Tips for keeping potted plants looking lush

If you're used to gardening outdoors, in the ground, there are some quirks and learning curves to keeping potted plants.

• At the start of each season, sterilize pots by immersing them in a mixture of one part bleach to 10 parts water for 20 minutes or so.
• Rinse them off, and let them dry before filling with soil and planting.
• The bleach will kill disease-causing pathogens from last year still lurking on your pots, waiting for an opportunity to infect a new crop.

• Whether to reuse potting mix is a question you have to answer each year.
• A good rule of thumb is if it's not broken, don't fix it. In other words, if there's no problem with snails, slugs, fungal diseases or anything else that can be harboured in potting mix, don't replace it.
• Instead, amend it each spring with some compost, and incorporate some slow-release fertilizer before filling your pots and planting. Reassess its condition each year until it's clearly time to buy new.

• Potted plants need to be watered more frequently than those in the ground because their limited rooting area can't hold as much water as a patch of garden soil.
• Pots drain quickly because they are elevated, and terra-cotta pots actually wick moisture away.
• A simple irrigation system might consist of a thin hose that drapes from pot to pot with small emitters in each pot that release water.
• Add a timer to such a system, and you've got a totally automatic way to quench the thirst of container plants.

• Cut back houseplants occasionally to rejuvenate them and improve their appearance.
• Regular pruning encourages denser growth and is a good way to eliminate old, woody stems that have become leafless and unsightly.
• Not all houseplants can be pruned the same way, however.
• Consult a good reference book or website to find out how to prune the plants you have, and any time you find yourself thinking that a plant could use some sprucing up, rather than automatically reaching for the fertilizer, ask yourself if a good pruning would do the trick.

• Plants in containers need more food than plants in the ground.
• That's because they have a limited rooting area, most potting mixes don't contain any of the nutrients found in real soil, and any fertilizers you apply get washed away quickly by irrigation and rain.
• Feed container plants liberally to keep them looking good all season long.
• Perhaps the easiest way to make sure your container plants get their three squares a day is to mix a good slow-release fertilizer right into the potting mix at planting time.
• Reapply using label directions as your guide.

• In the protected environment of a house, insect populations can explode seemingly overnight.
• Aphids, mealybugs, and scale are just a few of the insect pests that regularly plague houseplants.
• Once a month, check your plants for unwanted guests by looking under leaves, along stems and on the soil surface for the bugs themselves, as well as egg masses, insect droppings or anything else unusual.

• If you sunbathe, you know you've got to turn regularly to get an even tan. And although houseplants don't tan, they will grow lopsided if they keep the same face to the sun all the time.
• To keep them attractive and balanced through the years, pick a direction and spin your houseplants a quarter turn the same way every week or two.