Fall planters bring a dazzling display to your patio, porch or balcony.
As the summer begins to fade, so do some of the flowering and edible plants filling up our planter boxes. Gone are the tender lettuces and perky petunias. In their place lies gaping holes filled with dry stems and unproductive soil.
Planting a new crop for the fall can help make the most of that space. It can also bring new colors and textures to your patio or front porch. With a little planning, you can have a dazzling planter box until the snow flies.
Banner photo by @thecontainedgarden
Getting started with autumn container growing
During the growing season your planter boxes and containers provide a cozy home for heat-loving plants. Roots expand, stems draw up soil nutrients, and critters (good and bad) visit or move in for the duration.
As blooms and crops fade in late summer, it’s useful to refresh your boxes using these simple steps:
Inspect for pests
During the gardening season, it’s easy to overlook an aphid infestation or a cluster of other pests that may have taken up residence in your planter box. Before introducing fresh plants, have a look through your containers. Have any insects or grubs moved in? Common sites include the undersides of leaves and plant stems. Even though winter is coming, insects can overwinter in plant cavities, causing trouble in the fall and spring. Treat harmful pests with natural methods (such as neem oil concentrate) to ensure you don’t disrupt the balance in your box. If you see any beneficial insects, be sure to leave them be.
Trim and remove spent plants
Often some of your plants will pass their prime while others will be fine to leave for the next season. Snip off old plants at the soil’s surface and compost those that are free from pests and disease. When pulling won’t disturb nearby plants that you hope to keep, remove spent plant roots by gently shaking soil free.
Freshen up the soil
If you added fertilizer to your planter boxes in the spring, there may still be some goodness left. Adding another dose however, will give your new plants the boost they need to grow and produce during the short window before colder temperatures hit. A good first choice is always finished compost. By now you may have more of this than you expect, since warm summer temperatures tend to help the decomposition process. If compost is in short supply, use a complete organic fertilizer to feed both roots and leaves, or buy plant food concentrate or concentrated compost to dilute and spread. Ensure the soil continues to drain well throughout the fall.
Add edibles and flowers
Now that your soil is ready and there’s space available, it’s time to add vegetables and ornamentals. Mixing the two can give you a beautiful display and garden flowers, leaves and produce. Given the shorter season, many gardeners choose potted or starter plants from their local nursery for maximum bloom and harvest.
Best fall favorites for planter boxes, pots and containers
Edibles:
- Kale: There are many different kale varieties, most of which will tolerate cold temperatures. Showy varieties include those with lacy edges, pink tips, and even ghostly white leaves. While ornamental types of kale are edible, they tend to be less tasty than those grown for the dinner table.
- Winter lettuce: Lettuces may not tolerate hard frosts, but they grow quickly in autumn’s cooler temperatures. Plant cold hardy or winter varieties for a longer season, intermixing with other, frost tolerant greens such as those below.
- Herbs: If you already have herbs in your containers, consider leaving them to see how they fare when the mercury dips. Thyme and parsley are cold hardy, and will hold well in a container even when things get frosty. Chives, sage and rosemary also do well, providing a splash of edible green well into winter.
- Swiss chard: Swiss chard is a winter favorite in many homes, providing iron-rich greens with colorful, showy stems that brighten up any fall container. These plants will tolerate a light frost without dying back.
- Beet greens: Like chard above, beet greens grow quickly in a short season, offering tender, nutritious leaves for salads and stir fries. Dark green leaves ribbed with burgundy stripes also add a splash of color.
- Peppers: While they don’t like cold temperatures any more than tomatoes, dwarf pepper plants look great in containers and will hold their fruit until frost kills back the plants. They do well in warm fall climates, producing bundles of tiny peppers resembling strings of holiday lights.
Ornamentals
- Asters: During the summer asters hide out in the garden as green stems and leaves. Come fall, the shorter days trigger plants to bloom with delicate, daisy-like flowers ranging from purple to pink to blue. Since some aster varieties can be too tall for planters, it’s important to choose a dwarf variety.
- Coral bells: Also known as Heuchera, these showy plants are known for their colored leaves in warm tones ranging from red to purple. Although they like shade, they’ll tolerate the sun when the weather is cool. They are low growing and make nice borders in planter boxes where they shine until frost.
- Marigolds: Known for their fall colors, marigolds bloom repeatedly until frost. They’re also believed to ward off pests including cabbage worms and mosquitoes.
- Mums: As soon as late summer hits, fall mums fill nurseries and garden centers. There’s a good reason for this. The plant’s showy blooms love fall’s cooler temperatures. Add plants to your containers for masses of fall flowers.
- Rudbeckia: Also known as black-eyed susan, Rudbeckia flowers from late summer through early October in most locations. It’s bright yellow flowers pair well with edible greens, especially kales and collards. Container varieties include ‘Little Goldstar’ and ‘Rustic Dwarf Mix.’
- Jerusalem cherry: This deep green plant with oval leaves bears dark orange and red fruits in the fall and winter. Commonly grown as a houseplant, it adds flash to any fall outdoor display and will survive to 40 F (5 C) before dying back, making it most suitable for southern areas.
- Pansies: Easy to plant and quick to multiply, pansies are a great addition to any fall planter display. Since they tend to mass low and dense, they’re perfect for borders and container edges.
- Wire vine: Native to Australia, creeping wire vine adds a delicate trailing element to any container. Though it’s not cold hardy, it will perform into the fall in most climates and overwinter in zones warmer than 6. It also comes in many lovely shades of green.
Fall planter box ideas
Spruce up your planter boxes with any of the above, or try some popular favorites. The following combinations are winners on patios, porches, balconies and decks:
- Tuscan kale, fall mums, purple cabbage, ornamental grass and creeping wire vine
With it’s deeply veined leaves and leathery texture, Tusan (also known as ‘dinosaur’) kale nicely offsets the orbital shape of cabbage. Add a spire of feathery grass for height and a spiller like wire vine for interest. - Rudbeckia, ivy, curly kale, and winter lettuce
While ivy shouldn’t be planted in the garden (or left to run wild in the compost), its trailing habit is perfect for containers and planter boxes. Marigolds add fall color, while lemony-green head lettuces add a touch of vibrancy. - Mini red peppers, collards, Siberian kale, Swiss chard, pineapple sage, and creeping Jenny
Full of color, this combination also provides opportunities for nibbling. Collards are frost tolerant just like kale, while the mini red peppers echo the stripes of red and yellow from the Swiss chard. Since it grows in a variegated mix of green and yellow, the pineapple sage brings a little fun to the mix. Creeping Jenny adds a ‘spiller’ effect, but be sure not to plant in areas where it’s considered invasive.
Choosing the best fall plants
When buying started or potted plants for your fall display, keep in mind the following tips:
Choose plants that are well suited to your hardiness zones.
Local nurseries may sell varieties that fit in local microclimates but which aren’t compatible with your yard.
Look for buds not blooms.
When buying mums and other flowering plants, choose the ones with the most unopened blooms. These will open soon after planting, giving your containers longer lasting blooms.
Inspect plants for sturdy stems and a bushy shape.
If a plant is looking leggy, dry or discolored, it may have nutritional deficiencies or have suffered stress and be less likely to thrive.
Autumn color right by your front door
Refreshing your planters for autumn is an easy way to get more mileage from your containers and to brighten your outdoor living spaces. Choose plants for their color, shape and texture, along with their value as edibles. You’ll enjoy the mix all season long.
