I’ve got a school that doesn’t have room for a traditional in the ground garden, so we are going to plant in large pots. The question that comes to mind is, “What kind of soil should we put in the pots?”
Here are two solutions from two experts.
- One expert, Jesse, suggests this for a mix to fill the pots.
2/3 – potting mix – I like ProMix – BX – it has micorrhizae
1/3 compost – this provides a lot of the nutrients that the plants need. I like the Black Gold compost that you can buy at http://stlcompost.com/products-compost/
If you don’t need a large quantity they do sell it for $3.50/bag or 3 for $10.00.
Jesse does not use Osmocote or any other fertilizer, but every year he might just add extra compost to the pots. - Another expert from a Horticulture program suggests using ProMix BX. Don’t use any other amendments, but after you put in the plant, you sprinkle Osmocote on top. There are two types of Osmocote – I buy the one with the micro-nutrients. Another tip she had was to put in an upside down pot to help take up some of the space if you want to save money on potting mix.
Below are three pots I did for a school. They are fairly large pots and are filled with Miracle
Gro potting soil plus a Miracle Gro Compost. Each pot took about a dozen plants and then some of the kids planted marigold seeds around the outside. One pot with the stake was entirely different types of milkweed. The other pots were combinations of host and nectar plants. I put in close to a whole tray of plants into each pot.
May 10, 2016 – I’m also testing out a pot at home to see how the various plants do.
Here’s a list of butterfly plants I have put into pots.
Alyssum, Bronze Fennel, Coreopsis, Echinacea, Pussy Toes, Salvia, Shasta Daisy, Tropical Milkweed, Verbena bonareinsis, Verbena trailing, Veronica.
Butterfly Gardening 