Hanging petunias at Elitch Gardens - Mountain Garden Guide - container gardening - Brief Article

When Elitch Gardens, Denver's venerable amusement park, moved from its old wooded home and relocated near downtown in 1995, the new site initially resembled a concrete wasteland. Creating a garden ambiance in the park, now known as Six Flags Elitch Gardens, presented a challenge for horticulturists like Shelley Cash. One solution she found is the Flower Pouch, a flexible plastic planter that adds instant color in otherwise unplantable vertical spaces.

Here's how it works. First, fill the pouch with a lightweight organic medium like moistened coconut pith fiber (a potting medium often sold in compressed bricks that expand in water). Next, tuck the rootballs of sixpack-size bedding plants through precut slits. Let the pouch rest on a flat surface for a week as the plants take root, then hang on a fence, wall, or porch railing.

The pouches shown here hold trailing petunias called Supertunias; impatiens, lobelia, and even strawberries also grow well in them. Like most containers, the pouches require vigilant watering: at least once a day in hot weather, possibly twice if they're hung against a brick wall in full sun. The flowers perform best if fed every other week with liquid fertilizer. Garden centers and mail-order nurseries sell the Flower Pouch and similar products under different names in various sizes. Thompson & Morgan (800/274-7333 or www.thompsonmorgan.com) sells one pack that includes three pouches for $10.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Sunset Publishing Corp.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group