Consider using perennials in your containers

Container gardening has become so much more chic than red geraniums, vinca vines trailing over the edge, and a green spike in the middle for height. In addition to the scads of new annual flowers introduced each year, savvy gardeners peruse the perennial benches for a wealth of container gardening opportunities.

Homeowners have driven two trends that benefit container gardeners. People are building homes with smaller yards, downsizing to townhouses, and focusing on hardscape features like patios and outdoor kitchens. As a result, plant breeders are creating more compact cultivars of parent plants to accommodate smaller landscapes.

Shoppers are also choosing longer-blooming perennials over those with the traditional three- to four-week bloom-time of many perennials. Downsized and longer-blooming versions of perennial favorites are perfect for container designers. Examples include black-eyed Susans, coneflowers, coreopsis, geraniums, Shasta daisies and yarrow.

Sophisticated gardeners, however, never rule out perennials based on shorter flowering periods. If they display attractive features that carry on even when the plant is not in flower, they are also utilized. Perennials like coral bells, foamflowers, lady's mantle, lamium, pulmonaria and sedums have beautiful foliage and contribute color and texture whether flowering or not.

Other perennials are planted specifically for their foliage - artemisia, creeping Jenny, hostas, ferns, grasses, lamb's ear and sedges are prime examples.

When planting perennials in containers, plant them much closer together than their recommended spacing in the garden and pay close attention to their watering needs. Perennials have larger root systems than annuals and may require more water when planted in a pot.

At season's end, annuals go into the compost pile but perennials can be planted in the garden, covered with a thick winter mulch to help them establish in their new homes. Some extremely cold-hardy perennials may be left in weatherproof pots to winter over outdoors. Make sure they are at least one or two zones hardier than our Zone 5 hardiness zone for the best chance of success.

Containers must have adequate drainage and be made of materials that can stand alternating freezing, thawing and wet conditions. Terra cotta, glazed or not, is not a good choice. It tends to flake and crack under winter conditions. Wood is a good all-season material and newer synthetic materials, marketed for their year-round resiliency, come in a variety of colors and textures.

Move pots with overwintering perennials together and cover them with leaves, mulch or straw. Setting pots on their sides prevents a deadly buildup of water over ice, which can rot plants during midwinter thaws. When early spring cleanup begins, remove their winter blanket and set pots back out in the sun.

As you create your containers this year, don't forget to check out the perennials that can add unique pizazz to your designs.

• Diana Stoll is a horticulturist and the garden center manager at The Planter's Palette, 28W571 Roosevelt Road, Winfield. Call (630) 293-1040, ext. 2, or visit planterspalette.com.