Hiya Xica and all,

Plastic pots (foam especially which is made to mimic terracotta) keeps roots the coolest, but it also falls apart the quickest. I grow nearly everything I have in unglazed terracotta, but plastic keeps things cooler. I think glazed ceramic heats up the most since it doesn't breathe the way terracotta does AND it conducts heat more than plastic. Well made terracotta (US made and Italian made) and sturdy well made glazed ceramic pots are the most expensive and they do last the longest.

Your oleander can be trimmed back for sure after our short frost season is over.

Oh, to keep potted plants cooler, it also helps to raise them up off of the ground/gravel/patio with those little "pot feet" that you can buy. Even a couple of inches of elevation will make a big difference (plus they'll help keep the patio/tiles underneath from getting those rings from pots sitting on them).

Happy gardening!
Grant

fyi, we bought a bunch of different size plastic pots, the so called heavier type and they barely lasted the past year, 2 so far have totally disintegrated and the others are on the way ... go for wood or terra cotta and avoid glazed, the heat here will bake roots unless they are partially shaded ...

I don't want to rain on Xica's parade for but this girl, I just gave up on container gardening here. The losses depress me so I pretty much quit. Sorry Xica, but I'm not sure the 'fabric' of the container really matters. It's just too dang hot to keep the roots from roasting. Maybe the only thing that *could* work is to double-pot them. In other words, one smaller pot, inside a larger one, with an insulating later of styrofoam peanuts or something between the two. I'm mostly xeric, in-the-ground now.

This climate is BRUTAL on potted plants. When I have potted plants, I "double-pot" them, and keep them in afternoon shade or filtered shade.

The outer decor pot is whatever, and the inner pot is small enough to leave at least an inch, preferable more, of clear air around it.

Cluster your pots so the leaves of one plant shade the pots of another.

This climate IS rough on plants in containers as we've all mentioned. Moving plants according to sun and season is necessary with a lot (though not all) potted plants. I love Lazy's idea of nesting the pots too.

That being said, I do have over 80 terracotta pots on my patios and really enjoy potted gardening in addition to in-ground gardening. I have several really large terracotta pots filled with "amaryllis" that grow and bloom all summer long, plus some sub-tropical leafy plants. Of course, most of my potted plants are plants that love it here: aloes, haworthias, gasterias, stapelias, agaves, sansevierias, cyrtanthus, and rhipsalis, but I also have a potted olive, poted palms, asparagus ferns, potted variegated calamondin "orange", plumerias, and some other goodies.

Autumn through spring I do several big containers with flowery winter stuff: pansies, "geraniums", petunias, violas, calendulas, etc., but again, as summer approaches they get too hot and I replace them with summer annuals like vinca or cockscomb or even lantana.

Containers can be a challenge, but they're doable especially if you move them according to season: sunshine for many in winter and then more shade in summer. I do love the look, and the flexibility, of containers though, but when I think of it, very few of mine are just out in hot full bore full sun in summer--maybe a couple of lantana plants, rosemary plants, vincas and obscure solanum plants.

Various pots on south facing (covered!!!) patio:

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One of several plant racks:

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Flowery winter stuff:

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Let us know what you do and how it works out.
Take care,
Grant

Grant,

I notice you do not have water retainers under your pots. How often do you water your containers? And do you just let the water run through?

The plants look awesome!

Of course, just how many pots do you have?!

Hi AZbookworm and all,

Thanks! I'm glad you liked the pics. You're good, LOL, I actually don't have many saucers under my pots. I think having any extra water soaking back up in to the soil (especially in summer) can encourage rot/bacteria etc, and with as many pots as I have I'm just too lazy to go back through them all and dump any excess, so I just do without and I think the plants are happier for it. I DO keep a few seedling pots in saucers, but I ease them off of saucers pretty quickly.

I water the cacti and succulents about once a week, and the leafy pots get water twice a week in winter, and maybe three times a week in summer. The only pots are automatic drip are the variegated citrus in full sun, and the colorful talavera pots with flowery stuff. Everything else gets hand watered and is on its own when I'm away on work/pleasure trips.

I haven't actually counted how many pots are aren't there--I think I'm ashamed, LOL. I've had family members out there who stopped counting at 80 containers so that's what I'll go with. :) Again, most are cactus or succulents, but not all.

Thanks again for looking/commenting. I think potted gardening is really fun even here, but as we've all mentioned, the weather in summer often doesn't cooperate. :)

Take care,
Grant

Grant,

Followup question....

Since you don't have saucers, do you have problems with soil rings or other discoloration on your tile / concrete?

I want to use more containers but am concerned about "ring around the collar" look when I move the container. OR maybe it is my mix? Or??

Partly it's the hardness of the water but frankly I would expect *more* marks from using saucers, not the other way around. Look at all the air space under his [beautiful] containers.

Hiya AZbookworm, Mary and all,

Mary is corect as usual--none of my pots are actually sitting on the tiles so the water quickly runs away without leaving rings, which would be worse with trays or if the pots sit directly on the patio. Most rings are a combination of our hard water, plus deposits from the pots and/or bacteria/algae etc.

Many of the pots in the pics have feet (the colorful talavera glazed ones, the small square ones with big echeverias in them, etc) which keep them lifted up, OR I buy small pot feet that you put under the pots to raise them an inch or two, OR I buy small footed rings which you put under pots to lift them up off of decks/patios (they're basically plastic rings with small feet you put down and then put the pot on). I buy those at nurseries and big hardware stores.

The few times I've ever had a ring around the collar (LOL by the way!), I've removed it with a Mr. Clean Magic eraser and some vinegar, but really, keeping the pots up off the surface is the best thing we can do to keep them cooler (less hot? LOL) and to reduce rings/stains.

Good luck!
Take care,
Grant

Wow...great responses everyone. I am learning so much, thanks to all.

Grant, awesome tip regarding using 'feet' to keep the containers above the ground, away from the heat. I'll be sure to do that when I finally settle on containers for my 2 blue plumbagos. They'll be on the east side of my house for the mid-summer, but unfortunately it's all decorative rock on that side of the house, so I'm guessing the ground gets really hot, regardless. This being the case, I think if I ever transplant my Pachypodium into the ground there, it seems it would be wise to clear out a 'circle' free of rock in that area. Hmmm...transplanting a Pachypodium? Maybe next year...lol

Anyhow, I just want to say that I think it's a cruel trick that the containers that have the potential to be the most ornate/lovely(ceramic glaze) are also the most damaging to the plants themselves. I guess when it comes to plants, there can only be one Diva in the house! lol Thus, I'm leaning towards getting plastic...some of the non-shiny plastic ones don't look too bad...from a distance. I also like the fact that they are lighter-weight, and thus a little easier on my aging back!