Troughs

[Maggi Young]

I think making troughs is great fun and a terrific way of getting a container purpose built for any bit of space you might have to  fill with plants that cannot be planted in a conventional fashion. Such a great home for the smallest alpines, too, which might just get lost in a regular garden planting.
 
A Trough a Day helps you work rest and play!   Well, that might be a bit of an exageration.... but you get my drift!

[Graham Catlow]

A Trough a Day helps you work rest and play!

You're absolutely right Maggi! And just right for those things you can't put in the garden.
I haven' constructed one yet though.

Graham

[Lesley Cox]

I'm really thrilled that the plants I put in the first of my new Hokonui troughs are looking really well and yesterday I noticed that the 2 bulbs I included, are both up. They are Oxalis laciniata and Frit. alburyana. I'm always a bit anxious about bulbs in troughs as the little herbaceous plants will need water through the summer when many bulbs prefer to be dry but so far it has worked well, I imagine because the troughs are well drained. The smaller crocuses look particularly at home, and for this new trough, both these bulbs don't like to be arid during summer, so a little watering won't harm them. I think the frit will flower so will do a pic in due course. Daphne petraea is packed with buds.

[astragalus]

A picture of a crevice planting in a trough.  The rock has been pasted together with clay which blew open a bit during the spring rains but all the plants seem to be doing well anyway.

[kiwi]

Hi everyone, some amazing troughs on this thread, living art works.
I have started making my own troughs also and are getting better results with colour and textures each time.
Now I need to learn to set up the rocks and plants naturally.

Here are my first two attempts, the first with Draba starting to flower. Can someone correctly id this for me as I received the plant as D. aizoides? Also Edraianthus (centre) coming back to life, a Sax species and Carmichaelia enysii.

The second trough just finished planting today with Morisia monanthos (centre), Dianthus 'lionrock', Oxalis hirta and palmifrons, Calceolaria fothergillii and a campanula sp.

Still not at the quality level of this thread....practise, practise, practice.

[fermi de Sousa]

They look good, Doug.
You might want to reconsider Oxalis palmifrons if it behaves the way it does over here. It has totally taken over a "trough" in the rock garden and is trying to invade neighbouring beds! I'm not sure if that is just this particular clone that we grow or whether it will do the same in your climate - just keep an eye on it or you maybe re-making this trough sooner than you expected!
cheers
fermi

[kiwi]

Thanks Fermi, will keep an eye on it!

Also the Sax in the first shot has been identified as Saxifraga cochlearis minor, cheers for that.

[t00lie]

I have started making my own troughs)

Hello Doug
Nice work.

What is the pitted rock that features in your second pic ?

Ta.

[kiwi]

Gidday Dave, the rock is all a type of limestone, the smaller pieces are off the Napi Napi beach, North Canterbury.
The big one I slogged out of the Waipara river, I'm hoping to get some smaller plants growing on it.
Next time you're up here we could go and have a look for some if you like.

[hadacekf]

Hello Doug,
Nice through, I think it is Draba aizoides.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Looking good Doug !
And don't forget : they will only get better !!

[Lesley Cox]

The Rock from the Napi Napi beach looks like the nearest thing we might have to genuine tufa, even though it has weather-worn surfaces. The holes could well be planted in the bigger pieces and I quite like that smooth though lumpy surface, especially of many in a group.

I mentioned above that I thought my Frit alburyana would probably flower in its new home. It made a bud but that has aborted so I'll have to wait for next year. But it looks exceedingly healthy and exactly like the one on the Frit Group's new journal, just without a flower. Here it is from a couple of years ago.

[Lesley Cox]

And here it is in its trough home, top right. The trough itself is looking even less exciting than when it was first planted back in the autumn when at least it had Silene hookeri in flower but Daphne petraea 'Persabee' (top left) is packed with buds and all the "dead-looking" things, like small Saponarias, are greening. Tiny seedlings of white Gent. verna, Edraianthus pumilio, Degenia velebitica, Saxifraga frederici-augustii and Dianthus glacialis are also still alive and rearing to go.

[t00lie]

The trough itself is looking even less exciting

It looks exciting to me Lesley.
A number of my troughs badly need redoing --message to self --add to list.....

Gidday Dave, the rock is all a type of limestone.
The big one I slogged out of the Waipara river, I'm hoping to get some smaller plants growing on it.
Next time you're up here we could go and have a look for some if you like.

Thanks Doug that would be great.
I have unlimited access to a disused limestone quarry however i've never come across rocks there that are suitable for planting ,most having couch grass growing through the cracks and holes. 

[Brian Ellis]

Daphne petraea 'Persabee' (top left) is packed with buds and all the "dead-looking" things, like small Saponarias, are greening. Tiny seedlings of white Gent. verna, Edraianthus pumilio, Degenia velebitica, Saxifraga frederici-augustii and Dianthus glacialis are also still alive and rearing to go.

I hope we get to see it in full flow Lesley