Hi Kathy, and welcome. I've seen your posts on the "Garden Junk Forum". Many things grow in a container that size as long as it has proper drainage. The catch-all phrase of "good topsoil" usually is not conducive to good growing in a container. A looser mix is needed that includes more perlite, turface and pine bark, although if the planter has no bottom you might be ok. How many hours of afternoon sun does it get and what plants did you get?

tj

Hi Tj ~~ Thanks for the reply ! My planter gets the afternoon sun & it's in a sheltered corner of the yard.

I might have to loosen the soil a bit ( never thought of that ) I've only planted annuals in it so far . I haven't bought any plants for it yet this year. I swear I've seen flowering bushes growing in big stone planters. Maybe I'm dreaming ! LOL Mine looks like a stone wishing well . Maybe I'm better off filling it with totems or yard art , LOL .

If its full sun all afternoon, then any sun loving plant would do fine...be it a shrub, conifer, even a small tree. How big of a plant would you want? A 3'x3'x4' container could support any of a number of things and being stone it likely wouldn't cook the roots. Any chance of a pic?

tj

One of the toughest plants that I have are daylillies. They do fine over winter and in my experience grow in everything from sand to clay :-)

One of the biggest challenges in an above ground container, after the propper soil mix, is the over wintering conditions. That block of soil in the winter is going to freeze solid when it's cold, and then thaw when the sun hits it, even on a cold winter day. You have to figure a way to manage / minimize the freeze / thaw cycle, that will do in just about any perennial or woody. Once it's frozen, you need to keep it frozen to keep the plants dormant. I have seen people take sheets of builders styrofoam and build a box to put over a container, with a hole for the planting to come thru. Think gigantic rose cone!

Steve