Container Gardening
Perennial Containers
Stretch Your Container Gardening Budget

If you’re looking to be a bit more budget-conscious as a gardener, using perennials and shrubs in containers can help you get more bang for your buck! First, you’ll save by purchasing and starting with smaller plants and giving them a season to mature in your containers. That’s helpful if they are slated to end up in an established garden where young plants could be easily overshadowed. Overwintering your perennials in their containers at the end of the gardening season will allow you to keep your plants alive and freshen up the containers in the spring by adding new complementary plants.

Planning Ahead With Perennials

PLANT YOUR PERENNIALS

Instead of discarding potted perennials at the end of the season, consider planting them directly into the ground. This allows them to establish deeper roots and return vigorously the following year, eliminating the need to purchase new plants.

 

Get Them in the Ground Before Frost
Take advantage of a nice fall day before your first frost to get your plants out their containers and into the ground. Be sure to mulch them once they’re in the ground to protect them from the cold spells ahead!

OVERWINTER YOUR PERENNIALS

If you think you’d like to keep your plants in their containers to use next year, we recommended selecting perennials that are 1 to 2 zones hardier than your hardiness zone for overwintering in containers. Plants can get colder in containers than they would in the ground. Considering hardiness when you select your plants in the spring will ensure that the they make it through the winter in containers unscathed. For more tips on overwintering plants in containers, check out our in-depth guide.

Check Out our Overwintering Guide Here

Container-Friendly Perennials

FULL TO PART SUN

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SHADE TO PART SHADE

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SUN OR SHADE

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USEFUL LINKS

overwintering guide link
OVERWINTERING PERENNIALS IN CONTAINERS

Check out six ways to help your plants make it through the winter.

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four season container link
FOUR-SEASON CONTAINER

With some clever planning and a good knowledge of seasonal plant hardiness, you can reinvent the same container to suit all four seasons.

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best bang for your buck link
BANG FOR YOUR BUCK

Check out five landscaping solutions for covering a lot of ground on a budget.

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