Plants for a Purpose – Plants for screening in pots

If your patio or seating area enjoys sunshine for most of the day, these plants thrive in the warmth. They also provide excellent screening.

Bamboo, clump-forming varieties

Bamboo is one of the quickest ways to create a living screen. It provides movement, gentle rustling sounds and year-round evergreen foliage.

Choose clump-forming varieties such as Fargesia robusta, Fargesia rufa or Fargesia ‘Campbell’. These are well-behaved and won’t spread aggressively like running bamboos such as Phyllostachys.

Ideal for:

• Screening overlooking windows
• Creating a modern garden feel
• Softening fences and walls

Photinia ‘Red Robin’

With glossy evergreen leaves and striking, bright red new leaf growth in spring, this is an excellent screening shrub. It is easy to grow and responds well to pruning.

Ideal for:

• Privacy
• Evergreen colour
• Formal or informal gardens

There are plenty of beautiful plant options for shadier spots.

Prunus lusitanica (Portuguese laurel)

Portuguese laurel is a smart, evergreen, large shrub or small tree, with dark green leaves and red stems. It is suitable for growing in large containers and clips neatly if a more stylised look is required.

Ideal for:

• Screening boundaries
• Providing a stylish evergreen structure

Fatsia japonica

Large architectural leaves on this evergreen shrub create an instant tropical feel, even in smaller gardens. Additional benefits are that large leaves make a smaller space feel larger. The shine on the leaves also lights up a dark space.

Ideal for:

• Sheltered patios
• Urban gardens
• Contemporary planting

Camellias

If you’d like flowers as well as screening, camellias are hard to beat. Their glossy evergreen foliage looks attractive year-round. Depending on the chosen cultivar, you can have flowers from early autumn and through April.

Look out for C. sasanqua cultivars if you want flowers in the autumn. Flower types range from single and double to frilly petals. They are generally pink or white, and sometimes striped. They grow well in full sun, as long as the situation is sheltered. The compost should be slightly acidic or neutral and kept reliably moist.

Ideal for:

• Morning sun or dappled shade
• Colour during cooler months

For later flowering camellias, look out for C. japonica and its many cultivars.

Sometimes all that’s needed is to block an unattractive view.

Rather than planting a full hedge, consider placing two or three large containers together. Use plants of different heights and textures.

Good combinations include:

• Bamboo with ornamental grasses
• Portuguese laurel with trailing ivy
• Photinia with Hakonechloa grasses

Using containers of varying heights creates a much more natural appearance than one continuous row.

Containers aren’t just for privacy. They’re brilliant for defining different areas in the garden.

Tall planters placed either side of a pathway can create an entrance into another part of the garden. Positioning groups of pots can also separate dining and relaxing spaces.

Plants that work particularly well include:

• Bamboo
• Italian cypress, Cupressus sempervirens
• Bay trees, Laurus nobilis
• Pittosporum tenuifolium

These all provide vertical interest without taking up too much floor space. This makes them useful plants for screening in pots.

Large pots:

• Hold more moisture
• Reduce the need for constant watering
• Enable the plant to make stronger root growth
• Help prevent tall plants from blowing over in windy weather

Choose frost-proof containers with plenty of drainage holes and use a good-quality peat-free compost.

Adding a layer of crocks or gravel isn’t essential. However, raising pots slightly on pot feet helps excess water to drain away.

The compost you use is just as important as the container itself. For larger shrubs, small trees and screening plants staying in the same pot for several years, choose a loam-based compost. John Innes No. 3 is the best choice. Its heavier texture provides better stability for taller plants. It also holds moisture well and contains nutrients that support steady, long-term growth.

For smaller containers or seasonal planting, a good-quality peat-free multi-purpose compost works perfectly well. However, it tends to dry out more quickly. You can improve both types of compost by mixing in some horticultural grit to aid drainage if needed. You can also add a controlled-release fertiliser to give plants a good start.

Whichever compost you choose, topping it up or replacing some every couple of years will help keep container plants healthy. It will also help them continue thriving.

Plants growing in pots rely entirely on you for food and water.

Water regularly

Containers dry out much faster than garden soil, especially during warm weather. Check moisture regularly and water thoroughly rather than little and often.

Feed throughout the growing season

From spring until late summer, use a balanced liquid feed every couple of weeks. Alternatively, apply a slow-release fertiliser in spring. Well-fed plants produce healthier foliage and stronger growth, giving better screening.

Repot when needed

Every few years, roots will begin to fill the container. Either move the plant into a slightly larger pot or refresh the compost. Remove some of the old mix and replace it with fresh compost.

Watch out for vine weevils

One pest that particularly likes container-grown plants is vine weevil. The adult beetles leave distinctive U-shaped notches around leaf edges. However, it is their creamy white grubs underground that do the real damage. They feed on plant roots.

Signs include:

• Wilting despite regular watering
• Poor growth
• Plants collapsing unexpectedly

To reduce the risk:

• Check new plants before bringing them home
• Avoid letting old compost build up year after year
• Refresh compost regularly
• Inspect pots during repotting for grubs
• Encourage birds into the garden, as they’ll happily feed on adult beetles

If vine weevils become a recurring problem, biological controls containing beneficial nematodes can be watered into compost. Use them during the warmer months to target the grubs naturally.

Catching infestations early usually gives plants the best chance of recovery.

Container-grown screening plants ask for a little more attention than those growing in the ground. However, the rewards are well worth it. With regular watering, seasonal feeding and the occasional check for pests, they’ll provide beautiful greenery, welcome privacy and structure for many years.

Whether you’re hiding an unsightly fence, a thoughtfully chosen collection of container plants can transform your outdoor space. They can also create a peaceful seating area or make a small garden feel more intimate. One pot at a time, they can make a real difference.