Hello everyone, first time poster. I'm looking for info on container sizing and soil. I recently placed an order for some plants for a container garden to attract hummingbirds (order below to be shipped in a few weeks). I've been doing research for the last couple of weeks and coming up with a game plan, even made myself a handy dandy spreadsheet for all the species I've got. For the most part, I was going to be going up one size pot from what they will come in. However, I'm in zone 5, and with the soil mix I'm likely to use (probably going to go with a 5:1:1 to start with for most, possibly Al's gritty mix for some of the more drought tolerant ones), should I be upsizing to larger post as a general rule to help with overwintering since those mixes are more resistant to overwatering? But for the vines (Lonicera sempervirens), would it be okay to put it directly into a large 15-20g (it's currently in a trade gallon pot)? I've read about why going to big too soon can cause the soil to retain too much moisture. I'm not looking for easy answers as I'd rather understand the "why" and not just the "how", so any help would be appreciated. I'm thankful to have found a lot of great info here!

First, what zone are you in? The honeysuckle can get quite big; it would probably do better in the ground. As for the rest, again, climate will determine the size of your pots. I'm in zone 7b, and when I started growing in pots I was growing in too small pots. In the summer I was having to water 2, even three times a day. A gritty mix is good for drainage, but the plants will dry out even faster in heat. Now I'm going to break a rule, which is chiefly for houseplants; the bigger pot the better, specially in hot climates. I have graduated to very big pots. Watering 15 or so pots twice a day is nuts! I'm posting some pics; not sure if you can tell the size, but they're big!