Planting up a trough!

8 comments

Planting
At last the exciting part. Buy yourself some plants suitable for planting in a trough. This is one of them, an Erigeron.

There actually is a technique used for planting up a trough garden with crevices in it like this.
As you can see the original plant in its soil is wider than the gap in which it is to be planted. Also the soil in which it is growing is far richer than the soil in the bed and it also contains slow release plant food granules. I am also (after one or two bad experiences) a bit suspicious. In the past I have found both vine weevil grubs and root aphids in newly acquired plants.

I gently removed as much soil as I could from the plant without damaging the roots. There are some plants which would react badly to this treatment. It would be unwise to treat Daphne for example like this or Acantholinum. It is wise to check in the books for the words, “does not like root disturbance” before one proceeds.

I used a 2.5cm wide spatula to scrape away the gravel mulch and to dig a hole for the roots, making sure the hole is big enough for the roots be spread out.

The roots are gently spread out in the hole and a little of my own compost used to cover them. The neck of the plant is left a little way above the soil level.

The gravel is then replaced, carefully tucking it under the leaves so that the neck of the plant is covered and the plant itself is sitting on the gravel. The whole process is repeated for the other plants.

30 Apr, 2012
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Comments

Terratoonie

Useful photos and information. Thanks :o)
Any advice on different types of gravel please ?

30 Apr, 2012

Ojibway93

Are these the home-made rocks you made earlier? You must need a lot of plants to fill all those crevices. I like Erigeron. It has a very pleasing habit and it flowers for ages.

30 Apr, 2012

Owdboggy

There are more types of gravel than there are plants.
Basically all you need to know is the size and what it is made from. A gravel/grit made from limestone will only be of use to plants which like lime. Most places sell crushed granite, but you can get other materials.
The thing to avoid though is anything with bits of shell in it, that is beach or sea dredging and will contain salt.
It is also useful if the grit/gravel is angular rather than round. It helps drainage better.

30 Apr, 2012