Ok so novice here, advice on flowers to plant in tubs

[amireallythatsad]

Morning

The sun is out! Huraay!

I've got some tubs where i want to plant some flowers in.

What would you recommend i.e. easy to maintain, are there any flowers which are a good all rounder? What about primroses? Can you plant them and just water and leave? Do I have to get rid of them at the end of the season? Or do I just leave them in the tubs?

I know this sounds so stupid but any help gratefully appreciated

primroses are pretty good and will flower for the next 5-6 weeks. you could put in some pansies which will go on and on and on into autumn by which time they may be a bit straggly but you can put some more in for next winter. when the primroses have finished you can plant them in the ground pretty much anywhere but sunny spot is good and they will all flower again this time next year.
you may start to see summer bedding stuff ( fucshia, geranium, etc) soon but don't be tempted to plant these in your tubs till late april/may. they don't like the frost and there is still a risk of frost right into may.
hope this helps. happy gardening!

How big are the tubs? Assuming they're quite big, they'll look a bit flat if you only have primroses or pansies in them. They'll look better if you have something taller as a centrepiece. How about a shrub or (say) a standard bay tree, with the flowering plants around it? (Standard bays are expensive but if you're patient you can buy a little one and grow it on). Then, you just need to replace the bedding plants from season to season.

I second Mads comments - have something as the centre pice and plant around it. I'm planning to have a big pot with Mock Orange (Philadephus) as the centre point (lovely scent) and then growing a wigwam of sweet peas around the edge - for the summer - cant wait!

Thanks for advice....
Can you grow sweet peas in containers? I love them!

For the summer (so planting in late April - May) you can't go wrong in pots with a few Surfinias (trailing Petunias) interspersed with some trailing Lobelias. You end up with a big mad pot of flowers that goes on and on (especially if you deadhead the Surfinias). Really pretty. Hurray - time to get out in the garden again.

Or you could plant a few bulbs in your tubs for now. You can get the ones that are semi-grown from your garden centre and they will flower shortly. When they're done, plant 'em in your flower beds for next year and you can re-plant your tubs with something else. I usually do geraniums for summer or something in a hot colour surrounded by trailing lobelia.

Thank you I shall be trying the bulb planting now and will be trying the sweet peas at the end of April.

I find it really hard to digest gardening books - they seem to technical, so this is a great help for me!

Also any plants which smell lovely? I have some very smelly neighbours (filthy dirty) so in the summer it can be a bit nasty....

Well, sweet peas smell lovely and I always grow these up sticks in a sunny part of my garden. I also do sunflowers as they really cheer up a plain wall or fence.

Another thing which is quite fun, is you can buy large plastic tubs with smiley faces on them. The dds have one each. Then they choose a packet of seeds and plant those up. They will usually choose a mixture of cottage garden flowers and when they come up they make flowery 'hair' for the pot people!!

I usually bung petunias in tubs. They are cheapish to buy, they grow huge with big flowers, you can get trailing and upright so the tub looks really full and overflowing...

And they are SLUG PROOF.
(Very important here)

Pick off the flowers as they start to die, this will keep more flowers coming.

Nasturtiums are pretty bomb proof too, and when they are done collect the seeds for next year so for a few plants or seeds ££ this year you get a lifetimes worth.

I put some tubs up on pile of bricks or other upturned tubs to make them more effective.

If you have pongy neighbours, a good option would be lilies. They grow well in pots and although the bulbs cost more than seeds they should last for years.

You can put primroses (aka primulas ) in now, along with pansies. but they'll have run their course by May when you'll just have to throw them out again.

In May ... loads of choice. Geraniums are v good for novices - dont need much attention. Petunias and buzy lizzies also v. reliable. BUT you can't leave them - you have to water. At the moment I'm watering my spring pots once a week, in summer about 2-3 times a week, every other day in heatwave.

Or else you will have pots of straw