Contain It! The Guide to Container Gardening with Color and Drama ©2016 Hortus Oasis

The benefits of container gardening are numerous and the use of containers is only limited by the imagination. Over one hundred containers grace our gardens at Hortus Oasis where we use every trick we know about designing with containers, container and plant selection, installation, and maintenance. Below are a few plant suggestions and resources for our favorite tools and products to help you create unique and eye-catching container gardens. Feel empowered to Contain It!

A selection of cool plants for containers: Botanical Name Common Name Alocasia x amazonica 'African Mask' African Mask elephant's ear Begonia boliviensis Bolivian begonia Brassica oleracea Flowering cabbage & kale Canna ‘Phasion’ Tropicanna canna Carex ‘Amazon Mist’ Amazon Mist carex Chamaerops humilis ‘Cerifera’ Silver European fan palm Chrysocephalum apiculatum Flambe yellow strawflower Codiaeum ‘Chicken Foot’ or ‘Yellow Spot’ Dwarf yellow croton Codiaeum ‘Dwarf Red Banana Finger’ Dwarf burgundy Croton Colocasia esculenta ‘Illustris’ Illustris elephant’s ear Colocasia esculenta ‘Black Magic’ Black Magic elephant’s ear Cyperus alternifolius Umbrella plant Cyperus papyrus Papyrus Cyperus papyrus percamentus Little Giant papyrus Cyperus profiler Dwarf papyrus Dianella caerulea ‘Becca’ Becca dianella Dichondra 'Silver Falls' Silver Falls dichondra Dyckia ‘Cherry Coke’ Cherry Coke dyckia Dyckia ‘Nickel Silver’ Nickel Silver dyckia Eragrostis elliottii Elliot's lovegrass Eragrostis spectabilis Purple love grass Eucomis punctata ‘Sparkling Burgundy’ Purple pineapple lily Ficus microcarpa ‘Green Island’ Green Island ficus

Botanical Name Common Name Fortunella margarita/syn Citrus japonica Nagami kumquat Gaura lindheimeri ‘Crimson Butterflies’ Pink whirlying butterflies Helichrysum petiolare Licorice plant Isolepis cernua Fiber optic grass Lantana ‘Anne Marie’ Anne Marie lantana Lantana ‘New Gold’ New Gold lantana Loropetalum chinense ‘Shang –lo’ Purple Pixie loropetalum Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’ Yellow Creeping Jenny Muehlenbeckia axillaris Wire vine Muhlenbergia dumosa Bamboo muhly grass Nandina domestica ‘Harbour Dwarf’/’Compacta’ Harbour Dwarf/Compacta heavenly bamboo Nassella (Stipa) tenuissima Mexican feather grass Ophiopogon japonicus Mondo grass Passiflora x ‘Amethyst’/’Lavender Lady’ Amethyst passion flower Perilla frutescens ‘Magilla’ Magilla perilla Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’ Creeping rosemary Solenostemon scutellarioides Coleus Solanum jasminoides ‘Variegata’ Variegated potato vine Strobilanthes dyerianus Purple shield Stromanthe sanguinea ‘Triostar’ Triostar stomanthe Sutera cordata Bacopa Torenia ‘Summer Wave Amethyst’ Pink torenia Tradescantia spathacea ‘Tricolor’ Tricolor oyster plant Tropaeolum majus Nasturtium

Some of our favorite succulents for containers: Agave bracteosa Squid agave Agave desmettiana ‘Variegata’ Dwarf variegated agave Agave celsii ‘Multicolor’ Multicolor agave Agave scabra x Victoria Sharkskin agave Agave victoria – reginae Queen Victoria agave Aloe arborescens Torch aloe Aloe ferox Red aloe Aloe x humilis ‘Hedgehog’ Hedgehog aloe Aloe maculata (syn. saponaria) Soap aloe Crassula argentea Dwarf jade Euphorbia ’Iinneuphdia’ Diamond Frost euphorbia Euphorbia tirucalli Pencil bush Euphorbia trigona f. rubra Pencil cactus Haworthia fasciata Zebra plant Kalanchoe thyrsiflora Cow’s tongue/Flapjacks/Paddle plant X Mangave ‘Macho Mocha’ Macho Mocha mangave Pachypodium lamerei Madagascar palm Pedilanthus tithymaloides ‘Variegatus’ Variegated devil’s backbone Portulaca grandiflora Moss rose Portulacaria afra Elephant’s food

Botanical Name Common Name Sansevieria cylindrica Cylinder sansevieria Sansevieria parva Pencil sansevieria Sedum acre Golden carpet Senecio scaposus 'Silver Coral' Blue chalk fingers Senecio talinoides var. mandraliscae Blue chalk sticks Zamioculcas zamiifolia ZZ

Local sources for containers, soil, fertilizer, irrigation supplies and/or unique plants: Apenberry’s Gardens 3443 Edgewater Drive Palmer's Garden & Goods Orlando, FL 32804 2611 Corrine Drive 407.841.3088 Orlando, FL 32803 http://www.apenberrys.com 407.896.5951 www.palmersgarden.com Lukas Nursery & Garden Shop 1909 Slavia Road Oveido, FL 32765 407.365.3880 www.lukasnursery.com

Crazy for succulents? Then you have to visit: Florida Cactus, Inc. 6121 Round Lake Road Apopka, FL 32704 407.886.1833

We recommend a number of potting mixes from Fafard. Most garden centers carry their retail mixes. For commercial blends in 2.8 cu ft bags: BWI 203 West First Street Apopka, FL 32703 (407) 884-0242 www.bwicompanies.com

Fafard 1P Mix Best for water-loving plants that like moist, boggy soils. Fafard 3S Mix Good for growing vegetables and herbs. Mix in Turface (also available at BWI) at 20% by volume for succulents, lavender, or other plants needing good drainage. Fafard 4 Mix Our favorite potting mix for all other plants. It’s well-draining without using Perlite.

For a huge selection of containers visit: Deco Gallery (mostly glazed) 2640 W Orange Blossom Trail Apopka, FL 407.410.0888 www.decogallery.biz

Some of our favorite garden tools are available from: Lee Valley Tools (800.871.8158 / www.leevalley.com ): The Transplant Knife (BL118) and the Root Saw (BL107).

A.M. Leonard (800-543-8955/ www.amleo.com) The Soil Knife and sheath to hang from a belt (4750 & 4750S)

Fiskars 9920 Garden Multi-Snip with Sheath is available from www.amazon.com

The Chef’s Warehouse (7200 W. Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL 32818, 407.294.0300) is a great source for scoops, tubs, bins, and stainless steel benches for a potting bench.

Skycraft Parts & Surplus (2245 W Fairbanks Avenue, Winter Park, FL 32789, 407.628.5634) carries hemostats in a variety of sizes for pulling weeds and tending spiny succulents or cactus.

The Boss-Sheet Garden Tarp from www.yardlover.com comes with handles at each corner. A must for your container garden spills. Also check out their garden tote for your tools.

Our monster Hand Truck (#49977) came from Milwaukee Hand Trucks (www.milwaukeehandtrucks.com ). It’s rated for 1000 lbs and has 15” pneumatic tires. This is by far our favorite garden tool! (Well, one of our favorites…)

References Contain Yourself, Kerstin P. Ouellet, Ball Publishing, IL, 2003, ISBN 1-883052-33-5 Container Gardening: 250 Design Ideas & Step-By-Step Techniques, Fine Gardening, Taunton Press, CT, 2009, ISBN 978-1-60085-080-6 Container Gardens for Florida, Pamela Crawford, Color Garden Publishing, FL, 2005, ISBN 0-9712220-3-7 www.finegardening.com Jim Wilson’s Container Gardening, Jim Wilson, Taylor Trade Publishing, TX, 2000, ISBN 0-87833-190-5 Pots in the Garden, Ray Rogers, Timber Press, OR, 2007, ISBN 978-0-88192-834-1