, perennial gardening, and specific perennial plants may be found in Colorado State Cooperative Extension fact sheets #7.402 Perennial gardening, #7.405 Herbaceous perennials and #7.238 Container Gardens.

Initially, frequent (even daily in sunny locations) watering in the absence of rain may be necessary to get the plants established, but this can be tapered to biweekly (or an as needed schedule) schedule except on consistently hot, summer days. Watering the containers approximately once a month during the winter will increase the likelihood of a returning growth the following spring. Dead heading flowering perennials may encourage prolonged blooms. Appropriately pruning (usually once a year) and dividing (usually once every 2 or 3 years) plants will also enhance long term survivability of container perennials.

For a small investment you can create a garden that changes through the growing season and reawakens in the early spring to another spectacular showing.

Q. I love peas but have never grown them in my garden.  What varieties are available?

A. The three major types of edible peas are English peas, snap peas and pod peas (called snow peas or sugar peas).  English peas are the standard shelled peas (do not eat the pod) and are great for freezing and fresh eating. Snap peas are the round pod type of edible pea.  The pods will "snap" in two like a fresh, green bean.  Perhaps the most popular variety is "sugar snap," known for very sweet peas and pods and a long picking period.  Sugar or snow peas have flat, crispy pods.  They are a stir-fry classic.  The pea is a frost-hardy, cool-season vegetable.  Most peas grow tall and require staking; others are low-growers and do not need to be staked.  Regardless of the variety, peas are a "snap" to grow.

Q. I have a rugosa rose bush with huge, round ball-like growths attached to the stems.  What is happening?

A. Rugosa and old garden roses are frequently "galled" by species of gall wasps.  The insect produces galls on stems that overwinter in cells within the old galls and emerge in late winter.  The adults are small, inconspicuous, dark wasps, and the female will lay eggs in the dormant buds.  The eggs will hatch and the larvae feed on the buds, causing a distortion that produces a gall.  Old galls can be handpicked and destroyed before the adults emerge in late winter.  The galls are primarily a curiosity.

Q. I am interested in planting salvia.  Are they xeric perennials?

A. Perennial xeric salvias suitable for the Front Range include Salvia nemerosa "May Night" Meadow Sage, Salvia nemerosa "Plumosa," Salvia argentea "Silver sage," Salvia officinalis "Berggarten"(Culinary Sage), Salvia pitcheri "Grandiflora" (Pitcher's blue sage).  Salvia is one the easiest-grown groups of perennials.  They include bush sages, meadow sages, culinary sages as well as species grown for their flowers, scent, or capacity to attract hummingbirds and butterflies.  Salvia will grow in full sun and require soil that is well drained.   Most salvias bloom over a long period, and they are repeat bloomers, if faded flowers are deadheaded.  Salvias are resistant to both rabbits and deer.

Q. Ants are invading my kitchen. I clean my counters, but I am afraid to use an insecticide.  Help!

A. Ants are a nuisance when foraging for food inside the home. Ants prefer to feed on sweets, but they also like seeds, grease and protein rich food. Removing ants means removing food particles foraged by the worker ants or they will continue to return to the food source.  Slow-acting insecticides are most useful since they allow the ant to return to the poison and take the food to the colony, killing queens and young.  Make ant bait by mixing one teaspoon of boric acid to one cup of food bait (or 1 to 2 percent concentration).  Peanut butter and honey are a favorite ant food.  Place this bait in out-of-the-way small, closed containers, such as straws or small boxes punched with holes.  Boric acid is relatively nontoxic to children or small pets.   The bait kills the ants in 10 days to two weeks.

Three to four inches of organic mulch should be sufficient to suppress weeds and keep your soil moist.  Using more mulch will prevent oxygen from reaching the soil.  Keep the mulch 4 - 5 inches away from the base of woody plants - perennials, shrubs and trees. No "volcano" trees - please!

Harden off those tender plants that you brought home from the greenhouse before setting them out in the garden.  Leave them outside for longer periods of sunlight for about a week before planting them.  Pick a cloudy day or late in the afternoon for planting.

Protect transplants or new seedlings from cutworms with paper collars or tin cans, open at both ends.  Just don't forget to remove the cans before the plants get too large.

Tired of listening to the roar of your lawnmower and smelling gasoline fumes?  The new generation of cordless mowers have 24 or 36-volt batteries with enough energy to mow from 1 to 3 hours on one charge.  The batteries recharge in 8 to 16 hours and last from 5 to 7 years.  Most of the major brands have a cordless model - check them out!

The authors have received training through Colorado State University Cooperative Extension's Master Gardener program and is a Master Gardener volunteer for Larimer County.

Gardening and Insect Fact Sheets are available on-line by clicking HERE.

Return to Master Gardener Articles

This page updated:  May 15, 2003