Troughs: Planting

Moving on from the last post I want to start here by letting you know how I finished the second trough. I left enough space at the top and just dropped in the plants then added the grit and compost mix around them and just over them too. Once that was done I added the slate in a decorative way around them.



The plants themselves I bought as a mixed batch from an online supplier. They came as a group of 20 alpine plants of various styles without any being the same as the last. The only problem with this is you do not get to pick the exact plants you might want - good for a novice though in my mind. I trough 1 I had to plant into the around made slate arrangement which meant rubbing the roots to get rid of excess compost. After doing both methods I can say that the method in the second trough was the preferred one however, whether leaving the plants in their old compost - we will have to wait and see if that works out!

Above is trough 1 after adding the plants.  Below is trough 2..

Nearly finished but I learned that putting some grit or indeed gravel over the top and around the plants makes a good finish, it also stops any compost being lost. I found these small stone chipping instead at a garden centre and the bag was nice and small (for a change).

When placing the chippings in the trough do it carefully around the plants and then roll them under with your fingers. Adding the top will take some time so be patient because it will definitely add viewing value to your display. Obviously you do not need to go with the same plan as me but I would advise placing some sort of grit or stone on top as balconies do get windy.

Placing the chippings carefully

Trough 2 - finished

Trough 1 - finished

Once finished water well and keep watered well under the plants are 'bedded'. I'm not sure what this is but better advise was to keep the soil wet in the first season - up until autumn then for me.  Also when watering for the first time stop when you see water coming out of the drainage holes - so that's very wet indeed.  More to follow!

Next part: HERE