What to plant in these tall planters?

donnacha

I was on a couple of weeks back and have decided to upload a picture of one the planters to see if I can get any advice. I have two of these and am having difficulty working out what to plant in them.

They will only get sun from around 3/4 in the afternoon and garden is quite windy due to field behind the house.

Sonnenblumen

donnacha wrote: »

I was on a couple of weeks back and have decided to upload a picture of one the planters to see if I can get any advice. I have two of these and am having difficulty working out what to plant in them.

They will only get sun from around 3/4 in the afternoon and garden is quite windy due to field behind the house.

You'll need to be careful which plants you select for 2 reasons:

Planter - high with tapered sides, are prone to blowing over especially with a tall plant, which sets a high centre of gravity.

Position- lack of sun combined with wind tunnel will be very challenging for most plants, wind scorch/root rock, planter drying out etc.

I would suggest you do the following fill each planter with at least 300mm of rubble/broken stone, this will enhance stability as well offer drainage. fit plastic tray or bowl to act as reservoir to and backfill with a good mix 70:30 soil and compost and mix in some slow release pelleted fertiliser eg Osmocote. Planters are ready for planting.

You can expect reasonable success with following:

Bay(Lauris Nobilis) cone, Box (Buxus sempervirens) Ball/Pyramid, Convolvulus Cneorem and possiblyHolly (Ilex) Marginata.

Some Dwarf Varieties of popular shrubs include :

Skimmia Rubella (Merlot), Rhododendron (Inkarho), Red Robin (Photinia) Nana.

All above are evergreen and some with good foliage colour and/or flower and scent.

donnacha

Thank you very much for the advice. I had already filled both bases with some old stones and broken clay pots so probably have the base to work with as suggested.