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Easy Flowers To Grow In Pots FOR BEGINNERS

Know the easy flowers to grow in pots indoors and outside. I grow many flower plants in containers in Sydney, Australia. Tips for planting and growing flowers in pots starting from seeds, seedlings and cuttings are described for beginners.

Flowers are attractive, not only to humans but also to birds, bees, wasps, butterflies, etc. 
Flowers make us happy by their smell and beauty. They are the symbols of love, passion, harmony, peace and beauty.
Red Rose grown from cutting
Growing roses from cuttings

A Beginner's Guide To Grow Flowers In Pots

  1. Everybody loves to plant flowers even if they don't have space to grow them. Flowers can be grown in pots and garden beds. Some flowers grow all year round, while some are seasonal.
  2. There is a connection between flowers and the nature. They tell us about different seasons as flowers bloom depending on the seasons.
  3. Flower plants add not only the beauty to your garden but make you garden healthier. Flowers like sweet peas, broom, lupins, wisteria and woad (glastum) can fertilize your garden adding nitrogen to soil.
  4. They attract the birds and insects that eat the pests in your garden.
  5. Many flowers such as pyrethrum and marigold can also be made into pesticides.
  6. Some flowers can also control weeds so they act as homemade weed killers . Marigold flowers repel couch grass, dahlias stop grass, poppies can clean up weeds, cornflowers prevent germinating some weed seeds and closely grown sunflowers will help kill some weeds.
  7. Some plants like croton (growing crotons from cuttings, care for croton plant, Croton plant care video), cordylines and succulents (growing succulents) are grown for the beautiful colors of their leaves.
  8. There are some plants like stevia (benefits of stevia) and aloe vera (Care for aloe Vera plant) which are grown not for flowers but for their medicinal benefits.

Tips For Growing Flowers in Pots

  1. Almost all flowers can be grown in containers, small or large; and in garden beds as well.
  2. Containers : You will need small and large containers for planting flower plants from seeds or seedlings.
  3. Pots : While choosing pots you should ensure that they should have holes at the bottom for drainage of extra water. To improve drainage, raise potted plants slightly using pot feet.
  4. Watering : Flowers need regular watering. In summers, you may have to water daily or even twice a day.
  5. How to get rid of ants in garden

The following tips for planting flowers are good for both growing in pots and garden beds.
Azalea in a Pot
Azalea in a Pot

Position For Planting Flowers

Most flower plants grow in sun, about 6-8 hours of sun light daily; the sun gives the needed energy to build a flower. In general, for such sun loving plants, the less sunlight will result in fewer blooms. These plants, if placed in shade for long, will grow only leaves without any blooms.

There are some plants which do not tolerate direct sun light and grow in shade only.

Soil For Planting Flowers in Containers

Most of the flower plants need a free-draining rich soil to grow and flower. The soil can be made rich dby adding compost(how to make compost at home). Some flowers grow in soil having low pH, while others love high pH soil and some need neutral soil However, most plants can survive in a variety of soils.

Soil pH can be adjusted by adding sulphur to raise the acidity or lime to increase alkalinity (how to prepare garden soil).
Blue Hydrangea
Blue Hydrangea

Annuals vs. Perennials Flower Plants

Annuals are seasonal plants. True annuals are plants that germinate, grow, flower, set seed and die all in one season. Their ultimate goal is to produce seeds tovreproduce themselves. Annuals bloom very soon after planting. They make your garden colorful, producing lots of flowers in the season. Annuals need regular watering and fertilizing. You have to plant these annuals every year.

Perennials are plants which need to be planted only once. They bloom each year at the same time. They also need care but less than annuals.

Perennials take longer to get established and bloom in the garden.

Perennials often increase in size each year, and they can often be divided and propagated.

I like to have both the annuals and perennials in my garden.

Seeds or Seedlings?

Though both annuals and perennials can be sown from seeds directly in the garden bed or pot, it will take much time to sprout, grow and flower.

I generally start seedlings from seeds indoors in advance. I also buy plant seedlings and baby plants in small pots and transfer them in bigger pots or garden beds.

Which Flowers To Plant in Pots

Choosing the right plants is very important. Many plants have their roots contained, so they grow well in pots, while plants such as roses hate growing in pots. However, I am growing beautiful roses in pots.

Easiest Flowers To Grow In Pots

  1. Celocia, Chamomile, Bougainvilleas, Dahlias, Daisies, Foxglove, Geranium, Marigold, Nasturtium, Pansy,  Petunias, Sunflowers, Sweet Peas, etc. are some of the easiest flower plants that can be grown in small pots.
  2. Perennials flowers such as Foxglove and Hydrangea and annuals like Begonia, Clivia, Calendula, Impatiens, Pansy are best shade flowers which are easy flowers to grow in pots.
  3. Lavender blooms all summer, while Geranium and Begonias blooms all year round.
The following in-depth articles on annual and perennials flowers will give you all the information you need to grow them successfully in home garden. The links will take you to the Articles. More links will be added as and when more articles are posted.

Low Maintenance Flowering Plants 

Flowering Annuals:

Ageratum
Alyssum
Amaranths
Calendula
Carnations
Celosia
Cornflower
Delphiniums
Dianthus
Foxgloves
Gypsophila
Helichrysums
Iceland Poppies
Lilium - (Growing Asiatic and oriental lilis)
Lobelia
Marigold (how to grow marigolds)
Nasturtiums (Growing nasturtium)
Nicotaniana
Pansies
Petunia
Phlox
Polyanyhus
Poppies
Portulaca
Primulas
Salvia
Snapdragon
Snapdragons
Snow Daisy
Stocks
Sweet Peas (growing peas in containers)
Sweet William
Torenia
Viola
Violas
Wallflowers
Zinnia

Perennial Flower Plants

Alstroemeria (Peruvian lily)
Anemone - windflower
Anthurium (how to propagate anthurium plant, how to grow anthurium from cutting video)
Arenaria - sandwort
Armeria - sea thrift
Aster x frikartii
Aubrieta - rock cress
Azalea (Azalea propagation methods, How to grow azalea from cutting YouTube)
Camellias (how to grow camellias from cuttings video, grow camellia from cutting, how to grow camellia in pots)
Campanula - bellflower
Catmint (Nepeta x faassenii) (mosquito repelling plants)
Centranthus
Cloeus (Coleus plant care, Growing coleus from cuttings)
Coneflower (Echinacea)
Coreopsis 'Mango Punch'
Dianthus
Dusty Miller (How to grow dusty miller from seed, cuttings)
English daisy
Euphorbia characias wulfenii
Evening primerose
Forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica)
Foxglove
Gardenia (how to grow gardenia from cuttings)
Gaura (G. lindheimeri)
Geranium
Geum chiloense
Gloriosa daisy (Rudbeckia hirta)
Heuchera
Hibiscus (Hibiscus propagation from cuttings)
Hollyhock - alcea
Hoya (how to grow Hoya)
Hydrangea (Hydrangea care)
Iberis - dandytuff
Lupine
How to Propagate Magnolia
Mendavilla
Monarda - bee balm
Oenothera - sundrop
Oleander  (Oleander propagation from cuttings)
Papaver - poppy
Penstemon (P. gloxinioides)
Phlox
Tea, Green Tea, Black Tea, Matcha Tea (how to grow tea plant from seeds)
Sedum telephium
Veronica
Viola

Other Flower Related Articles

Edible Flowers
Mosquito repelling plants