Create a Year-Round Shrub Display

Make sure that the pot you buy can withstand low winter temperatures — frostproof clay pots tend to be more expensive but should come with a guarantee and last for many years. To make sure the plants live through the cold, be sure to select species that are hardy to at least two zones colder than yours.

When to Start: Early fall
At Its Best: All year round
Time to Complete: 1-1/2 hours

Materials Needed:

• large frostproof container, at least 18 in. deep and wide
• soil-based potting mix
• mulching material
• all-purpose granular fertilizer

• Skimmia japonica 'Rubella'
• juniper 'Grey Owl'
• Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Goshiki'
• Erica arborea var. alpina 'Albert's Gold'

Prepare the Pot

Place a layer of soil-based potting mix to the container. Set the plants, still in their original pots, on the potting mix and check that they will sit about 2 inches below the rim when planted. Keep them in the container, and start to fill in around them with potting mix.

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Slide the Plants Out

Pack damp potting mix around all the pots up to their rims — only one is shown here, but the method works equally well with a few plants. Carefully slide out the plants in their pots, to leave spaces for planting.

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Tip Plants Out of Their Pots

Water all the plants well before tipping them out of their plastic pots. If the roots are congested, gently tease them out. Carefully replace them in their positions in the container, and then firm more compost into any remaining gaps.

Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - How to Grow Practically Everything © 2010 Dorling Kindersley Limited