If you want to plant a flowering annual vine to decorate your patio, porch, or balcony, how can you grow it where there is no ground to plant in? Use a large pot or box! Just be sure that that container is as big as possible; I recommend a pot or box that’s at least 2′ in diameter or larger. Fill the entire container with soil (no rocks or shards in the bottom, please! See my new book for details. Coffee for Roses: …and 70 Other Misleading Myths About Backyard Gardening)

Use fresh potting soil and mix in some organic fertilizer Jobe’s 09726 Organic Fast Start Granular Fertilizer 4-Pound Bag
along with a small handful of time-release fertilizer Osmocote Plus Outdoor and Indoor Smart Release Plant Food, 8-Pound: this combination of the two will feed your vine all summer and into the fall.

When choosing an annual vine keep in mind that morning glories won’t, in all likelihood, bloom all summer. They are triggered into flowering by decreasing hours of daylight and they also bloom best in infertile soils. Mandevilla vine, on the other hand, will bloom all season provided you purchase one that’s already in flower. Look for the varieties that grow long – ‘Red Riding Hood’ for example doesn’t climb much so isn’t suitable for covering a trellis, archway or other larger area.

These two Mandevilla vines frame the entrance to this house so beautifully.

These two Mandevilla vines frame the entrance to this house so beautifully.

You can plant other, lower growing plants in the container as well provided the pot is large enough and filled all the way to the bottom with potting soil.

You can plant other, lower growing plants in the container as well provided the pot is large enough and filled all the way to the bottom with potting soil.

So this weekend project is about looking at your outdoor living areas and thinking about where you’d like an annual flowering vine. You can grow that!

 

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