as I understand it, this tecnique for making 'cusions' out of small climbers involves a daily arranging of the growing tips so that they grow in a coil circling the pot. Peter (UK) On Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 4:50 PM, Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net>wrote: > Max asked > >My T. tricolor tubers have arrived well in advance of my plant to > >construct a window box for them, and I am considering trying them in > >"woolly pockets" instead: > >http://www.woollypocket.com/wally/wally-one/ > >These are breathable felted polyethylene bags used in vertical > >gardening: Height = 15 inches, Length = 24 inches Volume = .40 cubic > >feet. > > > >Does anyone have experience with this type of product or thoughts > >about it's suitability to T. tricolor? > > > >In case you're wondering why I want to windowbox this plant, the > >location will provide the best winter sun I can muster. > > I expect this Tropaeolum would grow at least for a season in almost > anything, as long as it is kept moist during its early growing > season. One thing to know about it is that different wild populations > grow in different conditions; some are much moister during its > flowering period than others. It's impossible to know which type one > gets from a commercial source. All of them, however, go dormant by > early to midsummer, so they might not be the best choice for a > prominent position such as Max is suggesting. There's also the > question of how warm the soil would get -- the tubers might not do > well if heated too much. If Max uses the pocket planter, it would > probably be best to store it in a shaded place during dormancy, even > though he doesn't live in a terribly hot climate. > > Another thing I've noticed about this and other small tuberous > Tropaeolums is that they flower best when given a vertical support > rather than trailing down or along the ground. In my bulb collection > they have been given twiggy branches to keep them from strangling > nearly flowering stems. T. tricolor is particularly strong in its > upward tendency and it would probably try to cling to the outside of > the pocket material to go up. In nature they climb up through shrubs. > (Some of the bigger ones, such as T. incisum and T. polyphyllum, are > trailers that spread out on the soil surface and might be a better > choice where a trailing plant is wanted.) This year I bought some > small decorative "tuteurs" (pyramidal wire supports) to put over them > for next winter's growth. Another possibility was suggested by a > photo in the AGS bulletin of a show plant grown by Joy Bishop: she > had made a dome of chicken wire and placed it over a pot containing > T. brachyceras, training it back and forth over the dome to create a > very pretty (if hardly "in character") flower-covered cushion, > probably the most sensible way to get one of these fragile climbers to a > show. > > Jane McGary > Portland, Oregon, USA > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >