When choosing a plant for putting in a pot on your patio/deck, make sure you select a plant thats going to be very happy being containerised- in other words having its roots restricted, and also it must be very forgiving about getting watered, because no matter how diligent you are at watering , there are going to be times when you wont get it watered as you planned, and the last thing you want is the plant turning up its toes with all the foliage suddenly going brown.

I so often see people putting plants into pots that are quite inappropiate, and its such a waste of money, and time because the plant is going to go backwards,because its just not the right subject for containers.

Ten  good performing plants that i like to use in container  gardening are:

• METROSIDEROS TAHITI
• PODOCARPUS GRACILIOR
• BAY TREE
• PHOENIX CANARIENSIS
• BUXUS GREEN
• GEM WESTRINGIA GREY BOX
• CITRUS VARIETIES
• ILEX LAGO
• SYZGIUM TOM THUMB
• PODOCARPUS MATAPOURI BLUE

When selecting a pot, get a size thats as big as appropiate , for the area you are wanting to put it.

Use only the very best quality potting mix, that contains water holding gel.

Feed all your  plants in pots 2 x per year - sept and april with a slow release fertiliser like osmocote , this will keep the plant in top condition.

When watering, give your plants  roots  a couple of thorough soakings a week, rather than lots of light sprinkles.