Looking to Plant Some Modern Plants

[SummerMan]

I saw these tonight on a walk, not bad

[applestar]

Why not the lemongrass? Even though imafan says hers grow to 8 FEET in Hawaii, they will be stunted when grown in small containers and like all grass,can be trimmed/mowed as needed.

They generate lemony scent when brushed against and wind stirred against objects (which may help to repel bugs -- I crush and rub on my arms and legs during the summer), and trimmings can be used in teas and infuse unscented shampoos and liquid soaps. I actually throw a bunch of clippings on the patio as strewing herbs along with mint.

You can thin the clumps as needed as they fill the containers, and use the stalks in Southeast Asian dishes (as mentioned in the lemongrass thread in the Herb Forum)

As imafan also mentioned in the lemongrass thread,they CAN give you a nasty paper cut, so that's another reason to keep them clipped and upright, not trailing within reach of your toddler, though I doubt you'd let the child on the balcony alone.

[imafan26]

Realize that in pots and especially small containers, most plants will need to be either repotted, divided, or outgrow the container and need to be potted up, or they will die.

Plants are living things, they don't stay the same, they will get bigger, they will lean, they will need water, fertilizer, root space, and eventually all of them will die.

If you like the wheat grass, just plant the wheat grass. Annuals in small containers are probably a good choice.

[SummerMan]

thanks guys. I'm looking into the lemon grass. You say wheatgrass is annual. What exactly does that mean?

[rainbowgardener]

That means it has a genetically programmed in life cycle - grow, bloom, set seed, die - all within one growing season. If you keep it trimmed and don't let it bloom or set seed, it will last longer, but it still gets pretty tired after awhile.

[SummerMan]

So I planted some wheatgrass, it looked cool for the first two weeks and then it just started going all over the place and looked overly messy. Now its spring again and I'm looking for something to grow in the 6 planters I have. I was thinking of doing succulents but after seeing the pricing I think I'll stay away for now. It would cost hundreds of dollars to fill up 6 containers even though they are somewhat small. I was researching full sun ferns but I didn't see any varieties that made me jump. Planting manly plants is difficult. I'm now researching the macho fern ... LOL.

Also, the metal planters (seen above) don't have any drain holes in the bottom. Should I drill 2 or three medium holes on the bottom so that the water can drain?

[rainbowgardener]

You have to have drainage. Two choices, drill the holes as you suggested. Or leave the planters as is, but empty the soil out of them. Put down a good layer of pebbles in the bottom, then put regular flower pots inside them and plant in to those, using your planters just as cache pots.

It would actually make it easier to achieve that regularly spaced look I think you are going for. That's what's been done here:


https://st.houzz.com/simgs/c4b1dfae004ee ... anters.jpg

and here:


https://www.indoorflowerpots.com/product ... _83459.jpg

incidentally, I think that one contains snake plant, which might be what you are looking for - not expensive, very low maintenance, comes in different shades and variegations:


https://blogs.mydevstaging.com/blogs/eve ... ePlant.jpg

this planter is also being used with cache pots.

[Shirley Pinchev]

You might try this link. www.greatplantpicks.org They are interesting and have been trialed carefully. Also, go on line and look at seed and flower catalogs - they will put 'new' or 'rare' by the name. Find stuff that you do not see in neighbor gardens but be sure to do your homework and check your growing zone - I suggest using the Sunset chart because it divides the zones much more specifically than the USA general zone charts. Have fun with your garden and please post photos of the stuff that you did decide to plant.

[rainbowgardener]

hmmm .... just went back and looked at the first page of this, which I hadn't seen for a long time. At that point you were talking about wanting a mixed planting with cascading stuff. That doesn't quite fit to me with the idea of modern, "macho," architectural stuff, but they are your planters.

Anyway that means I went off on the wrong tangent. Anyway the snake plant, while perennial and easy care, is not at all cold tolerant and would have to be brought in for the winter.

I still think the using them as cache pots with smaller flower pots inside may help you achieve the look you want as well as dealing with the drainage issue.

Did you ever tell us where you are? I saw "east coast" but that covers a lot of territory. What cold hardiness zone are you in?

[SummerMan]

I'm in Los Angeles. I think drilling holes might be the best option, since they are hanging onto the side of a rail I don't wont to weigh them down too much with rocks. I will look into your suggestions. I know a want more of a modern look but at this point I just want to get something green in them as my place is on a busy road and they have been without plants for months now.

[SummerMan]

These are kinda cool



I like this arraignment because it has a few succulents but it also has a creeping/cascading plant, is that rosemary?

[applestar]

They do look like Rosemary.

BTW -- Succulents are easy to propagate from "cuttings" -- leaves, branch pieces, pups•offshoots, etc.

See if there are any plant sales in your area. I usually see at least one table of wide variety of succulents -- mostly just rooted tiny plants, and they are sometimes slow growing, but you can always group them until they need more space. I even saw an interesting one at the dentists office and asked for a few cuttings. It's taken a couple of years for this particular, unusual variety -- but they are growing well now.

[SummerMan]

I saw some blue fescue at the Home Depot yesterday and it looked really cool in person. It also meets a lot of my requirements. It can take full sun, its not sharp so my 4 year old wont get his eye poked out and it doesnt take much water. If I can find a deal on it some where then I will go with it. The ones at home depot were $8 each so 3 of those per planter times 6 equals $144. Not going to happen.

[imafan26]

It is not rosemary in the planter. The leaves are too far apart and it is too fleshy. It is probably some other kind of succulent. Prostrate rosemary would work as a substitute. It would be thicker and darker green with small blue flowers in summer.

[meshmouse]

SummerMan,

I am trying to follow this post and I have a few questions.

What does 'CB2' mean?

What does 'DWR' mean?

I searched this forum and pretty much all sources link back to you. If you could, please define your acronyms.

What exactly do you mean by a 'Modern' plant? Are we talking GMOs (Genetically Modified Organism), or has god released something new I haven't heard of yet or do you mean something that your neighbors don't have yet?

Also, did you know purple is the color of royalty, both Kings and Queens?

Just asking.

[rainbowgardener]

meshmouse, this is a three page thread. If you go back to page 1, it will say more about what "modern" means in this usage. Also this thread: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... re#p345175

[meshmouse]

rbg -

Yes, I had read the thread from the start. As you suggested, I re-examined page one.

The most relevant statement I found was your line - 'A lot of what I would think of as "modern" plants - striking "architectural" forms and colorful foliage - I know as houseplants. They mostly turn out to be tropical that like heat...' Doesn't tell me what SummerMan thinks 'Modern' is, but it'll do.

OK, so we're talking 'Modern Usage' here, not anything in itself truly 'Modern'. Got it. I will slink away. No, wait a minute, maybe I won't.

SummerMan says - 'I'm not really looking for a lot of flowers or anything, especially if they are going to be pink or purple (I'm male).' I'm fine that he 'doesn't want a lot of flowers'. I'm fine that he doesn't like 'pink or purple'. But just what exactly does him being 'male' have to do with it?

I shoulda kept my mouth shut, but I've never been very good at that.

meshmouse

[rainbowgardener]

come on.... We may not like the stereotypes, but no one can argue that they don't exist. Go look in the "girls" toy aisle in a big store, where everything is pink and/or or purple and then look in the "boys" toy aisle where pink and purple don't exist. In our culture pink and purple are considered girly colors.

SummerMan was looking for landscaping with a strong, masculine effect.

[meshmouse]

OK rbg -

I understand. I actually like the look SummerMan's going for.

I think I was a little tired and cranky when I first read the post and I was hoping to learn something about 'modern' plants and was dissapointed. Sorry.

I don't like promoting stereotypes or intolerences either (altho I occasionally find myself guilty).

Regardless, pink for girls I understand, but purple? Really? Never knew or heard of that.

I've always known purple to be the sign of royalty. Isn't that why the artist formerly known as Prince is known for wearing purple garb? Did you know that purple is the color of royalty because it was so difficult to achieve (scrapping up all those little irridescent purple spots inside sea shells) Well, or so I've been told.

Anyway, peace and love.

meshmouse

[rainbowgardener]

Well, the purple that is "girly" isn't usually royal purple. It's pastel purple like lavender or pinky-purple like fuschia or magenta, red violet, thistle, orchid....

[pinksand]

I do think there are ways to discuss different styles without bringing in gender or age-based stereotypes. It could have been left as "I'm not personally a fan of pinks or purples." I love the look of cottage gardens and I'm 27... certainly not granny status. Often it comes down to personal taste outside of any association with age or gender. At least that's my opinion, and I do think it's something worth pointing out because that's the only way to promote change and end perpetuating stereotypes.

But back to the point...

What about mexican feather grass or fiber optic grass in the center with trailing sedums on either side? Sedums come in such a variety of textures and colors that you could have some fun with it... maybe doing a planter with a gray/blue sedum and the next planter with a lime green or red hughed sedum and then alternating (blue box, green box, blue box, green box). I think by keeping it fairly simple and flowerless the look is contemporary without being as boring as a row of grasses. Just a thought?

[Shirley Pinchev]

Check out various bamboo plants. Not the huge timber ones of course but some of the variegated dwarf clumping kinds. I have several that are low maintenance, low water requirements and evergreen. One per container but with a personality will look great together. One tall, one med and wide and one with small leaves for a texture look. Very simple and yet very striking. You will have to do some research and they are not cheap - but will be a knockout in a very short time. There are hundreds to chose from and I am sure there are some nurseries that specialize in boos in the LA area. I am sure you have found some plants since this thread started some time back but consider trying one to get the appreciation. If you would like I could take some pics of three containers of boos that I have and post them.

[Shirley Pinchev]

AA9_0214 boo planter.jpg (49.7 KiB) Viewed 3271 times

There are some beautiful small bamboo that will work. Here is a photo of one planter in our garden. They are water thrifty, evergreen and very low maintenance. Boos come in many colors, heights and even shapes. One of ours has an almost round leaf. The one in the photo gets half day sun and only needs to be trimmed every couple of years or when it gets raggedy. This one has been transplanted several times, was moved from CA to Seattle and is very happy. I is not bothered by cold - we are Sunset zone 8b and get some freezes and snow. Sorry, don't know the name but should be easy to find in LA. If they are in containers you don't have to worry about their spreading - they do not bloom very often and if they do, the seed heads can be removed. Some people say that they will die after blooming but most growers will tell you not to worry. If you are interested in the others we have, I could post more pics.

[ElizabethB]

Hello all,

I do not know how I missed this thread.

I do not know if I should laugh or cry.

SummerMan - if you have not found enough suggestions to satisfy you then shame on you. Sorry but you are beyond picky.

Your containers are limited in size so that limits you selection.

This thread is too long for me to read every post so forgive me if this question has been answered. Do your containers have good drainage? I am not talking about rock in the bottom of the container. I am talking about holes in the sides and bottom. If you do not have good drainage then plant fake plants. Real plants will not survive.

DITTO Applestar and RBG. Incorporate culinary herbs and vegetables.

I did not read all of the posts but I did see some comments about Royal Purple. Purple is neither masculine or feminine. True Royal Purple is called Royal Purple because it is the most costly color to create. In times past only Royalty could afford Royal Purple. Hence the name "Royal Purple."

The color referred to as Purple in our time is actually Auborgine. A lovely color but not quiet the depth of color of Royal Purple.

SummerMan I apologies for sounding strident.

I would love to see your finished product.

[Darius Hawkins]

Garden decoration ideas are different when you have kids, why not trying some creative ideas like these beautiful & contemporary garden ideas for kids which will make your garden look luxury and your kids will love it too. ♥