IMHO, don't put them outside yet. Once they're established, that might be a different story... but really there's no point in rushing it.

Hi Jofus
I agree with Bridget - if you're having sunny days this week, let them get warmed up outside in their little pots. But bring them in Thursday night before the cold weather.
If it's cloudy and rainy, like it is here, leave them in. Unless it's time for them to have a drink, and then I think they'd appreciate some rain. (Unless it's pouring so bad like we had yesterday where every potted plant I have got drownded!)
I never have a watering schedule. Plants in clay pots will dry out and heat up faster than anything. Did you get a saucer with yours? If not, you may be watering every couple of hours in April and May when the rains are scarce. What I've done, with the real terra cotta clay pots, is paint on a coat of polyurethane, like Spar Varnish, or even a latex exterior paint, all on the inside of the pot to cover that porous surface and keep the moisture from wicking out of the soil and away fom the roots.

Could you post a pic of the plant called "Lentas"? Never heard of that one!

Susie

I'm curious about the "two others," too!

Briidget : Thanks for your HO, I am feeling the same.will try to get a photo on here showing the " two others ", which are a low light " Pathos ", its the long green creeper, ( no se mas - don't know more ), and a " Vinca Cora ", an annual, the one with the one tiny purple flower, not much to look at now, but highly recommended by the savy Walmart guy.

Susie : What can I say ? Looks like I stepped in it,.... again. No, have no dish for the big clay pot. May have to buy a Mister, something that sprays a fine mist,..do it 2 x a day,..definitely not what I intended when i started all this. Sure appreciate your keen awareness and work ethic, but there is no way I am going to paint the inside of that pot !! ( smile )

Will try the photos now, the Lantas ( my fav ) is by itself, the Pathos and Vinca Cora are in middle of group pic,, the all green, creeper Pathos in middle to rear, the Vinca js just in front of that, to the right a bit,..the one with the solitary, tiny purple flower.
. Thanks again to you both,. each of you knows tons more than me.

Here goes, will see what ( if any ) pics come thru.

Lantana

The " other two ", - the low light, green Pothos in the rear and the Vinca Cora an annual, in the foreground.

Definitely a trick to get a pic on here, think I have it figured out now ! ( smile )

OMG, GardenWeb is making me crazy with all my missing posts! I could throw up.

I don't have the wherewithal to re-type the whole thing a THIRD timeâ¦

The Lantana is going to get large. It's perennial in our zone. About 4 feet by 4 feet if you let it.

Pentas will also get large. Mine get 3 feet tall by 2-3 feet wide and live for 2-3 years before dying back (usually a bad winter).

Vinca will self-sow freely and you will find it everywhere. I love it, my husband hates it. It's drought- and heat-tolerant and flowers just keep coming!

Pothos doesn't belong in this pot, because it's not the sun and heat lover that the others are.

I've put sponges in my terra-cotta planters to keep moisture inside. Cheap and easy.

I'm sorry this isn't all "flowery" (pun intended), but I'm so irritated at all my missing posts on GW!

~Bridget

Oh wow ! Thanks Bridget for all your incisive info,..I think ! ( smile ) I may need a separate big clay pot for EACH of these small flowers. I do happen to have TWO of these huge clay pots however, so may just plant the Lantana in one and the two Pentas in the other, stick the Vinca Cora in the big raised bed out back, among the bananas and papaya plants and throw the Pothos in the garbage.
Think I bought more plants than I needed.

This post was edited by jofus on Wed, Feb 27, 13 at 22:30

Ok, wait just a cotton-pickin'....

Bananas and Papaya are very thirsty. Vinca is not. You might want to put the Vinca in the same pot with either the Pentas or the Lantana. (Lantana are less thirsty and therefore more compatibie... but the colors won't look as good together)

And what did the Pothos do to you to deserve the trash? It can climb a tree, hang out of a pot, trail out of a planter, hang on a fence, creep along the ground. Don't throw it away, find it a home!

Mine grows on (up) the North side of my tree, and another batch grows in a pot on the West side of the house. In my yard, it prefers morning sun and afternoon shade, or just full shade.

HTH!
~Bridget

Jofus! Jofus
Sorry to be late getting back to this - -

I just wanted to say "you WILL get the hang of things" don't give up.

Rinse all the dirt off the pothos' roots and put it in a pretty vase full of water and put it in the house or on the porch. Or plant it in a hanging basket, like Bridget says. You will love it in a few months and soon be giving pieces of it away to your friends.

You can keep the lovely lantana in your pot until it gets too big. It shouldn't need a lot of watering while it is this tiny, so don't fret. Oh, go ahead and stick the pentas in there, too - for now. I mean - that's what they do at the stores and tourist attractions to make things look lush and full, You will take good care of them and feed them so they are happy.

A fifteen-gal pot must be really huge, right? I skimmed right over that part and now I'm thinking that must be the size I put trees into.

Don't buy a mister - just keep your pot where it is easy to get water to it. The saucer under it will keep leaking dirty water off your driveway or patio and is a good way to keep the soil from drying out too much.

Anyways, let us see a pic when you have the planting finished, and keep in touch with us here about the project. We have a very knowledgeable member in your town and when she sees this, I'm sure she can give you better advice than I can.

Good luck
Susie

HI Susie : Thanks for you concern and good advise.
Latest : The constant shuffling of the metal tray holding the 5 tiny plants inside at night, outside in AM, has apparently upset the Finca Cora, so I am down to 4 plants. Yesterday I drove to Home Depot and bought a 2 ft high Oleander plant with pink & white flowers, one more big clay pot exactly like the other two ( must be closer to 20 gal than 15 ), brown plastic saucers for all the pots, special fertilizer and a huge bag of soil strictly for plants.
Will not buy a myster,..but am in no hurry here, think it's wiser to just wait out these cold nights, just do a little ea day. By Thursday we should be back to normal mid March temps.
Will leave the Lantana alone in its huge pot tho and put the two Pentas ( one blue, one white ) in another big pot, and the Oleander in the 3rd huge pot. Have a separate 7 gal ceramic pot for the Pothos, will plant it in the partial shade behind the lanai,..or who knows ?, may go buy a hanging pot and hang it out front at the edge of the lanai roof, where a hook already exists,..per your suggestion.
I will post " before " & " after " pics in another 4, 5 days. I want to thank you and Bridget so much, - couldn't have done it without y'all..

Those Vinca, for how readily they re-seed and how quickly they grow... they're finicky. The more heat and sun and drought, the happier they are.
I have Pothos that hangs from a basket, more of the same climbing a tree, and even more in a pot with a trellis behind it. Over time, you can just make more and more of them!

Looking forward to B & A pics!

If you bought the plant that died at HD. I think they will replace it, if you bring the dead one in...

zackey : You are absolutely right, all you need is a small bucket of sand and HD will give you a full refund with your receipt. However I bought these at Wally's, so no refund. But hey, they all cost only around $0.98 - $2.50 each, so no big deal.