Recommendation For Annual Flowers For Large Pot

pinkfloydian

I have a large pot (18" high by 18" wide) at my front door and no matter what I put in it, it seems to perish.

I'm looking for something colourful and in a dome kind of shape that will flower from Spring to Autumn and will come back every year. Mostly blooms but not long stalks (hope I'm describing correctly).

It is on the North-facing side of the house, so mostly in shade.

looksee

It is on the North-facing side of the house, so mostly in shade.

There is your problem. You have to find plants that will flourish in shade rather than hoping for lots of colour. Also you are not looking for annual plants, these flower for one season then have to be replaced, you are looking for perennial plants - those that come back each year. And to conclude the lesson 😀 you are not going to get a plant that will flower from spring to autumn, come back each year and be happy in shade. If there were such a thing we would all be delighted!

Your best bet is a small shrub for height and 'presence'. Possibilities would be sarcoccoca which has nice glossy leaves and white, scented flowers in winter, one of the smaller hydrangeas in a large pot, though you probably won't get as much flower in full shade, fatsia japonica will do will in shade, again a largish pot, they can grow quite big. For colour you could put in a few annuals each spring if the pot is big enough, pansies (the smaller viola type) can do very well for long flowering if fed in spring, and the fibrous rooted begonias - the small bedding begonias - are also happy in shade.

pinkfloydian

Thank you looksee

That's exactly the response I was hoping for.

I know nothing about gardening (as I'm sure you have gathered). I'm in North County Dublin. Where would I find all those items you mentioned.

looksee

Any garden centre, either a specialised garden centre or one attached to a hardware or home store. None of the plants mentioned is unusual or special, they should not be difficult to find. You are a bit at the end of the summer season and not quite into autumn at the moment and while I have found quite a lot of garden centres have good stock in at the moment, a few are still clearing out the summer stuff.

The few I mentioned are by no means an exhaustive list, there are other plants that no doubt will be suggested.

pinkfloydian

Thanks looksee

I've been looking at your recommendations and here is my problem for the MAIN plant (or centrepiece). There are so many that I'm not sure which to select (or indeed, would be suitable). Please see the attached as an example of my confusion.

looksee

If you go to a decent garden centre you are not going to have that much confusion - you will probably have a choice of one or two sarcococcas (say), it doesn't matter which you choose. Look for nice healthy shrubs with plenty of branches and a nice shape. Not necessarily one with a single very long stem, a more compact, multi-branch plant will probably do better.

Fatsia will be a choice between plain and variegated, don't choose variegated for a shady spot, the plain are much more robust and the other will probably turn plain anyway. Spend a bit of time looking in a couple of garden centres, get the feel of what is available.

You might find it more successful to just have a shrub in your big pot (at 18" its middling to large, there are much bigger) and a smaller bot beside it with some annual colour. Top the shrub pot off with a good layer of gravel or pebbles. Also use a soil mix - look for compost that says 'John Innes' on it, rather than just compost which tends to dry out and is difficult to wet again.

pinkfloydian

Thanks again looksee

Very helpful.