The photos on the left portray how extremely root bound the existing plants were. Do you think a plant might be too old if the roots perfectly mold to the shape of the container? The photos on the right are the newly potted up plants.
I am always looking for ways to avoid dragging the hose around every other day to irrigate thirsty container plants. The photo in the center is a container I put together last summer and rainfall has proven to be sufficient for this combination of plants.
With that in mind, I replaced every container on the back lanai with a mixture of bromeliads and other drought resistant plants that will survive mostly on rainfall. It will take a while for them to look full but in the meantime it is a huge job crossed off the never ending to-do's.
Plants combined with bromeliads:
Rabbit's Tail Fern
Dragon's Breath Hemigraphis
Spider Plant
Florida Sedum Gold
Carex Oshimensis 'Gold Strike'
Cordyline 'Red Star'
Macho Fern Nephrolepsis biserrata
Ornamental Sweet Potato Vine
Lemon Grass
Rosemary
12 comments:
Great post Meems! Keeping containers watered is a pain for sure! I ♥ your blue pots!! Thanks for the list of plants that combine well with bromeliads in containers.
Have a great weekend!
What a great resource page. Thank you Meems! Your pots look amazing!
Getting around to redoing my containers is on my list as well. Ready for some fall colors around here. I do wish I could grow bromeliads outdoors year round. Well, the Queen's Tears stays out but that about it.
What wonderful blue pots, and a great list of drought resistant plants to fill them with.
Have a great weekend ~ FlowerLady
Siesta Sister,
There are still several in the circle garden and scattered about that need hand watering but dragging the hose into the screened lanai will now be minimized. Every bit helps right!
Daisy,
Doing this project reminded me of the days when I switched out all the container plants every season. It would provide a colorful flair appropriate to the season. It was great fun but now I have too many other things in the garden to care for. Simplify!
Darla,
I may have to cover the containers in a hard freeze. Last year broms on the back lanai only got tipped by frost when left uncovered. Broms in the ground under tree cover are always fine through winter.
I'm not familiar with Queen's tears ... will look it up to see if it works down here.
FlowerLady,
It's a good time to re-do pots so they have time to get established before our cold weather hits in Jan/Feb. Have a wonderful weekend, too.
Never occurred to me to put broms in containers, but what a great idea! There are so may unusual and vividly colored bromeliad varieties to try. Also appreciate the suggestions for companion plants.
great ideas, but of course you first must have (be able to afford) those beautiful cobalt container pots! they make a statement of their own, even without plantings!
Hi Meems, we have all those plants here too, so i love those blue planters more. They are even glazed making them look more expensive. Procrastinating and not dividing the plants sooner is also one of my not-so-good traits. ...but i really love your containers! haha
The bromeliads certainly are one of my favorites for ease of care, although we did spend extra time this summer keeping the cups filled as the bees loved drinking from within.
Love those bright color combos-bright pots AND plants!
Meems, i just stumbled onto your blog. what a great site you have! I am your newest follower. I hope you will follow me, too! Blessings to you!
Your containers look beautiful. My containers are mostly sedums for the same ease of watering reasons. Love the idea of using broms though. I always enjoy seeing how you combine the plantings.
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