Will perennial flowering plants re-grow in containers?

Question

I have had the issue with several different plants. Right now I have two african daisy plants that were very beautiful while flowering, but are now done. I would love to see them re-grow next year, but I do not have room to plant them in my flower bed. Is there a way to ensure that they'll grow again just in their containers? Do I just chop the dead plant parts down and leave the container out all winter? I usually have this issue come up again every year with fall-blooming mums. I often plant them mums after they're done blooming, but I'd love to have some reliable container perennials if possible.

Thanks.

Answer 1

I have several perrenials in pots that come back every year. (I live in Seattle, mild winters)  I know that potted plants have a tendency to freeze more easily than plants in the ground because they don't have the insulation.  So, depending on how cold your winters get you may need to keep them in your basement or something to protect them from dying off in the cold.

Answer 2

African daisies are prolific growers and will multiply like crazy under ideal conditions.

I live in southeastern Arizona.  The African daisy was one of the first flowers I bought for my new yard.  By the end of the first year one plant had grown into four plants and three years later I'm now pulling out seedlings because the daisies overcrowd my other flowers.

If you want constant bloom in spring through fall, cut off (deadhead) the spent flowers and cut back the stems a few inches.  This will actually provoke the plant to grow again!!!  And again!!!

My daisies do surprisingly well in the heat, in the drought and even during the floods of the monsoon.  It's an incredible little plant that's well-suited to my yard.

In containers my daisies do well also, but as a perennial will get overcrowded in a pot after the first year as perennials grow in part by expanding their rootballs.

Answer 3

My perennials always come back  in their pots. Never had a problem with them not. Good luck!

Answer 4

I live in Montana zone 4 I have never had good luck with container perennials I have had great luck with annuals reseeding and coming back but we have really bad winds in the fall winter and spring the wind chills can normally be around 45 degrees below zero and I can understand why plants have a hard time surviving the winters.(52 miles from Yellowstone national park) I would check your zone and maybe talk to someone in one of your local greenhouses. Good luck!

Answer 5

Depending on your climate zone, you may have to move the pots up against the house and mulch them in or even move them into a garage.  Some plants cannot handle severe Winter Cold.  

I have mums that spend each Winter under my deck surrounded with mulch and in contact with the basement wall.  They do just fine.

Answer 6

The African daisy is one of my all time favorites.

You say, “Is there a way to ensure that they'll grow again just in their container’s?” – do you mean in the containers you purchased them in? If you do, I’m sure they are ready to be "planted on" into a bigger container. I would center the daisy in a much larger container so I could plant ivy and other types of plants on the perimeter of the pot beginning in the spring. That way, when the African daisy’s are no longer in bloom, you will still have an attractive container to look at.

I can’t see why you shouldn’t have a reliable and trouble free “Ad” re-growing as a perennial in a container (as I do in the NE) – looking just as beautiful as it would have, had you planted it in the ground.

I would suggest you buy wood or plastic containers. If you need them to be a bit heavier you can add a few bricks, rocks, etc. to the bottom of the planter before you add the soil. Every year, I have at least one clay pot or glazed pot crack over the winter – which just gives me more work in the spring – the plants are always fine, it’s me who needs an adjustment.

Any dead parts of the African daisy can be removed as they die back - just make sure they are dead.

Answer 7

Mine do and I live in the Buffalo, New York area.