Marianne's Response

Planter

I just planted peonies and a few smaller flowers in large pots. I plan to plant them in the ground in October. However, the woman at the garden store suggested putting water bottles at the bottom of the planters to fill space. I didn’t realize you’re supposed to leave the caps on. I put about 5 at the bottom of each planter. Should I pull out the bottles or will they be okay until fall?

Posted by Kellie Mon on May 27, 2020

Marianne's Response

No, you do not need to worry about missing caps on the bottles inside the pots. The bulk of the bottles is just used to take up space so less potting soil is needed. Because you will be transplanting into a garden bed this fall your planters do not require all potting soil. But if you were growing shrubs or perennials that would be in the pots for several years I would suggest you fill the pots with all potting soil and skip the plastic bottles in the bottom. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti