Full, Flowering, and Frilly

Blooming shrubs to spill from curvaceous or rounded containers.

Spiraea ‘Magic Carpet’

This is a low growing shrub with brilliant yellow leaves and hot pink clusters of flowers that appear in the summer. On my patio this fuss free shrub has been a work horse in a pot for going on six years – without needing a transplant. I do trim off any wayward branches in the spring and I water during dry spells. There are so many shrubs with green foliage – why not chose the novelty of yellow leaves and let ‘Magic Carpet’ provide sunshine in a pot?

Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer”

So many new hydrangeas on the market and I’ve grown many of them in containers in an area that is shaded from the hot afternoon sun. The ‘Endless Summer’ is a variety that flowers on both old and new wood – perfect for containers because you may need to get snippy with your hydrangeas to keep them in scale with the size of the container. A few of the more compact hydrangeas that do well in pots are ‘Pink Elf’, ‘Buttons and Bows’ and ‘Penny Mac’.

Rhododendrons and Azaleas

The compact root system of these evergreens makes them happy to be contained. I like to add a shovelful of peat moss to the potting soil and use a slow release plant food made for acid loving plants like Osmocote Azaleas, Camellia and Rhododendron food. Just like hydrangeas, rhododendrons and azaleas prefer morning sun only and need extra water during dry times. The “Yak” rhododendrons are naturally more compact and slow growing and the Hino crimson azaleas is a variety that can handle some sun and does well in a pot.

Adorable Dwarves

Compact shrubs for smaller spaces. Snow White had it right when she fell in love with the dwarves. Not only will these dwarf shrubs take up less room in a smaller pot but their slow growth allows for adding other plants in the same container. You can create a plant community or mini landscape using just one pot and a collection of dwarf shrubs. Fairy garden anyone?

Jeans Dilly Dwarf Alberta Spruce

This is a much slower grower than the traditional dwarf, Alberta Spruce, and the natural cone shape gives it a tidy form that looks great in a smaller decorative container or mixed with other shrubs and dwarf plants in a bowl shaped pot. You can expect it to grow less than one inch a year – very well behaved.

Dwarf Barberries

These tough and drought resistant shrubs have barbed branches but also winter berries and beautiful foliage. They can be kept trimmed into tidy balls or allowed to grow into compact mounds. For an accent of sunshine yellow, grow ‘Golden Nugget’ dwarf barberry, smashing in a dark blue or deep red pot. Crimson pygmy dwarf barberry adds red foliage to a container garden and can be framed with golden sedum ‘Angelina’ for a delightful, drought resistant container display.