14 Plants to Grow in a Nutri Wool Pot or Container

By Cindy Cloninger

Or the best flowers & plants for your garden container and pots. Container gardening has many appeals. With ease of use and convenience in growing herbs and veggies fresh at hand, coupled with less stooping and bending, it’s no wonder potted plants are so popular. Container gardens are beautiful with their differing hues of green and varied shaped leaves. From the bright colors to multi-toned flowers, containers can add interest and be pleasing to the look and smell of spaces both in and outside your home.  Container planting is not just limited to the floral variety, but planting herbs, berries, and vegetables in pots are not only beautiful, they can be bountiful as well.

Wild Valley Farms has put ingenuity to work once again and created Nutri Wool Pots from completely recycled wool felt.  Different from most potting containers, Nutri Wool Pots are made of natural materials, that protect your plants from overheating and better insulate them from extreme temperatures. We already know the benefits that wool can provide as it breaks down over time releasing the perfect amount of nutrients to your tender plants and the barrier to pests like slugs and snails.  Now you can have the added convenience of planting directly in these colorful Nutri Wool Pots.  They look beautiful on any porch or balcony and because of their dense fibers they hold the water making them the perfect container for your blooms and crops.  An added benefit of the completely organic pots is the biodegradable factor. These little beauties can be planted directly in the soil when you are ready for making a more permanent home for the plants that grace the steps of your porch. With a list of benefits like these, Nutri Wool Pots are a win, win for your planting needs.

One major drawback to plants in pots is watering. Plants in containers have limited root space and require more watering, sometimes twice daily in hot weather. Installing automatic drip irrigation systems or bulb watering that releases over time can help, but perhaps the easiest solution is adding wool pellets to your soil.

Wool Pellets, though small, pack a major punch in gardening benefits. As part of their innate make-up, wool pellets soak up water. As a result, this creates added porosity for root growth and lessens watering by 25%, taking container gardening to a whole new level of ease. It’s no wonder that Wool Pellets have gained national attention and awards. Read about their journey from anonymity to acclaim in Wild Valley Farms Keeps Busy Bringing Wool Pellets to the World -  2017  Year in Review If you haven’t tried them out yet, you will love the work they provide and be pleasantly surprised at how well plants thrive when wool pellets are part of the soil make up. Not convinced? We have 6 Reasons You Should Be Using Wool Pellets in Your Garden Soil

Creating the vision

Container growing can be as simple as a single plant or crop in a container on your step to a layered visual and pleasantly scented arrangement of many types of plants.  Some key steps experts suggest to getting that pleasing look out of your containers are planting in three areas. The thriller, filler, & spiller.

• Thriller this is an anchor plant with some bulk or height that is the main focal point
• Filler the smaller plants that and bulk, color, and dimension to the planter
• Spiller plants are those trailing ivy or other plants that trail over the edges

Keep in mind colors variety, layer bulbs and plants that flower at different times, and note water and sunlight needs in order to plant like plants together.

Flowers and shrubs

Visually stunning and creating shape, shrubs can be the anchor of your containers.  With the wide varieties that exist, and the portability of containers, you can plant most anything you desire.  Here are some showstoppers and proven winners in this category.

Hibiscus

Photo by manjur alom on Unsplash

The Hibiscus can grow in the wide range of zones from 5-11, making it a widely popular house plant. With naturally shallow roots and large blooms they make the perfect potted plant. While in bloom they require more watering, good thing we have wool pellets in soil.

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Hydrangea

Photo by Tunafish on Unsplash

The most popular plants for containers, are those that grow everywhere, the hydrangea is one of those. With its dense clusters of flowers that come in a variety of colors the Hydrangea looks great in any large container.

Lavender

Photo by Baraa Jalahej on Unsplash

Lavender needs full sunlight and is beautiful when it blooms in late June through September. Its slightly mossy and serrated silvery foliage that looks marvelous in landscaping. And the soothing smells are incredible.  Pruning is needed once it starts flowering to encourage growth. With careful pruning and training, Lavender can be shaped into topiaries for a unique look. The uses for this old world plant are many.

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Peony

Photo by Dayna Lepp on Unsplash

Peonies are extremely cold hardy, and thrive in zones 3-8 making the worry of moving them inside if you get a cold snap void. A peony's fragrance varies, but most peonies have a sweet, clean scent. Pink peonies usually have more fragrance than red peonies. Look for peonies to start blooming early May to June.

Columbine

Photo by Siegfried Poepperl on Unsplash

Photo by Sean Foster on Unsplash

Columbine offers unique depth and comes in a purples, pinks, yellows, and reds. Columbine, or Aquilegia came from the Latin word for eagle, perhaps because the petals look like eagle talons. Columbine has hardiness in zones 3-9 and are among the easy to grow plant category.  With their unique shape and 'nodding' heads Columbine are real 'thrillers'. 

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Snapdragon

Photo by Ashkan Forouzani on Unsplash

Snapdragons are the perfect plant for to fill that 'thriller' space in your planter.  With their long and thin stalks that burst with color when in bloom they are sure to draw attention.  Flowers come in about all shade except true blue. Many are vibrant toned but also come in soft pastels and bi-colors. They bloom in early spring or late fall, when temperatures are cool. Snapdragons are perennial in zones 8-9 but are most commonly grown as annuals elsewhere.

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Dahlia

Photo by Timo C. Dinger on Unsplash

Dahlias have a wide variety of options not only in flower shape, from robust rounded blooms to spindly petals, but in the many bold, soft, and bi-toned colors. Making this beauty an easy pleaser.  Keep the tubers inside through the winter any you can enjoy them year after year.

Geranium

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Photo by Sandra Wei on Unsplash

 They can be annuals or perennials and are the most common plant for hanging baskets and planters. Perfect. Geraniums feature five-petal flowering blooms. They generally grow to be between 18 and 36-inches tall with some varieties measuring shorter and others measuring taller. They can also spread to cover up to 36 inches, making them both a 'filler' and a 'spiller' depending on the variety. 

Cape Primrose

Photo by Mauro Zacconi on Unsplash

With its broad velvety leaves (look at the texture) and the tight clusters of flowers Streptocarpus, or Primrose makes a stunning 'filler' in any container. There are literally hundreds of varieties and many colors to choose from. The primrose flourishes in low light making it a popular choice for windowsills and a great companion in planters.

Ivy

Photo by Jerry Wang on Unsplash

 Ivy has an easily identifiable shape and adds green color in rich, pale, and variegated hues.  Don't pass over this plant because of the lack of flowers, in autumn ivy puts on a show.  Gardeners love it because it is easy to grow, doesn't mind some neglect, and spreads nicely.

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Begonia

Photo by Dean Lewis on Unsplash

Begonias grow well in zones 3-11 and are common loved house plant. This easy-to-grow annual does well in a variety of conditions and needs little to thrive. Provide it with light shade, rich well-drained soil, and ample water. The wax begonia, is the more popular variety of begonia, and can be found in sizes to fit just about any space (from as small as 6 inches to nearly 3 feet tall). Flower colors are as plentiful as size options.

Petunia

Photo by Emma Gossett on Unsplash

Petunias come in spreading, trailing and mounded varieties. Dwarf petunias also ad brightly color petite flowers to your containers.  I recommend the trailing variety for the beautiful trailing effect in your planters.  Available in almost every color, you can mix and match to fill you planter perfectly.

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Bulbs

Lilies come in a variety of colors and offer a distinct fragrance.

Photo by Yoksel □ Zok on Unsplash

Layering bulbs creates ongoing colors all season long

Bulbs have been planted in containers for years. Layering early and late blooms along with different varieties in one container can give you pots bursting with color and fragrance that will last long into autumn.  Bulbs need to spend time in the cold in order to bloom. Make sure to check our chart and find key tips about How to Force Bulbs Like a Pro.  Some of our favorite bulbs are tulips, crocus, and lilies.

Don't be afraid to tuck your favorite herb of vegetable in amongst your other plants. Some flowers may do well the entire season in the 2.5 quart Nutri Wool Pots, but when roots have outgrown the pot, simply place into a larger pot or into your garden soil.

Cindy Cloninger

Virtual Assistant, blog manager, email & social media marketing assistant, web development. I enjoy hiking, fresh fruits & veggies, planting flowers, cooking great meals. But I love being a wife and mother the most.  When I'm not doing all of those, I love to read and try new things.   No matter the forecast, live like it's spring.