Troughs

[David Nicholson]

I know a chap in Aberdeen who can re-cycle most things!

[brianw]

I am sure this has been covered before but can someone tell me if a sunny aspect (south facing) is suitable using tufa in a sink, or would the tufa be better used in a west facing position. The former will get sun from about 8.00 to 16.00, the latter from 14.00 to 18.00 at the peak of summer, but a lot less in winter of course. Most of my tufa is old from previous sinks so hard, but 2 unused pieces I have in a sack are still soft and crumbly. I have alternative rock I can use. I have only used tufa in a shaded position before.
Rainfall here is only ~20" a year so watering will be necessary anyway.

[astragalus]

I use tufa in full sun which means from 7a.m. til sunset, but my conditions may be vastly different.  Summer here is hot, dry and humid.  Much of the rainfall in the summer is from thunderstorms and runs off quickly.  It's a very exposed and windy site.  Tufa here in shade becomes a mass of mosses.

[ranunculus]

Harlow Carr RHS Garden recently ...

[astragalus]

Quite a trough, Cliff.  I like the way the rocks are placed making a slope, always good for drainage.

[Arum]

Very attractive trough Cliff. I do like your labels - Wishing they were available here.
Edna

[Maggi Young]

Fishbox Troughs

Ian's article  on making trough from  polystyrene boxes - lightly updated with photos now directly  included :
http://files.srgc.net/general/FishBoxTroughs-JIY.pdf

 The newer method using a fish box inside a cement trough : http://www.srgc.org.uk/bulblog/log2008/170908/log.html

[rgc]

I have a faux lead trough (30 inch x 11 inch and 11 inch deep) made from fibreclay. It has 3 drainage holes. Wondering what the arguments were against using it as an alpine trough as I had not seen any examples of such use on the Internet.
Bob

[Maggi Young]

I see no reason why you don't use if for such a purpose, Bob.

It's already  a good depth - so I would  be sure to build the surface high as possible- with some  nice stones to stabilise things and take the chance to grow  some plants that might otherwise want a good deep root run in the garden.  Maybe a Pulsatilla .... other things with tap-roots, for instance....  notthat at this minute I can think of any names, of course! 

[Matt T]

Celmisia would appreciate a cool, moist, deep root run?

[rgc]

Thanks Maggi. I will give it a go. Aim to build the surface up and to have a mini crevice garden.

I had not heard of fibreclay before and there seems to nothing about it in alpine gardening books or websites. It is made by combining fibre recovered from the waste material of pulp mills with clay and so seems environmentally friendly. Also said to be: 'extremely durable, frost & UV resistant and almost impervious to the effects of weathering'.

There are lots of websites selling fibreclay troughs, but virtually no examples of their use. Got the impression that they were mainly used for short-term planting with the contents being replaced fairly regularly which is why I was not sure about its use as an alpine trough which would be for the long term. The much thinner walls compared to stone troughs make the contents more susceptible to external heat and cold, but we do not get the extremes in Scotland that is experienced elsewhere in the world.
Bob

[Tristan_He]

Some lovely trough plantings in here and great techniques - I particularly like the 'hewing out of sandstone' approach!

I do like a nice trough, but have never really succeeded with them. I mean, I have kept things going but the same plants generally do better in the garden. Quite a few of the choicer plants that you would want to do well in a trough seem to struggle - perhaps too much temperature fluctuation? They also need plenty of watering and in all honesty I have enough to be doing in the garden. I'm focussing on making larger rockeries which have a more even root temperature and moisture content due to greater depth of soil, which will hopefully allow me to grow a wider range of things.

One thing I do have though is a tall outer wall with some deep coping on top. In order to soften the lines a bit, I've infilled with gritty compost and top dressed with gravel, then planted with really tough things like Sempervivum, Dianthus and Sedum. Not exactly choice but it was looking very jolly last year and will hopefully be even better this. Will post pics when in flower. I've also been jamming spare pieces of things with a bit of compost into crevices in dry stone walls, which generally works quite well. I'm wondering if some of the trickier Campanulas might like this treatment.

[astragalus]

I don't think "jamming in" works too well with most drystone walls, although sempervivums probably wouldn't mind.  Sooner or later, plant roots hit air and that will often be the end of them.  Planted walls are great when you can plant as you build.

[Tristan_He]

Astragalus - I know what you mean and certainly Sempervivums seem to quite like this treatment. They look great too. But I've also had some success with some saxifrages (in a shadier area) and Erodiums. It's important to jam in plenty of compost first (not always easy). I agree that building into the wall would be greatly preferable!

I also think our wet oceanic climate also helps get things established.

Best, Tristan

[astragalus]

Agreed, Tristan.  We are very hot and dry but humid (a weird combination) during the summer months.  It would not be too unusual to have 8 to 10 weeks with no rain.  Difficult to establish new plantings when you're not able to water (inadequate well).
Some of the phlox cultivars can do well in a wall but are their best at the top where they hang over and occasionally manage to root somehow lower down.  Also Sedum cauticola does very well and blooms at a very welcome time.  Saxifrages I only dream of.