How to Grow Shrubs in Containers

Shrubs are the ultimate best buy when it comes to filling container gardens. They deliver strong color all season long, even year-round in warmer zones. After spending their first season in a container, you can transition shrubs to a permanent home in a planting bed, where they’ll enhance your landscape for years to come. It’s not hard to design container gardens with a few shrubs in the mix. This galvanized tub features a patriotic theme with red Superbena Scarlet Star verbena, Superbells White calibrachoa and blue-purple dwarf butterfly bush (Lo & Behold ‘Lilac Chip’ Buddleia x), which grows 2 feet tall — an ideal shrub size for a pot. Hardy in Zones 5-9.

Hydrangeas turn containers into flower fests where the show doesn’t end — even faded blooms look great. Tucking shrubs like hydrangeas into a pot lets you buy smaller, inexpensive plants that expand through the growing season. It’s a great way to stretch your planting budget. The bonus with hydrangeas is that it’s much easier to shift flower color from pink to blue in a container, thanks to the small soil volume. The secret to gorgeous blue blooms is acid soil. Just add soil acidifier (find it with other fertilizers), garden sulfur or aluminum sulfate. Endless Summer hydrangea grows 3 feet to 5 feet tall and wide. Hardy in Zones 4-9.

Put your container gardens to work by filling them with shrubby edibles. You can find compact, ornamental, self-pollinating fruits that yield tasty crops of berries in the confines of a 20- to 24-inch-wide container. The list includes favorites like blueberry, raspberry or blackberry. In warmer regions (Zone 6 and higher), grow Peach Sorbet blueberry outdoors in pots year-round, enjoying leaves that turn eggplant purple when tinged with cold. In colder regions, shift containers to an unheated shed or garage for winter, watering every six weeks to keep the soil barely moist. Peach Sorbet blueberry grows 18 to 24 inches tall with a mounding shape. Hardy in Zones 5-10.

For a strong vertical element, it’s tough to beat Fine Line buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula ‘Ron Williams’). In containers, count on this shrub to fill the thriller role. Buckthorn is an ideal choice for creating a privacy hedge on a patio or rooftop garden. Simply tuck it into pots and line them up to create a hedgerow of feathery foliage. Or use it in paired pots to frame a doorway. Buckthorn combines well with annuals, such as Margarita sweet potato vine, Giant Pink supertunia and Black Prince coleus. In the landscape, buckthorn grows 5 to 7 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide. Hardy in Zones 2-7.