Pots and planters need slightly different care from beds and borders, and the right container garden tools can make caring for them much easier. Smaller, more precise tools help you plant, prune and top up the soil in tight spaces without disturbing the roots around them. That's the case whether you're refreshing a few patio plants or trying out new container garden ideas.

Fall is a busy time for containers. Summer bedding comes out, spring bulbs go in and tender plants need moving somewhere sheltered as the weather gets colder. A narrow trowel (like this one from Walmart) or hori hori knife (such as this West Elm one) is ideal for planting into existing displays. And a dibber or bulb planter is useful for getting spring bulbs in at the right depth when planting bulbs in pots.

Some of the most useful picks are the less obvious ones. Wayfair's Cast Iron Plant Caddy has locking wheels to help with moving heavy pots into a sunnier or more sheltered spot. Planter feet (like these terracotta ones from Lowe's) lift containers off the ground, helping them drain in wetter weather, while a waterproof potting mat (like this Target one) keeps soil off the patio when you're repotting. For something more design-led, Terrain's Enameled Steel Watering Can and Red Pig's Garden Hand Rake from Anthropologie look good enough to leave out on display.

We've rounded up 16 of the best container garden tools, covering everything from digging and pruning to watering and moving pots. Many will come in handy if you're planting a winter container and want to keep your patio looking good until spring.

Once your tools are sorted, it's worth thinking about how to protect container plants from winter weather, as pots are more exposed to frost than plants in the ground. Avoiding common winter container gardening mistakes, such as poor drainage or forgetting to mulch, will also help your plants cope as temperatures drop.

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