Tips For Container Gardening Design What Is A Thriller, Filler Spiller

Great designs include a “thriller,” a tall plant usually with a strong statement of form and color, “filler,” plants that fill the space hiding the soil and “spiller” that weeps over the edge of the pot. The result is a three-dimensional arrangement that looks opulent, mature and permanent.

What is a spiller plant?

Spillers are trailing plants that hang over the edge of the container. Trailing plants can also help keep container plantings in scale. Trailing vines and flowering plants help connect the plantings to the container while hiding and softening its edges.

Is Verbena a filler or Spiller?

Also, some plants can be both fillers and spillers—if they are mounding and trailing—verbena, bacopa, oregano, and some varieties of sedum.

Is Coleus a thriller or filler?

Filler plants – Fillers are mid-size, mounding, or rounded plants that surround and enhance the thriller and fill the space in the planter. ... The difficult part is selecting the plant from so many choices, but a few suggestions include: Begonias. Coleus.

What can you use for filler in flower pots?

Lightweight Filler for Pots

Recycle Plastics. Plastic Water/Soda Bottles. ...
Reuse Packing Materials. ...
Unused Plastic Pots Turned Upside Down.
Recycled Crushed Cans.
Natural Materials. ...
Recycled Cardboard, Newspaper (Also for short term use only.)

Can snapdragons be planted in pots?

Snapdragon Container Care

Growing snapdragons in pots isn't difficult, especially if you have grown them previously in beds. They prefer full sun, but with a container you can move them around to catch the light. ... The soil in the pot will dry out much more quickly than the soil in a flower bed.

What is a trailing annual plant?

Trailing annual flowers are ideal for hanging baskets, window boxes, containers and retaining walls. They put on a stunning display of blooms and the good thing about annuals is that you can change them each year.

How deep should Container gardens be?

For most plants, a 6-to 8-inch-deep planter box is sufficient. The depth may vary for some vegetables, however. Turnips, cucumbers, broccoli, beets, lettuce and green onions can all grow well in a planter box at that depth, but other vegetables, like cabbage, need a deeper depth of at least 10 inches.

What do you put in the bottom of a planter for drainage?

Put a layer of gravel in your plant's drainage tray, or down inside a decorative planter, then sit your plant pot on top. The gravel will hold water and increase humidity, while keeping your plant's roots up out of the puddle.

Are black pots bad for plants?

Do not use black, or dark colored plastic pots if your container garden will be located in a very sunny location. These colors absorb heat and will get very hot, which can damage tender roots. Light colored containers reflect the heat and keep the roots cool.

Why is the color of plant pots important?

Effect of Color on Planters

Variations in temperature, in turn, impact how the plant grows. Researchers have found that containers in darker colors, especially black, heat the soil more. ... Choosing white or light-colored containers is most important for heat sensitive plants.

Do outdoor pots need saucers?

This week's gardening tips: Unless it's absolutely necessary, avoid placing saucers underneath outdoor container plants. Saucers full of water will keep the soil in the pots too wet, an unhealthy condition for most plants. In addition, saucers full of water provide breeding sites for mosquitoes.

Should you put rocks in the bottom of a planter?

A layer of gravel at the bottom of a planting container was recommended for decades, even in published books about container plants. That erroneous advice may lead to root damage in plants. When gravel is at the bottom of a pot, it takes up room that otherwise soil would fill, making the pot much smaller for its plant.

How do you fill a deep planter?

Choose a high-quality potting soil for your planter box; don't use garden soil. Potting soil is sterile, free from weed seeds and diseases and blended with a material such as pumice or perlite to provide good drainage. Fill the planter box to about 1 inch below its rim. The extra 1 inch allows space for watering.

Can you put Styrofoam in the bottom of a planter?

How Foam Helps. When using big containers, you need a large amount of soil to fill them from top to bottom. That gets expensive quickly, and you end up paying for soil you don't need. ... Adding a few inches of foam peanuts or chunks in the bottom of the container reduces the amount of soil needed to fill the planter.

Do snapdragons like sun or shade?

Snapdragons bloom best in well-drained, moist soil, in cool late-spring or early-summer temperatures. They can tolerate light shade but bloom much better in full sun.

Do snapdragons need a lot of water?

Snapdragons need adequate watering. Keep seedlings moist for the first few weeks. Once established, snapdragon will need approximately 1 inch of water per week in times of no rainfall. Water near the crown of the plant and avoid overhead watering to keep your snapdragon healthy.

How do you keep snapdragons blooming?

Deadheading will help keep your snapdragons blooming throughout the summer. Remove the faded flowers just below the flower stem and above a set of healthy leaves. This will keep the new blooms coming. If the plant becomes leggy (long stems and few leaves) prune back further along the stem.

What are the best trailing plants?

10 AGM trailing plants

Campanula poscharskyana 'Stella' ...
Lathyrus latifolius 'White Pearl' ...
Lathyrus odoratus 'Solway Classic' ...
Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea' ...
Persicaria affinis 'Superba' ...
Phlox subulata 'McDaniel's Cushion'

What are the best trailing plants for hanging baskets?

Top 10 hanging basket plants

Begonia x tuberhybrida. Instantly recognisable with their large blowsy blooms that hang pendulously from the thick stems, begonia tuberhybrida are one of our most popular basket and bedding plants. ...
Fuchsias. ...
Petunias. ...
Bacopa. ...
Lobelia. ...
Calibrachoa. ...
Geraniums (Pelargoniums) ...
Osteospermum.

How do you tell if a plant is annual or perennial?

If you see consistent blooms from spring to frost, odds are it is an annual. If the plant blooms only once or twice during the growing season, it is most likely a perennial. If you are in doubt, don't pull out any plants when frost strikes and kills the foliage.