Container Gardening Complete

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Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete
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Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete

#175 Dtp: 229 Page: 150

700309 - ContainerGardens_001-272_FINAL.indd 151 5/24/17 12:13 PM

STEP 8 Care for your new Pollinator Can by watering

the plants regularly. When winter arrives, do not cut the

plants back or otherwise disturb them. Some species

of native bees may take shelter in the plant debris

for the winter. Instead, do your cleanup when spring

arrives and the weather is consistently warm. By then

the bees will have emerged from their overwintering

sites. You can also replace any plants that didn’t make

it through the winter at that time.

NOTE: You’ll know the bees are using your nesting

sites when the ends of the openings are sealed over

with mud or plant debris. To prevent pathogens and

predators from taking over your nesting sites, replace

the wood nesting block and bamboo stakes every 2

years in the early summer, after the young bees have

emerged and before new eggs are laid.

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Caring for Your Containers 151

Pinching

Pinching is another important practice for

container gardens, especially when it comes to

maintaining many different flowering annuals

and herbs. Pinching involves removing a portion

of the plant’s shoot system in order to promote

branched, bushy growth. Pinching serves to either

encourage more flowers, or in some cases, to

prevent the plant from flowering altogether.

Most, but not all, annual plants benefit from

being pinched back several times a year, starting

in the late spring. Licorice plant, impatiens

(Impatiens walleriana), salvias, torenia, petunias,

geraniums, plectranthus, ageratum (Ageratum

houstonianum), cosmos, verbena, snapdragons

(Antirrhinum spp.), and many other annuals

should be pinched back on a regular basis to

generate new growth and future flowers. But,

there are a handful of plants that are pinched

for the opposite reason: to prevent the formation

of flowers. Plants in this category include basil,

whose flavor alters when the plant comes

into flower; coleus, which is grown primarily

for its colorful foliage; and chrysanthemums

(Dendranthema spp.), which are pinched several

times before the arrival of the July 4 holiday to

delay flowering until the autumn.

Many gardeners are hesitant to pinch back

flowering plants, but it really is the best way to

freshen-up container plantings and keep plants

from getting too leggy. Here are a few tips for

pinching back plants the right way.

A properly pinched plant doesn’t look like it’s been

pinched at all. The sweet potato vine and geranium

in this container were pinched back several times

throughout the growing season, resulting in the bushy,

highly branched plants you see now.

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