Where to buy large pots (and how big for sweet pea?)

tmq

My gardening education continues....

I've pruned the lavendar, and I planted the four plants (from previous thread) into the ground last week. I also did some soil testing and have a PH of around 7 - 8 (I'm in north seaside Dublin).

So in optimistically preparing for spring, I want to buy a couple of big pots. One is for the aforementioned sweet pea, that I want to climb up a new fence in the backyard, where the ground is paved.

And I might buy another if I can afford it for a camelia... I grew one in Australia and my girlfriend likes them. Apparently they like acidic soil, so I'll have to go with a large pot.

So, any tips on good places to buy large pots around Dublin? From looking online, they look a bit pricey.

And would a 50-60cm pot be big enough for the sweet pea? This seems to be the most common "large" size.

All advice welcome.... thanks!

rightofwayed

Last spring I wanted to plant two olive trees in large pots in my back garden. The large size pots I was thinking of were ranging from €120 - €150 a pot!!! So instead of spending ridiculous money on the pots I put a post on facebook asking if anyone had any wheely bins they no longer used and by the end of the day I had two wheely bins. I then powerhosed them, drilled holes in the bottom of them for drainage, and lay them on the ground using a handsaw to cut them to the desired height/size I wanted. Turned out to be a great idea and makes it very easy to move them if I need to as they have wheels on the base. You can also put stickers on the bins if you want to pimp them up a bit!

pwurple

Your soil is close to neutral... in my humble experience camelia's are much more fussy about direct sunlight and harsh winds than they are about acidic soil. They are subshrubs, usually growing under a tree canopy, so hours of direct sunlight, strong wind and drought together will make them a bit unhappy. All very common conditions in pots!

I say look around at your neighbours and see if they are growing camelia in the ground. Stick it into the ground for a few seasons (in a semi-shady spot) and see how you get on.

As for large pots, garden centers have them, but they are huge money for glazed ceramic pots.

tmq

Thanks folks...

My ground space in the backyard is all fairly exposed and sunny, whereas my paved area is almost surrounded on three sides (east, south and west), so I could put the camelia in there I guess.

I'll keep a look out for pots on the cheap somewhere... or wheely bins! Good idea. We have red ones ourselves, so they'd certainly need some camouflage.

Chickus

Dunnes Stores do big ceramic pots...reasonable enough price too

looksee

You are referring to sweet pea - singular. You are aware that they are plants grown from seed that are annuals, they only last one season? No reason why you can't grow them in pots, provided you keep watering and feed them, and give them some support. I would be inclined to put a pyramid into the pot though - getting them from a large pot to the fence could be a bit unsatisfactory. If they do well some of them might take off and cling to the fence anyway when they are well grown. And keep deadheading them to keep them flowering. You could put maybe a dozen in a large pot.

Supercell

A rain barrel might do the trick instead too, its what I'm planning to use for a fig tree I'm planting, so it can be contained.

tmq

Yes looksee, I'm mainly hoping for some summer colour and coverage of the fence, so an annual is fine. We rent, so i'm reluctant to leave anything too permanent. Good idea on the pyramid, i have access to bamboo, so will try make something suitable.

I bought some pots on the weekend, and the guy at the garden centre convinced me to buy a couple of smaller ones (appox 12 inches high), and grow a couple of sweet pea a few metres apart. Now I'm a bit concerned that they mightn't be deep enough for the roots... suppose I can give it a go and see.

I also bought a Mary Williams camellia and potted it into a large pot. And mowed the lawn for the first time, an enjoyable weekend!

yellowlabrador

I grow sweet peas in pots every year. As long as you water them it will be fine. Deadhead and pick the flowers regularly to keep them blooming. Grow runner beans and other climbing peas such as sugar snap peas too.

Deenie123

Planning on growing some sweet pea along the side of my driveway in pots (nowhere I can dig). I'm hoping to grow it up a fence (will provide wire for it to grip to), so I was thinking of bringing a little bit of netting from low down on the fence and towards the pot to encourage it up the fence. Does this sound like it will work?

Also, would like to minimize the size of the pots I use. I bought five pots of it from my local garden centre and will plant each separately along the fence just to add interest on the way down it. The current pots are about 8-10cm in diameter. How big do their pots ultimately need to be to allow it them to grow to a decent height?

looksee

10cm pots are way too small to get any sort of growth, in fact you would be lucky to get decent growth in anything smaller than a - say- bucket sized pot. Better to put two or three plants in a big pot than try and grow single plants in small pots. And you will have to keep watering on a daily basis and feeding regularly.

Deenie123

Oh yeah sorry, don't intend to keep them in the 10cm pots, sorry that was extra info! Was thinking of transferring each one of those pots into some pots I grew tomatoes in last year.