The Encyclopedia of Container Plants

Container gardening is ideally suited to today’s lifestyles — it provides the excitement, versatility and variety of in-the-ground gardening to those with limited space, time and resources. But in order to make the most of container gardening, aspiring gardeners — whether rank beginners or seasoned veterans — need to know precisely which plants perform best in containers, and just as importantly, they need to know how to grow them well. Author Ray Rogers is the ideal guide to this world of colourful possibilities. An award-winning container gardener and horticulturist, he profiles more than 500 outstanding plants in 180 genera. Along with Rogers’s engaging descriptions, the entries include each plant’s height and spread; light, moisture, temperature and soil requirements; ease and rate of growth; principal interest and design attributes; potential problems and best method of propagation. To this abundance of useful information, Rob Cardillo’s stunning photographs add a wealth of visual inspiration. Success with container gardening isn’t always instantly achieved — it’s easy to be seduced by brightly flowering plants at a nursery or garden center that turn out to be unsuited to the growing conditions provided for them, or that make poor companions for their pot-mates. Even a brief dip into this authoritative reference, however, is sure to yield a host of plants that will show just how spectacular a well-grown — and carefully chosen — container garden can be.