When it’s time to plan a container garden, a common oversight growers make is buying pots before deciding what to plant. It’s easy to see good looking containers and buy the best looking pots before deciding what plant will go in them.
The issue is how the plant’s roots prefer to grow – some root vegetables like carrots and potatoes need a deeper pot to grow correctly, while other plants like ferns and most herbs have shallow roots and are looking for space to spread out.
If you’ve seen the GeoPot SquatPot, you may have found your new favorite pot for a container grow – and who could blame you? The SquatPot has a round bottom and is half the height and double the width of traditional GeoPot fabric pots, making it ideal for cloned plants and shallow rooting plants. Additionally, the SquatPot is constructed using the same geotextile fabric that a traditional GeoPot relies on to keep the soil aerated, air-prune the roots, and prevent overwatering.
Now that you know what pots will look great in your container garden, it’s time to get prepared with the plants that will appreciate them.
Here are the top 5 plants to grow in your SquatPots:
Ferns: Ferns have shallow roots, so they’re perfect for a SquatPot. Most ferns should be kept moist, but not allowed to stand in water or to endure soggy soil, so a SquatPot's built-in drainage comes in handy.
Onions: Onions are not large plants and develop a fairly shallow root system, which makes them well suited to container gardening in a SquatPot. They don’t require full sunlight, but young plants will appreciate overhead sunlight to get started, and the SquatPot is easy to move when it’s needed!
Oregano: Oregano plants can manage with 6 inches of wiggle room for their roots, and the SquatPot has that to spare, and then some! Herbs are great for the shallow nature of the SquatPot, just be aware that shallow-rooted herbs need more frequent watering than deep-rooted plants because the top foot of soil dries out more quickly than deeper levels.
Petunias: Petunias are particularly good for hot and dry areas because of how hardy they are, and their shallow roots make them the perfect choice for a SquatPot. Place them where they will receive full sun – eight hours per day is preferable for the fullest possible blooms.
Azaleas: Azaleas do well in a container, but are likely to rot in poorly drained soil – this won’t be an issue in a SquatPot! Plant the azalea at the same soil depth it was planted in the nursery container, and you’ll be good to grow.
The GeoPot SquatPot Fabric Pot has everything you need for your spring container garden. Find more of our special varieties of fabric pots.
