Potscaping Ideas: How to Mix & Match Potted Plants

Landscaping is a great way to spruce up the space around and inside your business establishment. It enhances the overall appearance of the place and provides countless benefits, including improving productivity in the workplace.

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But what if you don’t have enough space to accommodate those beautiful but gigantic Monstera deliciosa plants or majestic, towering Yucca elephantipes? One solution you can explore is potscaping.

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In this guide, we’ll discuss the basics of potscaping, covering its definition and key benefits. We’ll also explore potscaping ideas focused on how to mix and match plants and share some practical tips for ensuring they thrive in your commercial space.

What Is Potscaping?

Potscaping means growing a garden in a pot or arranging potted plants in a relatively small space. It is a type of landscaping that involves using plant containers instead of plant boxes or planting greenery directly in the soil.

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Sometimes referred to as “container gardening”, potscaping is an excellent solution for establishments that wish to enjoy the benefits of landscaping but don’t have enough space or resources to accommodate a full-scale landscape.

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Top 4 Benefits of Potscaping for Businesses

Potscaping has the same benefits as traditional landscaping, such as enhanced aesthetics and cleaner air. But beyond that, it can also be advantageous for businesses with limited spaces.

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Let’s take a look at the top four perks of potscaping plants in your commercial spaces:

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1. Visual Interest and Design Versatility

In general, landscaping provides added visual interest in the surrounding areas around business establishments like hotels, restaurants, and offices. However, potscaping comes with more design versatility, particularly for limited space or high-traffic indoor areas.

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For example, creating a striking potted arrangement in your hotel lobby ensures that your employees and guests enjoy the benefits of the greenery without hampering the flow of traffic. For offices, a potscape provides a perfect green space where employees can rest their eyes and experience relief from eye strain.

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Plus, with various pot designs and customisable plant containers, potscaping can also provide a versatile option that can adapt to multiple interior design styles and space concepts.

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2. Space Efficiency

Another significant advantage of potscaping is its ability to save space. Because they are potted, the plants can be placed in a typically unused corner or somewhere out of the way but still within sight.

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Moreover, you can opt to put multiple plants in one container, further saving space.

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3. Simplified Maintenance

It goes without saying that potted plants are easier to maintain than full-scale landscaped ones. Since they occupy a smaller area, taking care of them is generally less labour-intensive (e.g., less watering, weeding, fertilisation, etc.).

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Of course, you must remember that plants still require sufficient care to thrive, especially in containers. The good news is that our landscape experts at Planters can provide professional assistance and guidance to help you achieve this.

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4. Custom Branding Opportunities

Pots aren’t just for keeping plants healthy; they can also serve as marketing assets to improve brand recall. With our custom pots, you can stay on-brand and maintain your company’s trademark look and feel so that people – and potential clients – will remember who you are.

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Below is an example from one of our projects, showing how and where you can use custom pots:

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How to Choose the Right Plants for Potscaping

The first step to a successful potscaping project is selecting the right plants. For that, you must:

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Consider Plant Compatibility

Different species of plants have varying needs. So, when grouping indoor plants together, pick those with the same light exposure and watering requirements. This makes caring for them easier because:

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• You don’t need to adjust the watering frequency, amount, and schedule per plant.
• You can keep them in the same area with the same amount of light exposure without risking sunburn or lack of sun.

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Aside from that, you should also make sure they have similar growth rates. This can help prevent one or more plants from overwhelming the others in their shared space.

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Balance of Textures and Colours

Planting a variety of sizes, textures, and colours in a single pot or a potted arrangement can offer a much more dynamic visual experience than having several of the same plant species.

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If you want to add depth, pick plants with various heights. When grouping plants in a small area, it is also important to consider the shape, size, texture, and hue of the leaves, as these will affect not only the overall look but also the available space.

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Pick Thrillers, Fillers, and Spillers

In potscaping, plants are often segregated into three categories: thrillers, fillers, and spillers.

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• Thrillers attract attention with their tall height or unique shapes. A good example of this is the flamboyant Canna Pretoria, more commonly known as Canna lily.
• Fillers are plants that balance out the space and provide volume, like moss rose, petunia, and geranium. Herbs also often fall in this category.
• Spillers, as the name suggests, spill over the plant container and soften its edges. This includes ivies and groundcover sedum (stonecrop) varieties.

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Pro Tip: If you decide to have spiky thrillers, opt for round-leaf fillers to add textural contrast and balance the potscape.

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Practical Tips for Successful Potscaping

Here are a few practical tips you can keep in mind when working with a landscape contractor on your potscaping project:

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Choose the Right Container

If you’re potscaping in a single pot, choose a container big enough to accommodate the various plants you wish to add. If not, plan the shape, size, and style of the pots you’ll use for your arrangement.

Don’t forget to match the drainage capacity of the containers to the water requirements of the type of plants. It also pays to invest in more durable and sustainable GRP pots for your commercial space.

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Factor in the Plants’ Light Requirements

Where you place your potted arrangement is crucial not only for aesthetics and functionality but also for the plants’ survival.

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Although some plants can thrive indoors, they still require a certain amount of light to remain lush and healthy. Lack of sunlight can cause plants to etiolate or elongate more rapidly than normal, using up more energy that may cause them to die easily.

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If you intend to place your potscape indoors where there’s limited natural light, consider picking plants with low light requirements or add artificial grow lights to your arrangement.

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Read our ultimate guide to indoor plants to learn how to choose the best greenery for your space.

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Create a Green Oasis Anywhere

Potscaping offers a versatile landscaping alternative for commercial establishments with limited available space. Use this guide to create a lush and sustainable green space that can grant you the benefits of traditional landscaping and beyond.

Explore Planters’ landscaping services and customisable GRP pots to discover the best green solutions for your business.