I realize that Ornamental Millet is an untraditional choice for a container garden plant. Its rapid growth and large size will make it unsuitable for most container combinations. I have included it, however, because of its growth and height and the fact that this is just a gorgeous plant that’s in a category all by itself. I don’t recommend this plant in traditional combination planters but in very large containers (over 36” in diameter) and in multi-container designs, this is a gem.
In addition to being a fast growing and tall vertical annual, Ornamental Millet is prized for its striking foliage color. Cultivars range from deep purple to lime green with varying sizes as well. The tallest millet can get up to 5 feet tall while the most compact variety will be around 40 inches.
As expected, height will be affected by growing conditions and length of season. I have grown the largest variety here in our short summer season, in a container, in less sun than it would prefer and still had the plant get close to 4 feet tall. That alone makes it a valuable plant in my eyes. I like a plant that grows no matter what.
The largest variety is ‘Purple Majesty' with a possible height of 5 feet. This is also the one that I got to grow to 4 feet in less than ideal conditions. It is an AAS winner so really that is no surprise. Plants with these designations are chosen for their ability to thrive in a variety of conditions and deliver consistent results. ‘Purple Majesty’ delivers. While its immature plant leaves are green (what you may see in the greenhouse), once this plant hits the sun, its leaves are a consistent deep purple throughout the summer.
‘Purple Baron’ is the perhaps the smallest cultivar of the lot and comes in at around 40”. The leaves will retain more green color in more shaded areas and be more burgandy in high sun areas.
‘Jester’ and ‘Jade Princess’ are also smaller millets with mature heights of about 36”-48”. ‘Jester’ starts out the season with chartreuse leaves that gradually turn deep burgundy by summer’s end. I have grown this plant, and while beautiful, does not adapt as well as ‘Purple Majesty’. Make sure you grow this one in its recommended conditions.
‘Jade Princess’ is the newest cultivar and was well talked about at all the horticulture seminars I attended this year. I am very excited about this cultivar! Of all the millets, this one may be best suited for larger container combos. The leaves are a gorgeous lime green throughout the growing season while the pollen-less seed heads are a beautiful burgundy contrast at season’s end.
If you have containers 36” or larger, using one of the smaller cultivars might work quite nicely as a vertical element. However, be sure to use equally fast growing and vigorous plants to balance out the design. In multi-container designs, using one or two of these beauties in a container is sure to create a fantastic focal point.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Container Garden Idea: Multi-container designs
Colorful Camouflage
Full/Part Sun
2 Cherry Blossom Begonias
2 Spellbound White trailing impatiens
1 ‘Purple Majesty” Ornamental Millet
2 King Tut grass
If you're using containers to solve garden problems and have a large area you wish to fill, using several containers which work together to create one large combination is an inexpensive and easy solution. Not only can you create virtually any size or shape that you need, but you can vary the size and heights of the pots to add interest and structure.
In my previous post, I mentioned that I had a problem area in the back of my house. The electrical/phone/cable boxes all converge in one area. Because of the buried wires in that area, I’ve decided to use a multi-container design as camouflage. I started with 3 large containers placed in a triangle shape in front of the eyesore electrical boxes. ‘Purple Majesty’ ornamental millet is the focal point at the point of the triangle. Once again, I stretch this plant out of its comfort zone. It’s a full sun plant but does well on the east side of my house where it gets 6 to 7 hours of morning sun. Ornamental millet is a fast growing annual that reaches up to 5 feet tall. It also has broad deep purple leaves which brings much drama and substance to the design.
King Tut grass goes in the two containers behind the millet. King Tut grass is a real work horse plant that does well in a variety of conditions. It’s a full sun plant that does well in partial sun and it’s a water plant that does extremely well in drought conditions. One caution is this plant grows fast and gets huge. It will take over a container so either make sure you have a large enough container that it won’t crowd out your other plants (a successful container combo with this plant was in an old bathtub!) or plant it alone and combine that planter with other containers. I plant it in an 18” square container and the root ball takes up the entire container by the end of summer.
In this case, both the millet and the King Tut are the perfect plants. They are fast growing, tall plants that cover up what I would rather not look at while still enabling easy access to those boxes. The millet offers a strong vertical element with dramatic foliage as the King Tut fills in behind also adding height and texture. Because these plants grow so large and I have a great deal of ground to cover, my fillers and spillers go in their own separate pots as well. I use 4 medium sized containers around the base of the larger three.
In the two side containers, I planted Cherry Blossom Begonias. I love this plant! It is a fibrous begonia that grows quite large and is covered with delicate pink and white double blossoms. For me these blossoms changed from the bi-color in the spring to dark pink later in the season. Whether that was due to sunlight or maturity, I don’t know. At any rate, the result was stunning against the dark purple of the millet.
The last two pots contained Spellbound white trailing impatiens. These took the heat and sun much better than the Fanfare variety I’ve used in the past and were also more drought tolerant and faster growing. In a word, gorgeous!
While I consider his combination a success, I will move the Cherry Blossom Begonias front and center next year for two reasons. One, they are gorgeous alone and against the millet and two, putting the impatiens on the side will cover even more space horizontally which is better for the space. I also experimented with 2 millet in one container which I won't do again. I lost the vertical element without adding significant screening. By the end of the summer it just looked crowded.
Using several containers to create a plant combination can add height, drama and texture to your landscape. Use them as focal points, camouflage or to cover large areas.
Full/Part Sun
2 Cherry Blossom Begonias
2 Spellbound White trailing impatiens
1 ‘Purple Majesty” Ornamental Millet
2 King Tut grass
If you're using containers to solve garden problems and have a large area you wish to fill, using several containers which work together to create one large combination is an inexpensive and easy solution. Not only can you create virtually any size or shape that you need, but you can vary the size and heights of the pots to add interest and structure.
In my previous post, I mentioned that I had a problem area in the back of my house. The electrical/phone/cable boxes all converge in one area. Because of the buried wires in that area, I’ve decided to use a multi-container design as camouflage. I started with 3 large containers placed in a triangle shape in front of the eyesore electrical boxes. ‘Purple Majesty’ ornamental millet is the focal point at the point of the triangle. Once again, I stretch this plant out of its comfort zone. It’s a full sun plant but does well on the east side of my house where it gets 6 to 7 hours of morning sun. Ornamental millet is a fast growing annual that reaches up to 5 feet tall. It also has broad deep purple leaves which brings much drama and substance to the design.
King Tut grass goes in the two containers behind the millet. King Tut grass is a real work horse plant that does well in a variety of conditions. It’s a full sun plant that does well in partial sun and it’s a water plant that does extremely well in drought conditions. One caution is this plant grows fast and gets huge. It will take over a container so either make sure you have a large enough container that it won’t crowd out your other plants (a successful container combo with this plant was in an old bathtub!) or plant it alone and combine that planter with other containers. I plant it in an 18” square container and the root ball takes up the entire container by the end of summer.
In this case, both the millet and the King Tut are the perfect plants. They are fast growing, tall plants that cover up what I would rather not look at while still enabling easy access to those boxes. The millet offers a strong vertical element with dramatic foliage as the King Tut fills in behind also adding height and texture. Because these plants grow so large and I have a great deal of ground to cover, my fillers and spillers go in their own separate pots as well. I use 4 medium sized containers around the base of the larger three.
In the two side containers, I planted Cherry Blossom Begonias. I love this plant! It is a fibrous begonia that grows quite large and is covered with delicate pink and white double blossoms. For me these blossoms changed from the bi-color in the spring to dark pink later in the season. Whether that was due to sunlight or maturity, I don’t know. At any rate, the result was stunning against the dark purple of the millet.
The last two pots contained Spellbound white trailing impatiens. These took the heat and sun much better than the Fanfare variety I’ve used in the past and were also more drought tolerant and faster growing. In a word, gorgeous!
While I consider his combination a success, I will move the Cherry Blossom Begonias front and center next year for two reasons. One, they are gorgeous alone and against the millet and two, putting the impatiens on the side will cover even more space horizontally which is better for the space. I also experimented with 2 millet in one container which I won't do again. I lost the vertical element without adding significant screening. By the end of the summer it just looked crowded.
Using several containers to create a plant combination can add height, drama and texture to your landscape. Use them as focal points, camouflage or to cover large areas.
Labels:
begonias,
design,
ornamental millet,
trailing impatiens
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Container Garden Ideas to Solve Landscape Problems
One of the best reasons to use containers in your garden is to have plants in places where you wouldn’t otherwise be able to grow them. Commonly this means on a deck, patio or porch. Containers also work wonderfully in areas of your garden or yard where you can’t plant in the ground for one reason or another.
There are many situations where part of a garden may be unsuitable for planting. Perhaps there are buried lines or pipes that make it dangerous to dig and unwise to plant perennials. There may be areas of your yard where you’ve had difficulty getting things to grow because it’s too wet, too dry or too shady. Using containers can help solve all of these problems.
For example in the back of my house, not far from my deck is a cluster of boxes, meters and pipes for various essential services into my home. While it’s nice these are all clustered into one area, it’s not aesthetically pleasing. Planting something in front of this was a definite must. However, at the base of this cluster is a tangle of buried lines. When Gopher One came out to mark the ground for planting the first year I had a beautiful rainbow of flags and spray paint indicating that everything meets right here. Right where I would like to plant something to hide the unattractive stuff up there.
Ideally a shrub of some sort would have been wide enough and tall enough to cover the area. However, aside from the wires in the ground I wasn’t digging around, I didn’t think having a shrub in that area was a good idea as it would make access difficult in case something needed to be repaired. Instead I used a grouping of 3 large containers and 4 medium sized ones. In the 3 larger containers I use tall fast growing annual ornamental grasses. In the 4 smaller ones, I use flowering annuals for color. Not only does the grouping camouflage this otherwise unsightly area but it also adds a colorful, multilevel arrangement that is far more interesting than a single shrub.
Other areas where containers are useful are in excessively dry or wet areas where you have trouble getting things to grow. Yes, choosing appropriate plants is the best option but sometimes, even those don’t grow in some areas. An easy and inexpensive solution is to plant in containers where you can more easily regulate moisture and get the full colorful plants you were hoping for when you planted them in the ground. An added bonus is that containers give height and interest where they are used. A feat that is difficult to achieve with strictly perennials.
Shady areas can benefit from containers as well. In those areas too shady for successful growing use pots of colorful shade loving annuals and trade them out every few days. They’ll do fine and brighten up an otherwise dark area.
Think outside the patio when it comes to containers. You will pleased at how containers in groupings or placed strategically through your garden can change the whole landscape.
There are many situations where part of a garden may be unsuitable for planting. Perhaps there are buried lines or pipes that make it dangerous to dig and unwise to plant perennials. There may be areas of your yard where you’ve had difficulty getting things to grow because it’s too wet, too dry or too shady. Using containers can help solve all of these problems.
For example in the back of my house, not far from my deck is a cluster of boxes, meters and pipes for various essential services into my home. While it’s nice these are all clustered into one area, it’s not aesthetically pleasing. Planting something in front of this was a definite must. However, at the base of this cluster is a tangle of buried lines. When Gopher One came out to mark the ground for planting the first year I had a beautiful rainbow of flags and spray paint indicating that everything meets right here. Right where I would like to plant something to hide the unattractive stuff up there.
Ideally a shrub of some sort would have been wide enough and tall enough to cover the area. However, aside from the wires in the ground I wasn’t digging around, I didn’t think having a shrub in that area was a good idea as it would make access difficult in case something needed to be repaired. Instead I used a grouping of 3 large containers and 4 medium sized ones. In the 3 larger containers I use tall fast growing annual ornamental grasses. In the 4 smaller ones, I use flowering annuals for color. Not only does the grouping camouflage this otherwise unsightly area but it also adds a colorful, multilevel arrangement that is far more interesting than a single shrub.
Other areas where containers are useful are in excessively dry or wet areas where you have trouble getting things to grow. Yes, choosing appropriate plants is the best option but sometimes, even those don’t grow in some areas. An easy and inexpensive solution is to plant in containers where you can more easily regulate moisture and get the full colorful plants you were hoping for when you planted them in the ground. An added bonus is that containers give height and interest where they are used. A feat that is difficult to achieve with strictly perennials.
Shady areas can benefit from containers as well. In those areas too shady for successful growing use pots of colorful shade loving annuals and trade them out every few days. They’ll do fine and brighten up an otherwise dark area.
Think outside the patio when it comes to containers. You will pleased at how containers in groupings or placed strategically through your garden can change the whole landscape.
Labels:
how-to
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