Pot Bound: Too Many Pots?

When it comes to plants I’m prone to excess: I have a surfeit of plants in pots. And that can be both a joy and a vexing problem. Pot bound often leads directly to root bound, which tends to make it hard to keep your potted treasure healthy.

Balloon Flower Platycoden grandiflorous

Appropriately chosen for the climate and micro conditions (and happily ensconced in the ground) most plants are self-sufficient after starting out in pots. On the other hand, potted plants suffering from neglect are often lost causes bound for the compost heap, rather than bound for glory in the landscape.

Some, like the balloon flower at left, consigned (happily) to the same pot now for four years, carry on, provided that during the growing season their water and nutrient needs are met. But now and then after a long winter, I’m bound to forget where I stashed the deciduous ones languishing in ubiquitous black plastic containers dotting my yard.