Filling the plant container
Help. I teach Beginning and Intermediate garden design along with many other classes. A few months back I decided to go through my past FineGardening issues and re-read the "hints" letters. I found an "idea" in one of the letters telling me a great way to only fill the container half way by______????? I guess I have too many things going on in my life because I cannot seem to find the article (letter?) or the hint again. I do know that it wasn't something like putting pebbles in the bottom 1/3 of the pot or using packing peanuts.
I am getting a bit desperate because I need to pot a very large cactus, with very little soil, in a large decorative pot and get it inside before it becomes cold in zone 6.
Aging pansy
If you think you have the answer, please do not hesitate to send it to me.
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(post #15293, reply #1 of 29)
I often fill my planters with milk half gal or gal. based on the size of pot.Then add everything else.
(post #15293, reply #2 of 29)
Great idea. Just in time, thanks.
Last night I found the FineGardening article that had the hint from a reader in the March -April 2003 issue. she said she puts a large piece of Styrofoam in the container and then fills the rest in with soil.
You both have good ideas. I really appreciate it. Today is probably the last day (because of the falling night temps in Kansas) that I can leave my cactus and succulents outside.
Aging Pansy in Kansas zone 6
(post #15293, reply #3 of 29)
A friend in central IL who is a "transplant' from TX told me about filling her planters about half full with styrofoam packing peanuts. Annuals never seem to push " non -soil" product. Makes the planters much easier to lift AND decreases the chance that they will freeze and crack over winter.
(post #15293, reply #4 of 29)
on the other hand, here's a warning about using those peanuts -- they are h*ll to deal with when the season is over and the pots are dumped. tiny roots have entwined all the foam bits, and it's very difficult and time-consuming to separate them from the soil. bits of foam blowing all over the yard = a nightmare!
i have had success with inverting a plastic pot of suitable size in my containers. first i lay a piece of landscape cloth or a coffee filter on the bottom to prevent soil wash-out, then the inverted pot where i have clipped a couple of small half circles out of the top rim to help drainage. then fill with potting soil and plant. this works well to lighten the weight, is easy to clean out and my plants haven't complained. =)
(post #15293, reply #5 of 29)
All good ideas. Thanks. I finally had to go ahead and pot the cactus and ued large peices of styrofoam in the pot and my soil-cactus mixture. I was rather proud of myself on my little endeavors and reported it to our city-wide re-cycling group which was quick to inform me that styrofoam releases poision gases when compressed and covered. Also that we are not safe inside the house with this potted styrofoam. hmmmmm?
Well, I'm going to take a chance anyway. I'm not so sure they know what they are talking about and want to do a little internet research on the subject before I "yank" my wonderful plant out of its bed and start over.
The saga continues.
(post #15293, reply #6 of 29)
The only negative I've heard about Sytrafoam is that, when it breaks down in the sun (supposedly), ot produces chlorine gas into the atmosphere. That in turn ate up the ozone. That was the argument that helped push McDonalds to stop using styrafoam boxes.
I can't see styrafoam in a pot as being any more a health concern than our cleaning products.
(post #15293, reply #7 of 29)
There is no chlorine in the styrene molecule. Styrofoam used to be made by mixong the styrene polymer with liquid freon ( there are many of these freons) The expanding freon expanded the styrene as it polymerized to make the styrofoam and realeased freon into the air. It is no longer cool to release fluorchlorocarbons into the ozone layer and eliminate our UV shield. I don't know what is now used to expand the styrene into foam. Maybe they use the stuff that is used as a propellent in hair spray cans. It works wonderfully well as the explosive in a potato canon. Or maybe they use carbon dioxide. That works well in an air rifle to propell the little lead pellet out to where the ducks can eat it and get lead poisoning. Every thing that is fun is dangerous.
Anyway, Chlorine in the styrofoam is probablly past history.
BJ
(post #15293, reply #9 of 29)
I knew if anyone posted anything chemical, you'd come up with the answers. I saw on TV a couple of weeks ago that someone made a potato gun that shot pumpkins. Now that looked like fun. I think you and Scott should make that a project.
Do you know what that floral base foam is? It's not typical styrafoam. It's... crunchier?
(post #15293, reply #10 of 29)
Here's more info than you really want to know (looks pretty typical of the type): http://www.fdionline.net/Files/MSDS/SO-OasisFloralFoam6-05-05.pdf
And for BJ, http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5432207-description.html
North Carolina - zone 7
North Carolina - zone 7
(post #15293, reply #11 of 29)
Yeah, that cleared everything up. : - P
At first, I thought she was talking about Oasis foam (and maybe she is), but all it does is displace soil. It soaks up about a bazillion time it's weight in water, so I thought maybe she meant the OTHER kind of foam, the kind used for just silk arrangements or wreaths. That kind isn't like the kind of styrafoam that things are packed in. It has bigger bubbles and seems more... plastic-y?
(post #15293, reply #12 of 29)
My mistake. Now, having done way more research on this topic than my employer would be happy about, I can tell you that Styrofoam floral foam is made of extruded polystyrene by Dow Chemical and not expanded polystyrene, giving it a 'closed cell' rather than an 'open cell' structure like the Oasis foam (not Dow), which is expanded. According to the Dow website, they're using HCFCs as blowing agents for Styrofoam. I couldn't find any specifics on manufacturing, though I did see reference to its special 'crispness' that results from their process. Other manufacturers of foamed polystyrenes use carbon dioxide or pentane as blowing agents.
I hope my son asks me about styrofoam this evening. I figure that right now I could look like a genius in his eyes, but I've only got about 6 hours before it all starts to fade, and the rate of decay is likely to be rapid.
North Carolina - zone 7
North Carolina - zone 7
(post #15293, reply #16 of 29)
"I've only got about 6 hours before it all starts to fade, and the rate of decay is likely to be rapid."
I'm glad it's not just me. You need to learn how to cleverly work things like styrafoam into a casual conversation, though. Buy a drink from Sonic then give a lecture about the cup. As we get older, we have to be creative in how to look like we know anything relevant (and keep the kids thinking we can still outsmart them).
(post #15293, reply #8 of 29)
I can't decide whether I was happier knowing or not knowing all this information.
I used the stryo that one uses for flower bases that they still sell in Michael's Arts and Crafts stores - anyway.
Aging pansy in Kansas where it's going to be 70 degrees tomorrow and I still haven't been able to get the bulbs in the ground.
(post #15293, reply #13 of 29)
I discovered that aged wood chips make a good base in a large deep pot. I planted a bunch of neglected daylily roots, first laying in about a 6 inch layer of the chips, and then a potting mixture, and they have been thriving ever since. I think maybe the chips help hold water which helps keep the roots growing and remaining cool, just with a once and a while watering.
Of course, daylilies are very tough plants and seem to thrive on neglect.
New Mexico home organic gardener
Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience. Emerson
(post #15293, reply #14 of 29)
I LOVE this idea. This is a keeper.
Connie in Kansas
(post #15293, reply #15 of 29)
You may have found a key to growing daylilies in pots. They're notoriously funny about dying or at the least, not thriving in pots.
(post #15293, reply #17 of 29)
You know, the potted daylilies in the garage garden just limp along, but the ones I put way out in the meadow garden (still sitting in their little pots) and ignored for the past three years are doing just fine.
Edited to add: This is not a recommendation, merely an observation.
North Carolina - zone 7
Edited 10/29/2007 8:04 pm ET by Karen
North Carolina - zone 7
(post #15293, reply #18 of 29)
ooohhhhh, i am so glad that someone else leaves plants in pots out in the back forty for years at a time! i have a large trollius, 'lemon queen' (i think), that has been sitting above ground in its plastic prison for SIX years -- but it is thriving and blooms its head off every year. go figure. i suspect the minute i try to transplant it into a decent bed that it will give up the ghost, which is why i haven't yet dealt with it. (lazy? moi???)
(post #15293, reply #19 of 29)
If I had a Trollius doing well anywhere, I would cautiously build a shrine around it and then tip toe away.
North Carolina - zone 7
North Carolina - zone 7
(post #15293, reply #20 of 29)
ahhh, let me send you some of my swampland. seriously. they seem to love it very, very damp, and, in the early spring, are practically growing in standing water (under the surface of the soil is pure saturated mud then). also mine are in 3/4-day shade. going by the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", i am leaving them right where they are!
oddly, these tortured, confined trollius bloom more heavily than the other ones i have elsewhere properly placed in the ground. it all defies the traditional gardening advice.... guess that plant has great genes! (tho it hasn't ever managed to produce any babies around itself)
(post #15293, reply #22 of 29)
I think zone 7 is the lower end of the recommended range so I've tried to grow it in the past, but it really doesn't like our heat.
North Carolina - zone 7
North Carolina - zone 7
(post #15293, reply #21 of 29)
"i am so glad that someone else leaves plants in pots out in the back forty for years at a time!"
You've never seen Karen's collection. It's truly inspiring for gardeners who have plants they intend to get in the ground eventually. I know I wouldn't be able to keep them alive.
(post #15293, reply #23 of 29)
I bet there's not a plant still waiting out there that was there last time you were here. The overall tonnage is probably the same, though. This year has been especially bad for planting. I held off on it early because we had a long vacation planned. Then when I came back it was too hot and dry to do much. It probably saved me from losing as many plants, though, not to have planted them out in the meadow and woods this year.
North Carolina - zone 7
North Carolina - zone 7
(post #15293, reply #24 of 29)
You and your garage garden were a VERY bad influence on me, but I finally broke myself of the habit of buying things that I wasn't going to stick right in the ground. I also learned to stop ORDERING things. They all are so alluring, till a big box full of helpless plants shows up. The exception is hostas. I don't get any often, but when I do, they tend to sit near the house or in their pots set out in beds for, well, years sometimes.
(post #15293, reply #25 of 29)
I accept responsibility for the garage garden but you know you can't blame any part of the ordering addiction on me. You were always so much worse than I was on that front, you and your tempting e-bay links.
You need to come visit and I'll take you to Big Bloomers, then we can watch all your self discipline will go right out the window. http://www.bigbloomersflowerfarm.com/ They have a lot of stuff that's not even on that inventory list.
North Carolina - zone 7
North Carolina - zone 7
(post #15293, reply #26 of 29)
I'm not saying I wouldn't leave with a car-load of plants, but I think I'm less likely to.
I've found that if I toss catalogs and I don't look at e-bay, I'm far less likely to order things. I never thought I'd be able to toss catalogs, but you'd be amazed at how freeing it is. Things have gotten so expensive at PDN, I may be tempted, but I haven't been compelled to get anything in a long time.
I still have my greenhouse garden, so I can't say much.
(post #15293, reply #27 of 29)
I've been relatively restrained myself this year, in fact I haven't been over to Big Bloomers for quite a while. I even skipped the free plant grab over at the arboretum this month, although I did go to our local GardenWeb group swap. I still like visiting PDN every now and then, but I make a list ahead of time and try to be more realistic about what I can make happy. The PDN plants go in the ground and don't sit around in the garage garden.
BTW, the cabin is almost finished (really) and I paced out the dimensions for the greenhouse last weekend. I need to call Jaderloon and talk to them about specs and price estimates.
North Carolina - zone 7
North Carolina - zone 7
(post #15293, reply #28 of 29)
I agree with Karen about the Trollus. Does it prefer colder zones?
Eroomgardener, Zone 6 or 7 depending.
Eroomgardener, Zone 6 or 7 depending.
(post #15293, reply #29 of 29)
according to my American Hort A to Z, trollius will grow in zones 5-8. i think the amount of constant moisture is key, and as mentioned, i have mine in downright boggy soil most of the year. after this horrifically dry summer we've had here in MA this year, i'm curious as to the effect on my poor pot-bound Lemon Queen. probably nothing too detrimental, tho, as the water table out back is so high it's barely below ground at all. (i really wonder at times how the builder of this house managed to get permission for this exact location. methinks he pulled a lot of wool over someone's eyes.... and we did buy it in August, after all, when things are generally drier.)
Edited 11/12/2007 12:15 am ET by roxanna