How to Prepare a Pot for Planting in 5 Simple Steps

Would you love to decorate your business with an abundance of stunning greenery but worry you don't have enough space? Then, try container gardening. Even if all you've got is a balcony, courtyard, or front step, growing plants in pots is a fail-safe way to add instant curb appeal to your premises, helping you stand out, impress your clients, and create a pleasant work environment for your employees.

There's a whole bounty of blooms that do well in commercial planters, including shrubs, trees, flowers, and herbs — perfect if you own a restaurant and want to add a little extra fresh flavor to your dishes! However, to ensure your plants thrive, you must give them the best start possible. That's why we've put together this handy guide to explain how to prepare a pot for planting, detailing everything you need to know, from where to position your containers to our top tips for watering.

1. Choose a Location for Your Pot

Even lightweight and ultra-durable fiberglass planters can be tricky to maneuver when packed full of soil, plants, and water, so it's a good idea to decide where you want to position your pots while they're empty. Depending on the type of business you run, you might want to consider flanking an entrance with two tall planters bristling with tropical palms. Use contemporary planter boxes filled with neatly trimmed boxwoods to line a walkway or add interest to a seating area with bowl planters dotted with quirky succulents.

2. Check the Pot for Drainage

If your pots don't have adequate drainage, your plants will become waterlogged, their roots will rot, and they'll eventually die. To avoid this, buy planters with holes in the bottom or try drilling them yourself. They don't need to be large — just enough of them to drain out the excess water.

Then, layer a sheet of absorbent material, such as landscape fabric or newspaper, along the bottom of the planter to prevent the soil and nutrients from being washed out during watering. Despite what you might have heard, never add shards of broken pottery, rocks, or stones to your container as these impede drainage rather than enhance it.

3. Choose the Best Potting Mix

Instead of filling your containers with garden soil which is too dense and often contains weeds, diseases, and pests, either purchase quality pre-mixed potting soil or find a recipe online and make your own. If you've opted for a deep or large planter, fill the bottom two-thirds of it with empty plastic bottles or bagged styrofoam to save yourself a fortune buying heaps of pricey potting soil.

4. Add Your Plants

From elegant, swaying vines to stately confers, you can successfully grow almost any plant in a container, although dwarf varieties are best for smaller pots. Let your imagination run wild and combine seasonal foliage in varying heights and hues in one pot, as long as they all share similar environmental needs, or pick evergreens for lush color that lasts for years and years.

Since your planters are going to be the focal point of your business's decor, keep your vegetation looking its best by regularly removing tattered leaves, snipping spent flowers, and pruning back leggy stems.

5. Water and Fertilize

Lastly, plants grown in containers require watering more often than those in the ground, so douse with a slow, steady stream of water whenever the soil feels dry to the touch. Or, invest in self-watering planters and fill the reservoir whenever it gets low, letting your greenery do the rest. Also, covering the top of your planter in a layer of organic mulch will help retain moisture and add extra nutrients to the soil.

And don't forget to feed your plants fertilizer every couple of weeks, too — common varieties include diluted fish emulsion, kelp meal, and compost teas. However, we recommend avoiding synthetic fertilizers as they can burn your foliage and lack the necessary nutrients, minerals, amino acids, and vitamins for healthy, long-lasting growth.

At Pots, Planters & More, our varied collection of high-quality fiberglass planters are perfect for adding color and style to your interiors or giving your outside spaces an uplift. If you require more information on preparing a pot for planting or finding the best container for your needs, please call (855) 627-1066 or email sales@potsplantersandmore.com.