Possibly stupid questions about outdoor pots

[ahagwearsapointybonnet]

I have a few things growing in pots on our decking, but some questions I have never really got my head around:

The big one is, what are you supposed to do with the contents of old pots when you want to re-do them - when the contents have died/given up/been overtaken by weeds/whatever? I never know whether to put the remains into my compost heap (but am worried about weeds or unwanted plants surviving and then popping up all round the garden when I use the compost later), or in the garden waste bin (but we're not allowed to put soil/compost in, though we can put root balls), bin it, or just chuck it on the garden (but again, worried about spreading weeds)? Or can you reuse some of the compost safely for the new plants (e.g. the bottom part)?

Also, if you have used water-retaining crystals (the sort that turn into jelly), can you do the same or does it then need to be disposed of differently?

Finally if you have any tips for pots that keep on going reasonably long-term and don't need re-doing so often that would be great! I have a few that have lasted a while (acers, star jasmine, pieris and some lilies that die back in winter but reappear), but it would be nice to have more flowers that don't just disappear after a while! Bonus points for any suggestions for keeping them looking nice(ish) all year

[Purplewithred]

Rip out the dead plants/weeds etc and put them in the green bin. Spread the old compost plus whatever is in the compost on your flower beds including the water retaining gloop. Simples!

If you are putting shrubs in pots then you really need a compost with a bit of heft to it - something with added John Innes - and they will need a bit of feed and regular watering to stay looking good.

[ahagwearsapointybonnet]

Thanks Purple, that sounds workable! (Just checking though, by "green" bin do you mean the garden one or rubbish? - I'm guessing garden waste but ours is brown and our green one is for rubbish!).

I am not very good at remembering to feed and water them regularly, but trying to do better
I think most of my shrubby pots are ericaceous though so they have ericaceous compost (or 50/50 mix eg for the acers).

[user1353245678533567]

Lavender doesn't like being watered too much and protests if you feed it more than once a year. Might be a good match for you!

French lavender start flowering earlier than English lavender and will flower most of the summer if you deadhead them.

[user1353245678533567]

Although lavender in a pot is more vulnerable on the watering front than planted in the ground as it's marooned and dependent on you, so you can't completely abandon it!

I was told by someone more knowledgeable than me to water once a week (unless it's a hot spell) and even then only really once their flower heads start to droop.

[ahagwearsapointybonnet]

I water my houseplants once a week and they mostly do OK, but I tend to assume the outdoor ones will have been rained on and forget about them Must do better...

Lavender doesn't seem to like me much though! I had one that died, and one that is still alive but just looking very dull and scrubby at the moment and didn't seem to flower much. My camellia looks a bit knackered too. The acers are starting to sprout again though, and the cordyline has survived so far and is getting big... so it's not all bad!

[mumwon]

my French lavender was killed by frost the old English one is as tough as an old boot (unless the rosemary beetles eat it - they do as well -the beetles are very pretty though a lovely iridescent copper colour pick them off (& throw them over the fence at night to any nasty neighbours along with snails & slugs especially if they are having noisy family parties at antisocial times when they should be in isolation)

[ahagwearsapointybonnet]

Mm that could be it (frost). Haven't seen any rosemary beetles, my nemesis is lily beetles! They don't touch my potted lilies for some reason (maybe a type they don't like?), but they shred the ones in the garden if I don't manage to spot and squish them first!

[MereDintofPandiculation]

"green bin" - for us that's general recycling. I watched a Portuguese public info film on recycling (roughly - if a chimpanzee can do it, so can you) - and thought that'd never work in the UK because every Council has a different rainbow of colours for its bins.

I put plants from pots, including weeds, on to the compost heap, and empty the compost on to flower beds as conditioner.

Well worth being vigilant for lily beetles because picking off the adults is a lot less unpleasant than picking off the larvae, who hide under piles of their own excrement. Useful tip for the beetles - hold a dish underneath so you catch them if they try their trick of dropping off on to the soil.

[ahagwearsapointybonnet]

Yes! Or sometimes I sort of cup my hands (with gloves on!) either side of the stem below where the beetle is, and then move them up gradually until it plops off into my hands. The larvae are indeed revolting!