Gardeners can achieve perfect container-grown shrubs by following three straightforward steps, it has been suggested. A familiar face to BBC Gardeners’ World and RHS Chelsea Flower Show enthusiasts, garden designer Joe Swift has presented the former since 1998.
As spring progresses, the horticultural expert has highlighted a crucial task you should tackle in your garden if you only “do one thing” this week: repotting your shrubs, a job that will prevent them from becoming what he described as “pot-bound”.
Indeed, he explained that numerous shrubs flourish in containers, but repotting is a task that requires attention “every few years”. Joe wrote in the Radio Times: “Many shrubs do well in containers but will need repotting every few years.
“If left, they get ‘pot-bound’, when their roots completely fill the pot so they can’t retain moisture or nutrients to sustain healthy growth.”
With that in mind, Joe recommended that the green-fingered amongst us attempt these three steps:
Consider container size
It may be “tempting” to place your shrubs in a considerably larger pot, believing it can remain there for years, but Joe cautions that, if the soil is too loose, the plant could “rock in situ”. He says this means it could create air gaps.
Another problem could be that the plant becomes either waterlogged or dry, so one size up is “best”, specifically allowing 2.5cm to 5cm “all the way round”.
Joe added that you might be able to get away with not buying loads of new pots by tackling a number of plants and switching “one to another”.
Pay attention to your drainage and compost
Joe wrote: “Place a 2.5cm layer of crocks over the drainage holes. General compost is too light; shrubs prefer a soil-based compost, such as John Innes No 3 or similar.
“You can make your own with two parts good garden soil and one part sieved garden compost. It’s a good time to add in a little fertiliser, such as blood, fish and bone, which can be mixed in with the compost.”
You should also sufficiently water it once you’ve potted it, he added.
Importance of pruning
Joe observed that these types of shrubs could, in future, be too difficult to repot into larger ones, and advised us to keep the size under control by tackling top and root growth.
He also suggested that we remove them from the pot and “scrape away” some of the compost to reveal the roots, before pruning some of it and making a 2.5cm to 5cm gap.
Finally, he said that we should tackle the weak or damaged roots first, retaining the “fibrous feeding” ones where we can, but prune a bit of top growth before you repot.
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