Troughs

[Maggi Young]

Elisabeth Zander writes about a trough and tufa event  with Harvey and Irene Wrightman - read it here : http://www.seed-aholic.com/2015/04/making-magic.html     

[Tim Ingram]

Liked that! Now the hunt is on for some tufa. Actually we have done something similar with a few pieces of hypertufa left over from covering troughs and cast into the shapes of rocks. A lot of possibilities here... and a good subject for a future meeting.

[Maggi Young]

We have various posts about the super Wrightman Alpines videos throughout the forum - a quick reminder -
This is on  "How to Create Clay Crevices in a Rock Garden" and is very relevant to Elisabeth's artcle :

http://www.wrightmanalpines.com/archive/5/201301

and we  can find other videos here :
http://www.wrightmanalpines.com/video

 

[Lesley Cox]

I can't see the point of adding polystyrene beads to a mixture, either for potting - as I've seen done - or for troughs. It may make the troughs a little lighter but one couldn't use enough surely to make a real difference? and for potting, no nutrition is added, the reverse in fact and the advantage to roots of a gritty mix would be lost while the beads look horrible in the mixture and escape to pollute the garden/landscape. In fact, I hate polystyrene. I use trays made of the stuff because they are lightweight but they are no longer available here (ex mushrooms for export trays) and most of what I have left are damaged to some extent. As well, our three chooks eat them to the extent I expect we'll have eggs soon with polystyrene shells!

[astragalus]

Lesley, I have to agree that they don't make the troughs much lighter.  In my experience, a planted trough is not a movable feast (except by a couple of very strong young men with the assistance of a tractor if moving any distance).  I take a lot of time placing them before planting because that's where they will most likely be until they disintegrate, something that happens sometimes in this climate.

In bloom in a trough now:  Petrocallis pyrenaica (actually pinker than the picture shows), grown in full sun.  It is also very fragrant.

[olegKon]

Beautiful Petrocallis! I'm still waiting for mine to flower this year.

[krisderaeymaeker]

Campanula alpestris

[astragalus]

At Jacques Thompson's garden in Michigan, I saw troughs made out of solid sandstone with no drainage holes.  IF it's the right kind of sandstone, you can fill it with water and the next morning it will be dry as bone.  It also can't be dynamited as in a quarry because there may be minute fractures you don't see in the interior - after a couple of years in the garden it will literally blow apart.  If it's the wrong sandstone, you need drainage holes.
A series of pictures to show how it's done.

[astragalus]

Working with stone chisels, you hit the stone on either side and it breaks and can be wiggled out.  I tried this - it's easy and a ninety pound weakling could do it.  (It's sandstone, not granite).
The final trough is left with a rough bottom, no need to tidy it up.
They are really cool looking and blend beautifully in the garden because they're real - no extra work needed to make them look like stone.
Something to try if you have large hunks of sandstone in your area.

[astragalus]

And here's a picture of a planted sandstone trough in Don Lafond's garden in Michigan.

[Maggi Young]

Ian Y's latest Bulb Log  features troughs : http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2015Jun031433327631BULB_LOG_2215.pdf

[astragalus]

Maggi, thanks for posting this - what wonderful troughs.  Do you find that after x number of years a trough will need replanting?

[Maggi Young]

It depends, Anne -some need to be re-done after only a few years and others go on really well for 15 years. Others  re-seed themselves so are self-perpetuating - there is no set time they last.

[astragalus]

Peeking over my favorite trough, Penstemon thompsoniae v desertorum, one of the best of the caespitose penstemons.

[Roma]

I have two large glazed sinks which have been sitting around for over 30 years.  I know where I'd like them but husband does not approve , I couldn't get anyone to move them for me and now he wants them gone.  I'm never going to get them planted so if they are of use to anyone they are free for collection.  They are 18 inches by 15 and 24 inches deep.  There is no drain hole in the bottom but small holes have been drilled.  I'm sure someone handy with a masonry drill could enlarge them.