Features
POT-BOUND Perennials

I’m pretty sure plant breeders don’t intend for the progeny of their breeding efforts to become pot bound and/or remain for extended periods of time in undersized growing containers. However, sometimes it happens – either on the retail bench or, in my case, on the “extras” bench, left over from planting the trial garden plots. Some of you may share my affliction for not being able to throw out good looking plants even though a purpose for those plants has not been clearly identified. A purpose usually does reveal itself at the University but in the meantime, some plants sit for months in 3.5” to 4” pots. At the end of September this year, when I was looking at some of these perennials sitting in the same pots they were transplanted to in April or May, I was struck by how good some of them continued to look. By most accounts, these plants would still be marketable. The perennials I’m going to mention here not only bloomed in their first year without vernalization but bloomed consistently all season long and maintained a compact growth habit without pruning or the use of PGRs.

1. Summer Bird Raspberry

2. Skysail Bright Pink and Fire

4. Spintop Orange Halo

5. Early Bird Purple

6. Bluesette. Pictures taken September 27, 2022

Transplanted into 3.55” square deep pots on April 11, 2022

• Buddleia Summer Bird Raspberry (1)

Transplanted into 3.55” square deep pots on April 22, 2022

• Achillea Skysail Bright Pink and Fire (2)
• Coreopsis Moonswirl Imp. (3)
• Gaillardia Spintop Orange Halo Imp. (4)
• Salvia Midnight Blue and Midnight Rose

Transplanted into a 50 Star Deep 4.5” Vented Plug Tray on May 3, 2022

• Perovskia Bluesette (6)

Transplanted into 4.5” round standard pots on May 3, 2022

• Delosperma Early Bird Purple (5)
• Delosperma Sandgem Ember