What Sorts of Pots Do You Prefer?

A new thread gives a chance for new voices to chime in. I'd love to voice on that too.

Excellent, I will do that. I'll open it up in the "Mid Atlantic" group 'cause this is the zone within which we're working. (what needs to be cared for as an "indoor plant" in our zone, can be cared for differently in a warmer zone... and all that). :)

Oh I just thought of ideas since posting on your houseplant thread. Metallic finishes, especially gold, is popular right now. Maybe some smaller-sized pots in these finishes for the houseplant set?

yippee, looking forward the the houseplant thread

I personally don't think gold will go in my home, but I like darker, say hammered metals, and copper. I did see a magazine spread of decor in white, cream, and gold- lovely.

"copper, gold, "hammered look"" added to the list.

The houseplant thread is up and running -- go catch it! =)

Sally it isn't a vintage McCoy pot but I think it has a similar look to it. It is up for grabs and you have first dips. There is a sticker on the bottom that says Nantucket Home.
I will be bringing it to the seed swap.

I love it Holly!!!!! Thank you. Can I give you the pot of chocolate Oncidium I've been saving for you? I thought I'd offer it if we ever came up for fire pit rocks, but this works too.
https://suite101.com/a/oncidium-sharry-baby-how-to-grow-a-chocolate-orchid-a370760

It has about two older and two newer pesudobulbs, cross fingers it will bloom this summer. But you may be a bit overwhelmed what with all your greenhouse troubles. I could hold it till spring, too.


OK back to the main attraction…LOL

None! :)

Oh Sally I would love the Sharry Baby. GH is back on track, they did deliver us a tank of gas just the other day that should hold us till spring. Sounds like a great trade to me.

Mostly chiming in to agree here... Love big lightweight pots, and I've found that the foam-feeling ones are easy to paint (seal with poly). I'd actually rather have them not come with drainage holes; as long as they're not pottery/concrete I can easily drill them, and then I can also choose to use them as big cache pots inside (works better than saucers on the living room carpet for me) or as water garden pots outside.

I'll pick up "sets" in different sizes if available, but more likely to go with a large & 2 medium since the "small" is often smaller than I like. Even inside, unless potting up an african violet, I tend to go with larger pots now and put a combination of plants in them... makes watering easier.

I'd LOVE to see a cache pot (decorative, no-hole) that I knew for sure would fit a standard nursery pot... maybe even put a standard pot inside the cache pot for an extra 50 cents. I've occasionally brought a set of nursery pots with me to places like Ikea where I knew I'd be seeing cache pots but probably not have plastic-potted plants at hand to try.

For medium to smaller pots, blue is definitely a favorite... and you just can't go wrong with white or cream, especially if it has a pretty pattern/texture to it.

For hanging baskets, I'm trying to get all of mine switched into the kind with the self-watering bottom (Walmart sells plastic ones with a good-sized reservoir)... so much easier to water!

Sequoia, you don't like container growing? Eeek! Someone help this poor man! < =P

Oh Holly, that is a beautiful pot! I like the design of texture, as opposed to 'painted on' colour. I'm glad to hear you got your gas delivered for your GH as well; we've got more cold temps on the horizon.

Light weight containers seem to be a recurring theme with people that I talk with, but NOT plastics. There is a composite material (plastic/wood?) being used now for pots; one of our vendors was telling us the other day about a line of products using it. I look forward to delving into the catalog to find out more.
Cachepots are a GREAT idea for indoor use, and they don't have to be expensive. Those have been added to the list, thank you. =) (as well as 'HB' with large reservoir).

Sally... I guess I haven't mentioned this, but -- well, the MAJOR changes at work start with.. the "BossLady" retired this past Fall, so she is no longer there. The remaining "BossMan" realized over-Winter that it was too much for him to handle alone, so he sold the nursery. The plus side of it is, he sold it to a contractor whom we've known and worked with for years. The New boss has (apparently) kept me on, and now we're all working hard to totally refresh and renew the place. BIG TIME. I've been trying to keep track, with photos, of all the improvements and renovations going on.. it's hard, there's TONS of stuff daily to see! Right now we're in the "scrambling the eggs" stage - the omelet isn't ready yet. ;)

Speedie, that is exciting and scary for you all.
Those flowery painted pots that didn't sell- consider for display, fill with gloves or packets of something on the counter.
I think we shouldall descend upon you one weekend and gush over the new things and of course their most most wonderful employee Suze...

Great idea, I can definitely do that -- use the unsold pots for display. And it would be SOOOOO GREAT to have a swarm of DG'er come to visit one weekend!!! I can't tell you how much I would love that!! The new BossMan is AWESOME! He and his wife are both Believers, and you can tell the minute you first start talking with them. We will NOT be open for business on Sundays anymore-that day is for God. ♥

Big changes Speedie! Is the 'contractor' a Landscape contractor?

Three of the nurseries I loved and worked for here were sold to landscape contractors when owners retired and moved. Not the worst fit, but a difficult one to achieve a good balance with out the 'retail' side of things really playing second fiddle to bulk mulch and loaders and pallets of blue stone and river rocks and all the hardscape stuff 'landscapers' love to play with (fencing, patios, retaining walls, water features, outdoor kitchens, irrigation systems, etc) You know, the high ticket items...and, yes plants ( where it is hard to beat the big box margins and volumes and still be profitable as a retail Garden Center.) And, did I mention that plants die or look bad but mulch and stones just get wet from year to year?
What brought in customers to your garden center before? What were good sellers last year? I doubt that a new line of house plants or extensive selection of pottery will pay their way or really draw in new customers until word gets around. Does your garden center have a web site?
Two of the nurseries are now just giant landscape operations and the third struggles to keep a retail presence but probably sells more 'snoballs' from its stand than plants many days.
Hoping the omelet is yummy for all concerned!

Yes Ma'am, big changes indeed! Yes, the contractor/owner has owned a landscape installation/maintenance business for 20 years, AND a tree-service company as well. He and his crew(s) are very familiar with how to install and care for LOADS of different types of plant material, so that is a big plus. Another big plus is our location: We are right on the corner of a VERY busy intersection, at which there is a traffic light. PERFECT when people are stopped at the light and need something nice to look at while they wait. Considering the location (location, location), the plan is to ramp it up - it NEEDS to be MUCH more appealing from the road, and we've already begun that.

Yet another big plus is our HUGE already-established customer base. The previous owners had the business in the area for 30+ years, so we are well known in the area, and our repeat-customers always keep coming back, as now do their family members. We've always carried bulk items (the aforementioned bulk rocks, soils, mulches), so that won't change, but what will change is that the new owner is, and has been, well-practiced at making and colouring his own mulch. Major plus.

I have been keeping track the past few years of items that people come in asking for (but we hadn't carried). Many repeat requests (like statuary, house plants, bird baths, and small fountains), but that general desire had never been met. Now that I have an ear that listens, I shall fill it with what customers have been telling me for years.

We have had a website, (under the old name), but it hadn't been kept up-to-date. I'm not sure how the site will be revamped, or when, but it certainly will need to be. Again, another customer request (by MANY customers) that was largely ignored. It needs to be more interactive and user-friendly. All in good time... and it's not fast enough! < =D I'd like to place an order for more hours in a day, please. :)

Have been meaning to mention some additional stuff I'd like to see more of

Kids Gardening: there are seed starting kits with clear pots filled with hydogel (?) where you can see the roots develope, then plant out, bean pole teepees where beans and morning glories climb up the poles and make a green hideaway, fairy gardens/mini plants, kid size gloves and tools.

Plants for Pollinators/Butterflies/ Wildlife Native Plants
Check out North Creek Nursery American Beauties line. Their plants are brokered thru Md Plant and I think thru a company out of Dillsburg, Ohio. Have infor on becoming a Certified Wildlife Habitat or a Certified Monarch Waystation. Feature Native plants and trees, Bat House kits, Toad Houses, Mason Bee Kits.
Edible landscapes: berries, small fruits, veggie/flower combos.

Aging in place gardening: Raised planters and troughs etc.

Yea, location, location, location a 'merchandizers' dream...

you do have great visibility there.
Wise voice of experience from coleup.
as coleup pointed out, the no maintenance things seem to owners as much better investments. So, good thing they can get into birdbaths, statuary, and fountains.

coloring his own mulch? can I get cobalt blue?

and many of us LOVE to find the clearance plants to rescue. They should not be afraid to make deals to sell plants rather than dumpster them.

YES to kid sized gloves! And if you get in kid-sized tools, please check the brand ahead of time to be sure they are sturdy enough for actual use other than in a sand box. :-)

Also, if you don't currently carry them, the Atlas 370 garden gloves are the most comfortable and easy-clean ones I've ever found. They come in half a dozen bright colors, plus black for macho guys, and XS (in purple only) for kids (probably fit most 6 to 12 year olds). Locally they sell for $6-8, sometimes more, but in bulk (144) they're about $2.25, so nice mark-up item.

Since they're doing hardscape installations, great opportunity there to suggest accents from fountains to containers. When the website is refurbished with "brag shots" of finished patios, walkways, etc, try to include a nice grouping of container plants, piece of statuary, or whatnot... I think that would make the finished project much more appealing than all the bare naked photos I've seen, plus it advertises the accent pieces to those who are just browsing.

WOW!!! I am amazed at all the great ideas!!! Wait a minute, I shouldn't be amazed, cuz I know you people. Of course you have great ideas!!!! Each one, I say, Yep, now why didn't I think of that.

Good thinking you two; kid gardening ideas (including kits and kid-sized gloves) have been added to the list, as well as the Atlas 370 gloves. I'm not sure if our main vendor carries those, but I will definitely check.

We've already been carrying butterfly-garden-friendly plants, as well as those for bees, and we have always already carried predominantly native plants, so I don't see that changing any time soon. North Creek is the main grower the new BossMan has been working with already, so we are keeping them. (I told him about the wide usage of NC here on DG and he was glad I'm familiar with them). :)

I am trying to keep up with photos around the place as changes happen, so I'll try also to get good ones that can be put on the refurbished website. I totally agree, statuary et al should be incorporated into the scaping to show off what we can do, and what we carry. We've had a beautiful water feature with landscaping all around it, and a little hard-wired fountain... that was installed by the previous landscapers, under the previous ownership. The past 2-3 years, people would come in and say "Oh, I love these plants in your landscaping, you have any?" Uuuuhh... no, we don't have any of those in stock. NOT SMART!! Simple rule of thumb: Carry what you feature!! How hard is that to figure out?

.... Ooops! Rant "off". ;)

Rut, Roh!!! Yes, that one is a no-brainer.

I popped into work the other day on my way to school to drop off some goodies that DH brought home from work, to contribute to the renovations.. as I approached, I saw some of the guys working on the main "corner planter" area, installing a new tree. That's the spot that used to have that gorgeous Vitex. I think I'd shared pics before of the "Crapemurder" right before Christmas; the crapes had been hacked, along with that Vitex and numerous other things. Well, I guess the new BossMan decided that the hack-job had to go, heh heh. No joke! Talked with one of the guys (Boss's right-hand-man) about it; he asked me who hacked the (&%^) out of the poor shrub, said there's no way that could be left there for people to see, it was horrid. Yeah, that's what I said when it happened!! Anyway, I said I knew who did it, but wasn't gonna say who. Oh Yoy! Anyway, the hacked Vitex is gone now... look forward to seeing what else is gonna be changed when I get back there tomorrow. The nice thing though is, these guys KNOW what should and should not be!! I love it!!

(photos: the hacked Vitex)

Oh speedie, that "murdered" crape myrtle was so painful to see! I'm so glad your new bossman is savvy!

Me toooo!!! I'm wondering now if the Crape will be removed and replaced as well... which would be sad 'cause it's been there for 15+ years. But sad also 'cause that hack job was inexcusable.
(I won't say out loud what else was said about the hacked Vitex and other plants... we'll just say it was cobalt BLUE!) ;)

Speedie, you need to come up this way to go to Dutch Plant Farm and see what they're carrying... Behnke's is another nursery in the DC metro area that does a nice job with plants and lots of other merchandising.

I'm kinda cheap when it comes to containers, also... I seldom pay more than $20 for a pot, but I see a pretty wide range of prices at the above nurseries, so I know some folks are willing to shell out a lot more!

Speedie, you're right, I do no container growing. I used to have a pot full of annuals when I lived in an apartment and couldn't have landscaping. I just don't get it. I would much rather have the plants in the ground. I have enough to maintain without adding a whole bunch of containers. My tune might change if I ever decide to grow some tender exotics but for the moment, I just prefer not to grow in containers.

I like having container plants on the deck & patio... many are houseplants that come in for the winter, but I also do a few railing planters with annuals plus basils for scent & culinary use. In the garden, I like containers for adding height & interest and for making it easy to find "lift in fall" tender plants, but I try to make them as low maintenance as possible. I love to do water garden containers because they don't need daily watering, just topping off every week -- I can generally keep up with that!

Here's a new fangled thig a ma jig that fits inside large pots just like I was wishing for...

Coleup, does that thingamajig create an "Earthbox" sort of water reservoir at the bottom of a no-hold pot? I'm thinking a length of PVC could go down the central hole, for filling, and maybe a wick could dangle down through one or more of the smaller holes...

Besides liking the ''azalea'' shape terra cotta, I'd like something else besides the classic ordinary shape. .

Jill, yeah, I think it could work that way. Made by Rush Creek called Ups A Daisy comes in several different diameters to fit various pot sizes. Sears and Walmart carry them.
Pic is 15" diameter in a 19 - 21 inch pot

http://www.chinaberry.com/p/Crystal-Clay-Seedling-Kits-Set-of-2.cfm

Howdy y'all. I loved reading this and the idea that someone somewhere listens to the customer!!!! I love it. I have a question for Speedybean. There used to be large pots that were not heavy because they were made from some type of foam core or something. It looked somewhat like it was made out of the stuff that comes in an aerosol can to insulate and fill cracks with. It was kinda yellowish-brownish kinda styra foamy but not white. You would not know what it is made of unless you cut it open, though. The outer skin was smooth and looked like terra cotta.

A hanging basket without a self watering feature is a no go for me. In fact I like pots built like an e bucket for all plants.

I use the pot feet or a rock to "level" a pot on a slope.

Thank you Steadycam, that's actually what we're here for - to serve others. A pretty simple concept to me. As for that lightweight material of those pots you describe... I'm not sure, but I'll do some checking around to see what I can find out. (of course, there's tons of people here who might be able to answer that for you lickety-split!) :) Sounds like a great idea though; a sturdy, lightweight, attractive pot. Maybe it was made out of asbestos or something and that's why they quit making them that way... I dunno.

Hmmmm, self-watering hanging baskets! Neato idea, I will add that to the list and see what I can find.

Judy, that's a cool idea, those inserts. I see the price that Wally World carries them for; I'm sure I can find something at least like it, I just hope we can beat that price. At WW, the ones I saw come in 12-pks, with prices ranging from $4.70-$9'ish per each. I'll have to do better than that! =)

Y'all are such a Treasure, I can't thank you all enough for being so helpful!! ♥

steadycam I had a couple of those pots, They were really pretty mine looked like they were ornate terra cotta. They lasted a few years and then cracked down the side. I would buy another pair of them in a second.

I have a foam pot also. I got mine at Ollies Discount (outlet/ fire sale kind of store) I like it a lot though it has cracked a little at the edge. The walls are thick so you really think it is ceramic. It could have cracked due to my rough handling or a tough plant roots pushing, like Canna.

Do yo have instructional seminars planned? That may be an idea. Some hands-on projects for kids, too

I agree with Critter that you should scope out successful businesses so as not to completely reinvent the wheel. As Jan suggested, Benkhe's does seminars and hands-on classes. They also host some community outreach events at their nursery. I think last year they did a chili cook-off and a flea market, to benefit different organizations. Also, Benkhe's has a blog, but really that just means that they post Susan Harris's posts on their site.

There are some nurseries/plant boutiques around my area in Baltimore that have done well and are similar to Benhke's.
http://www.valleyviewfarms.com/
http://watsonsgarden.com/
http://www.poorboysgardencenter.com/

You should try to get to the Maryland Home and Garden show this year at the Timonium Fairgrounds. Lots of vendors showing off the newest garden products. Lots of landscaping ideas with the "hottest" plants for this year. Maybe it would also be something that your store might want to have a booth at next year. It is VERY well attended.

Reminder
North Creek Group Buy still need to complete some flats for ordering for delivery by Spring Plant Swap

Goldenrods and Asters
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=9772998

Other Native or Nectar or Host plants
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=9773013

FERNS (4 plants of 6 different ferns)
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=9775679

Please indicate your interest. Thanks

I have a pair of big foam pots like that... they came in a cream color, with a nice pattern that I accented with some acrylic paints (and then sealed). I also have a couple that resemble terra cotta... love them! I wonder if they've been replaced by some of the lightweight and more durable "composites" that have come out in more recent years?

SOB...SOB......I missed this Post all together until just now! Where have I been???
Same stupid excuse--looking ONLY at my "watched" Posts and missing all the new ones.

AND--No one missed me???????? I just read all 78 entries... I am sure by the time
I "send" this one--there will be 10 more ahead of me.

Now--a couple quick comments--very briefly. have to go catch up with the
Houseplant one now...

--I have a shed-full of pots--all collected from discarded plants at HD.
All sizes and shapes...I use the plastic Terra Cotta colored ones a lot.
I gave a bout 4 of the lg. foam pots. They are nice looking and easy to handle.
Yes! They can crack--but, nowadays, you can buy glues that mend everything...

--End of last season I p/u 4 very lg. plastic saucers/trays with wheels under them
at Big Lots for 50% off. $7 I think...Great buy! Not all Big Lots carry as diverse a stock
as the one on Merrit Blvd. in Dundalk (this is FYI for sally)

--Sally--I remember 2 of those McCoy pots. My Mom had one--The bumpy green one
with the saucer attached and I have also seen the pink, chunky one.
Just went downstairs to see if they were stashed somewhere----but they must be long gone.

Terri--
How big a pot are you looking for for the Lotus?
I have a couple huge, black, heavy-duty plastic ones--don't know the diam. right now...
maybe....22" or 24"....??
***Water/Pond plants are in at HD. Lots of water Lilies...I can check tomorrow
what else is there....

FYI---yesterday I was making price tags for a "mountain" of nice, square, black 12" pots.
There were stacks and stacks! A ribbed texture outside. Now on clearance for $3.20.
There were some other bigger pots as well--reduced. I think these were overhead
somewhere and went unnoticed. Now they are down--and on clearance.

The Timmonium Home ans garden Show starts this Saturday, March 1st--
and goes through the 9th. It is worth a look see....Holly and Ric always go there...
Ric posted on a thread all the information. Check it out...

SPEEDIE--I am SO happy for you and the new "Boss Man" that you already know.
You go, Girl! I know you will be Asst. Manager soon!!! Keep the ideas coming..
and ACT on them!

OK! Off to see the Houseplant Thread...I never knew these were UP!
Lesson learned!! Gita