I had my gardener plant perennials in my garden last week. They were
about seven. Once finished,I asked him what he did with the containers
the plants came in, he told me he had planted the flowers in theirs
containers. I always thought you needed to remove the plants from
their containers and plant them in the ground. He says no. Any
thoughts?
thanks
mara

In article .com,
marasol wrote:
I had my gardener plant perennials in my garden last week. They were
about seven. Once finished,I asked him what he did with the containers
the plants came in, he told me he had planted the flowers in theirs
containers. I always thought you needed to remove the plants from
their containers and plant them in the ground. He says no. Any
thoughts?

Unless the pots were biodegradable, he is almost certainly being a
cowboy - tell him to do the job properly.

There are perennials that will be happy planted in their pots, but
there are others that will most definitely not be. Any perennials
that are intended to spread sideways will not be, as will those
with fleshy or shallow roots. What species did he plant?

And the pots will be a menace if you ever want to divide a clump
of perennials.

That doesn't mean that you should NEVER plant in pots - it is a
standard way of constraining perennials that you want to restrict
in size (but it works for only some). It should never be done by
default unless the pots are biodegradable.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 3 Feb 2005 19:22:12 -0800, "marasol"
wrote:

I had my gardener plant perennials in my garden last week. They were
about seven. Once finished,I asked him what he did with the containers
the plants came in, he told me he had planted the flowers in theirs
containers.

I think you might be well advised to look at his credentials a bit
carefully. It seems as though you may be allowing someone who hasn't
got much of an idea about plants and their requirements to run amok in
your garden.

There is some justification in the 'pot-planting' of temporary plants
which are there to give an effect for just a couple of months
(primroses/polys etc) if they are to be moved after flowering.
However, nearly all perennials need to get their roots out into the
surrounding soil and many will give poor results or even die unless
allowed to do so.

Certain perennials are tolerant of being container grown, but even
these need decent sized containers in which they can establish. The
pots they come in are far too small for permanency.


Dave Poole
Torquay, Coastal South Devon UK
Winter min -2°C. Summer max 34°C.
Growing season: March - November

Nick, thank you for the excellent advice. I had my worries, but after
reading your message, they have disapeared. I guess is going to be a
new gardener from now on.


Thanks.

Mara.

....................
Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article .com,
marasol wrote:
I had my gardener plant perennials in my garden last week. They
were
about seven. Once finished,I asked him what he did with the
containers
the plants came in, he told me he had planted the flowers in theirs
containers. I always thought you needed to remove the plants from
their containers and plant them in the ground. He says no. Any
thoughts?

Unless the pots were biodegradable, he is almost certainly being a
cowboy - tell him to do the job properly.

There are perennials that will be happy planted in their pots, but
there are others that will most definitely not be. Any perennials
that are intended to spread sideways will not be, as will those
with fleshy or shallow roots. What species did he plant?

And the pots will be a menace if you ever want to divide a clump
of perennials.

That doesn't mean that you should NEVER plant in pots - it is a
standard way of constraining perennials that you want to restrict
in size (but it works for only some). It should never be done by
default unless the pots are biodegradable.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Thank you Janet. Some of the pots are plastic, others aluminun, but
all have holes in the bottom. I had some doubts, and wasn't sure if
this was the proper procedure or not, so I posted my questions to you.
I am not going to call him to do any more work for me, because I got
the feeling he knows better, but since I'm a single woman, he thought
he could rip me off. This is his loss, because I was planning to give
him more planting for me. I won't be calling again, what I will do, is
dig up the holes up again, and remove the pots, planting the flowers
once more, only this time it will be in the ground. (At least the
holes are opened, so it won't be too hard.) It's a shame to have
people take advantage of people, but I refused to think most people are
like that. He may had done it because he thought it was proper. I
should have asked his reasons.

Thanks again for such good advise.

Mara

Thank you Dave, it has been raining and is cold here in Florida, but
come Monday, I will dig up all the plants, remove the pots, and replant
them in the ground.

Great advise!

Thanks.

Mara.

"marasol" wrote in message
ups.com...
Thank you Janet. Some of the pots are plastic, others aluminun, but
all have holes in the bottom. I had some doubts, and wasn't sure if
this was the proper procedure or not, so I posted my questions to
you.
I am not going to call him to do any more work for me, because I
got
the feeling he knows better, but since I'm a single woman, he
thought
he could rip me off.

You will be better off without him. He obviously does not know his
brass from his oboe. You ought to ask a few questions from friends
and neighbours to get advice on who might be a reasonable gardener to
help you.

This is his loss, because I was planning to give
him more planting for me. I won't be calling again, what I will do,
is
dig up the holes up again, and remove the pots, planting the flowers
once more, only this time it will be in the ground. (At least the
holes are opened, so it won't be too hard.)

You should try and get that done before the end of March, when the
plants recover from their dormant period.

It's a shame to have
people take advantage of people, but I refused to think most people
are
like that. He may had done it because he thought it was proper. I
should have asked his reasons.

I'm afaris the world is riddled with, and many gardens are ruined by,
jobbing gardeners.

Thanks again for such good advise.

Let us know how you get on with the replanting chore, and whether you
manage to find a reasonable helper.

Franz