Very basic question about pots....

[Bluesheep8]

Hello, am new to gardening but I have loads of pots and troughs that I plan to re fill. Can I just buy trays of small cheap mixed plants and put them in? What sort of compost do I need to fill the pots with first please? And do I need to put anything in the bottom for drainage? (It's very wet where we are) thanks in advance

1. Yes you can
2. General purpose potting compost
3. First of all make sure that there are drainage holes at the bottom. You may have to drill some yourself. Then fill with some largish stones before putting in the compost.

Wow that was quick! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my very basic question. I will post pics when I'm done

1. If the pots have big holes in then you will need to cover the bottom with smashed crockery or something to stop all the soil shifting out.

2. Any garden centre will sell bags of multi purpose compost soil to fill them with- normally on offer!

3. if your area is very very wet then you can mix some sand or grit in with the soil for drainage but...

4. ...most cheap annuals from the garden centre will be ok wherever. Yes it is fine to put them in pots.

5. Try to buy a few perennial (come back every year) for the pots too. Check the labels for how big they get though.

Have fun!

Oops cross post!

Yes buy strips of bedding plants and regular potting compost. Or it may not be too late for a seed mix if you are quick. You can improve drainage by making sure pots have holes in bottom and adding a layer of broken pot or potting grit in the base before compost. You could also raise the pots off the ground a little with broken pot as feet. If you want plants to keep for next year look for hardy geranium or fuchsias which may be ok over protected over winter.

If you want to overwinter perennials, I have bay, thyme rosemary, perennial wallflower and lots of sedums in pots. Then put them some dryer over th3 heinrer like in the shelter of a wall.

Any thing flowery from the garden centre will work for annuals. Just remember to not let the pots dry out, and feed as well as water, and deadhead the flowers. Also...the bigger the pot the petter.

You don’t have to put crocks in for drainage.

If you want to save money on compost, then put crocks, broken bricks or stones in the bottom of large containers to use up some space. They also help stop the pots blowing over in the wind if you have tall things in them.

If you have large pots that are heavy to move then you can lessen the weight by using pack chips or broken up polystyrene at the bottom for drainage. Also If you have an old jumper or t shirts you can cut it up and put in the base of a pot to improve drainage.