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Planter design for shallow rooted plants
I'm considering making some "sculptural" planters out of hypertufa, Hypertufa is concrete mixed with sphagnum moss and either vermiculite or perlite. This makes a somewhat lightweight porous container. For my purposes of design and ease of construction shallow containers is what I would like. I found this nice list: http://www.clallam.net/hhs/documents/eh_goodplants.pdf I suppose some succulents and mosses could be added to that list. I'm over in 7A, piedmont. How shallow can I get away with? Hens and Chicks seems like a good shallow candidate. I'd like to plant these and attempt to sell a few. What can I grow and reproduce quickly, I know a small bit about cloning. Any potting suggestions appreciated. -- pentapus |
Planter design for shallow rooted plants
pentapus wrote:
I'm considering making some "sculptural" planters out of hypertufa, Hypertufa is concrete mixed with sphagnum moss and either vermiculite or perlite. This makes a somewhat lightweight porous container. For my purposes of design and ease of construction shallow containers is what I would like. I found this nice list: http://www.clallam.net/hhs/documents/eh_goodplants.pdf I suppose some succulents and mosses could be added to that list. I'm over in 7A, piedmont. How shallow can I get away with? Hens and Chicks seems like a good shallow candidate. I'd like to plant these and attempt to sell a few. What can I grow and reproduce quickly, I know a small bit about cloning. Any potting suggestions appreciated. The problem with small and shallow, and small shallow pots is they dry out quickly. So plants that like to be moist (mosses) need to be watered frequently. Secondly you seem to be mixing plants of differing water requirement. If you combine those that like it damp with those that like it dry there is no good watering regime. Stick to one or the other. Thirdly mixing in sphagnum to reduce weight doesn't seem like such a good idea to me. Eventually it will rot. How about synthetic beads instead. Vermilculite or perlite should be OK. -- David - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A better world requires a daily struggle against those who would mislead us. |
Planter design for shallow rooted plants
On 7/20/2014 6:46 PM, David Hare-Scott wrote:
pentapus wrote: I'm considering making some "sculptural" planters out of hypertufa, Hypertufa is concrete mixed with sphagnum moss and either vermiculite or perlite. This makes a somewhat lightweight porous container. For my purposes of design and ease of construction shallow containers is what I would like. snip Any potting suggestions appreciated. The problem with small and shallow, and small shallow pots is they dry out quickly. So plants that like to be moist (mosses) need to be watered frequently. Secondly you seem to be mixing plants of differing water requirement. If you combine those that like it damp with those that like it dry there is no good watering regime. Stick to one or the other. Succulents then. A huge assortment to choose from: http://www.succulent-plant.com/thumbnails.html in a dish 5 or 10cm deep but fairly wide Something short that spreads easily. I'm overwhelmed by the choices, any suggestions? Thirdly mixing in sphagnum to reduce weight doesn't seem like such a good idea to me. Eventually it will rot. How about synthetic beads instead. Vermilculite or perlite should be OK. Hypertufa has been around for a while, I just stumbled on it. Here is Martha Stewart, of all people: http://www.marthastewart.com/268962/hypertufa-pots The idea behind the aggregates used is to give it texture and porosity. -- pentapus |
Planter design for shallow rooted plants
On 21/07/2014 8:46 AM, David Hare-Scott wrote:
pentapus wrote: I'm considering making some "sculptural" planters out of hypertufa, Hypertufa is concrete mixed with sphagnum moss and either vermiculite or perlite. This makes a somewhat lightweight porous container. (snip) Thirdly mixing in sphagnum to reduce weight doesn't seem like such a good idea to me. Eventually it will rot. How about synthetic beads instead. Vermilculite or perlite should be OK. Hypertufa always uses some natural material as part of the recipe - traditionally it's been peat but also coconut fibre has been another common ingredient used instead of peat. Usually they are made in a rectangle shape so that they have a similar shape to aged animal watering troughs. |
Planter design for shallow rooted plants
On 21/07/2014 10:38 AM, pentapus wrote:
On 7/20/2014 6:46 PM, David Hare-Scott wrote: The idea behind the aggregates used is to give it texture and porosity. If Martha says that, she got it wrong. It's all about the texture. |
Planter design for shallow rooted plants
On 7/21/2014 4:33 AM, Fran Farmer wrote:
On 21/07/2014 8:46 AM, David Hare-Scott wrote: pentapus wrote: I'm considering making some "sculptural" planters out of hypertufa, Hypertufa is concrete mixed with sphagnum moss and either vermiculite or perlite. This makes a somewhat lightweight porous container. (snip) Thirdly mixing in sphagnum to reduce weight doesn't seem like such a good idea to me. Eventually it will rot. How about synthetic beads instead. Vermilculite or perlite should be OK. Hypertufa always uses some natural material as part of the recipe - traditionally it's been peat but also coconut fibre has been another common ingredient used instead of peat. Thanks, I'll try it. Seems like it would be a good look. I like that it isn't peat. I haven't made anything out of hypertufa yet. I have been working on a friend's project, 5' tall cement planters that she inherited from a deceased famous artist (Mr Imagination). I knew nothing about cement and she apparently picked up nothing while watching him work. We've gone through 5 completely different concrete mixes trying to figure it out when I stumbled on this: http://www.artistic-garden.com/makin...rt-sculptures/ http://www.littleandlewis.com Usually they are made in a rectangle shape so that they have a similar shape to aged animal watering troughs. I'm not a follower of the usual. My Alien Sea Planter: http://earlymorningreport.com/images/penelope.JPG I'd like to try something smaller and decidedly more terrestrial with the hypertufa. I'd like it to be functional which is why I'm here. -- pentapus |
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