tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134648325048818615.post8797627198590711428..comments2024-03-28T03:06:56.796-07:00Comments on Prairiebreak: Starved for color! a look back at 2013Panayoti Kelaidishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846898350006673316noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134648325048818615.post-56054554466825889762014-02-27T17:43:54.666-08:002014-02-27T17:43:54.666-08:00Thanks for this post, I feel like I can plant my a...Thanks for this post, I feel like I can plant my annuals with pride this summer and even indulge in a few new pelargoniums without that usual sense of apology..... and buy a few new pots!<br />I've never seen begonias look better.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134648325048818615.post-81681774040179407572014-02-27T10:36:00.765-08:002014-02-27T10:36:00.765-08:00I would not tilt flower pots at 45 degrees for the...I would not tilt flower pots at 45 degrees for the winter. Any rain will wash away most of your growing medium. I have a hard enough time keeping the roots of alpine plants covered with a mulch of gravel when pots are on the level. This time of year I am often applying more gravel as a mulch. The gravel sinks into my gritty mix. The gritty mix gets splashed out of the pot by heavy rain. When the thaw occurs there is a gap between the rim and medium of the pot into which all the gravel and mix on the surface moves. The erosion from the surface to the gaps on the sides of the pots further causes cushion plants to look like they are pushing up out of the ground. When they are suspended by their roots it only takes one heavy rain to snap the crown off. This is probably not often a problem you would experience because you get less rain and I am guessing rain drops are smaller and impact with less force at altitude.<br /><br />My pots that have marginally hardy plants get moved into an insulated garage for the winter. I have had good luck keeping my pots with hardier plants on the edge of a driveway or path that gets used in winter. When I shovel, I pile the snow on top of the pots. This insulates them from cold and the pile of snow helps keeps them from breaking dormancy too early.<br /><br />James Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134648325048818615.post-23222274443615738562014-02-26T20:31:43.718-08:002014-02-26T20:31:43.718-08:00There are pot shops all over my neighborhood--I ne...There are pot shops all over my neighborhood--I never see anyone coming or going to them. I do know that tax on pot has generated some ungodly sum of money for the state which they're going to target for substance abuse in large part. And there is now a large Marijuana tourism industry (several tour companies take people to growing greenhouses and processing plants). Nobody locally seems to be any different for it: I'm hoping legalization will cut out the crime and sleaze factor somewhat--and perhaps demystify and de-romanticize it a tad.<br /><br />As for gardening in pots--it is very popular locally, largely due to Rob Proctor who increased the pots at Denver Botanic Gardens from a few dozen to a thousand (we've leveled out in the hundreds).<br /><br />Now as to the subject of pot durability: I lose some of the lower fired pots every year--not that many. I've had many ceramic pots for years, some hypertufa for decades and glazed pots forever. Every so often a glazed one breaks--rarely though...<br /><br />Our climate being dry is probably the reason: many years I have to water the pots several times (not this year). But they are never saturated. In wet climates you can probvably increase pot longevity (and the health of plants in them) if you tilted them at least 45 degrees. What do I do with my pots in the winter? Nothing.Panayoti Kelaidishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01846898350006673316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134648325048818615.post-73076272526117382572014-02-26T19:19:12.322-08:002014-02-26T19:19:12.322-08:00I must ask, “What you do with all your pots in the...I must ask, “What you do with all your pots in the winter?” My terracotta pots turn to rubble when left out for a winter. I have been able to leave the tougher glazed pots out when they have a diameter of 16 inches or less. The glazed ceramic pots larger than 16 inches in diameter all crack. I attribute the cracking to the fact that the wall thicknesses of the pots are not made larger in proportion to the size. The thinking is the larger volume holds more water which creates a proportionately larger amount of stress upon freezing.<br /><br />It's too bad more people from Colorado are not known for gardening with flower pots. Unfortunately, I have been hearing a lot about Colorado and a different kind of pot lately. I think the last thing our country needs is more people devoid of any motivation towards any useful purpose. <br /><br />James<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134648325048818615.post-17185265120473964012014-02-26T10:49:32.839-08:002014-02-26T10:49:32.839-08:00I'm off in search of more blue glazed pots! Ca...I'm off in search of more blue glazed pots! Can't have too many.<br />Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05618027344331659734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134648325048818615.post-4059507651473546472014-02-25T21:43:42.027-08:002014-02-25T21:43:42.027-08:00Ah thank you for the great stroll among these live...Ah thank you for the great stroll among these lively clusters, it is needed! This wearingly long cold winter still has a long way to go here but the seedlings are growing. Can't wait for all the old favorite or new annuals, tender perennials and tropicals to be scattered outdoors… My friends don't buy annuals, I grow enough for everyone! :-) Happy Spring!Louisenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134648325048818615.post-69794986672954112582014-02-25T20:32:41.537-08:002014-02-25T20:32:41.537-08:00Many are where they get overspray from the sprinkl...Many are where they get overspray from the sprinklers, and the rest are near a spigot right by the front or back door: they do need a drink pretty often during hot spells (usually just every other day or so). I do have dappled shade near many--not a big deal..<br /><br />Of course I have a few dozen troughs, and no end of pots with cacti and succulents that get ignored. Several hundred altogether I would guess. You must just be obsessive!Panayoti Kelaidishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01846898350006673316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134648325048818615.post-12608515629007055892014-02-25T20:01:12.370-08:002014-02-25T20:01:12.370-08:00I think it's remarkable that you can have that...I think it's remarkable that you can have that many pots and manage to keep everything alive. I can't manage if it gets higher than I can count on one hand, it seems.Susan in the Pink Hathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07472502621591870369noreply@blogger.com