Re: CONTAINER GARDENING, prffered pots for ornamental potted plants.

@Rosy,
Ornamental plant po ba talaga hanap nyo?
Why don't you try orchids or bonsai plants po. I know they might not be as generally acceptable but they are usually very low maintenance and can easily become an object for conversations (centerpieces) - some orchids and bonsai plants even survive indoors.

Orchids seldom require pots - can survive using coconut husks which may not be easy to come by when you live in Makati - but I'm sure a visit to a local market selling coconut for coconut milk will be a good one as you could even ask them for the husks for free.

Bonsai on the other hand may require a good clay pot - there are ceramic ones as well and can be easily found. You can also choose to use plastic pots. But since they become center pieces for accent it might be good to invest in a good looking bonsai pot.

Orchids and bonsai would be best for condos and townhouses are they don't require a big space and can usually survive with less than 100ml of water a day for both if you place the bonsai tree under the orchid when watering or when using a spray bottle. A little shade, a little sunlight, a little water and a whole lot of love is enough....

You could also go for the more "exotic" like a venus fly trap or a pitcher plant. There are local varieties that can survive in a condo or townhouse setting. For as long as they are kept in an area where it is relatively cold and damp (shade with lots of moisture).

But then again if you are really into ornamental plants, I would prefer planting them directly in the ground (if possible) as compared to placing them in pots - they seem to grow faster that way. You also save on buying the pot and could buy more ornamental plants instead.

To all plant and garden lovers, what do you prefer as containers for your potted ornamental plants ? Does it add and enhance beauty to your pocket gardens specially those living in townhouses or high rise condominiums. Also what kind of ornamental plants can you suggest
for their terraces or verandas ?

Please post your suggestions, know how and expertise so we may spread and experience the beauty in small and pocket gardens. Thanks)

Re: CONTAINER GARDENING, prffered pots for ornamental potted plants.

Hi there yong2x,

The reason I opened this thread was to entise or encourage plant lovers or garden lovers to share their experiences or knowledge in container gardening specially for people with less available space to plant their favorite ornamental plants, display their vanda orchid collections or their colorful bromeliad collections etc etc etc. I was hoping for people PHM members or non members also into small gardening or not to chime in their thoughts for the benefit of people starting out anew in this hobby. :foryou:

As for me, I'm not looking for ornamental plants, here in my place my house is surrounded with hundreds of ornamental plants that I have planted and nurtured for the past several years and still doing so. I love nature, I love plants flowering or not, they become part of my inspirations and provide me subjects for my art (painting). :painting: See my avatar bro ?

My point here is that people living in subdivisions, townhouses or high rise condominiums can also enjoy gardening even in containers or terracota pots. They can do groupings of their favorite ornamental plants, flowering or not in one corner of their verandas or terraces. They can also buy this beautifully designed claypots or ceramic pots or vases and it becomes a center piece or a conversational piece aside from their favorite orchids or other ornamental plants. This is the advantage of planting in decorative pots, they can be moved around in any place of the house or on small terraces or patios, they can be used as groupings to enhance a dull corner or entrance of the house.

Planting your favorite ornamental plants outside direct to the soil will just limit your ability to appreciate the beauty of the plant, the colorful leaves, its texture and shapes and its flowers specially when you are in your living room sitting snugly on your favorite sofas and watching a great DVD film. Plants in beautiful designed pot enlivens a corner or windows in our salas or bedrooms, its like letting nature come in to our houses.

But still yongx2, bro I do appreciate your chiming in on this topic and i am sure many will also benefit from your thoughts and suggestions. Thank you. :thanks: :flower2:

Re: CONTAINER GARDENING, prffered pots for ornamental potted plants.

@rosy,

just what i promised, here are the latest pic of my tomatoes planted on empty plastic paint buckets.

the soil is commercial compost i bought from cartimar..about 60p per 5 kilos..

the plants are i think 3 months old...i forgot but should be in that vicinity.

folks around told me to count ten days more before harvest.

can i say its grown organically since i didnt use any fertilizer or pesticides?

i was told by my uncle who happens to be an avid tomato grower (in canada) to prune the leaves so water can directly go to the fruits..which i did although sparingly to avoid killing the plant in the process.

it seemed the advice is ok!

Re: CONTAINER GARDENING, prffered pots for ornamental potted plants.

at least planting was a success!

next time i will try the bigger variety.

kaya lang it takes soooo long for them to bear fruits..

Re: CONTAINER GARDENING, prffered pots for ornamental potted plants.

WHHOOOOAAAAHHHH, Violaine your tomatoes are so beautiful and looks so delicious and edible, I love looking at the pic, I feel so happy for you, you were able to grow some veggies in your yard, really that is awesome, you can now consider yourself as a green thumber V. You can harvest them tomatoes when the fruit's skin would appear yellowish red to reddish in color or you can wait a little longer for the fruit to become totally reddish in color,that is the perfect time to pick you tomatoes. OOOOOOWWWWEEEEE, I just can't help smiling here V for that successful try of yours, I can see some delicious fresh salads being served on the your dining table mixed with fresh lettuce from Baguio, some sliced cucumbers and carrots and also mixed with some pineapple tidbits and some crootons, hmmmm yummy yummy and lastly pouring some ceasar's salad dressing, ooohhhh my what a treat. :p 🙂

V, talking of salads, why don't you too research on HYDROPONICS, this is a good way of growing lettuce and other veggies too, no soil needed, only water with some solution in a container or cups, its worth it at napaka gandang tingnan pag malalaki na ang mga lettuce, its like having ecstasy when watching them lettuce grow, he he he he. 😀

V, planting and growing veggies usually takes 90 days more or less from sowing up to harvest time but when it is organically grown it takes a little bit longer, maybe add 15 or 30 days more before you see the fruits of your labor but still its worth it. :jazzysax: By the way organically growned veggies or fruit bearings are a bit smaller than the veggies grown with commercial chemical fertilizers used.

Congrats again V for a very successful and so delicious looking tomatoes you got there.

Re: CONTAINER GARDENING, prffered pots for ornamental potted plants.

@rosy,

hmmm what am i gonna say???

thanks for all your feedbacks..i am happy really for being able to grow tomatoes..all of them (about 10 and healthy) show no insect infestations and i have no worry thinking about spraying chemicals..which i hate and will negate all of my intentions.

are crootons the cube cut hard cookies? hehe

i need to cut on calories but once in a while id love to pour some thousand island instead of that ceasars salad dressing.hehe

hmmmm parang tayo lang nagkakaintindihan dito bro? wag kana maingay...hehehe

yehey!!!!!!!

i will check on hydroponics later..maybe its best time to do it since its the rainy season..
but i am fearing i need to buy those expensive Gardena garden tubings etc???

Re: CONTAINER GARDENING, prffered pots for ornamental potted plants.

Violaine, I'm also encouraging JayL to do some research and try HYDROPONICS for his vacant concrete rooftop, he he he he I think our gardening tribe is increasing little by little, hopefully, I think jarod is into it too, I mean gardening too.

Re: CONTAINER GARDENING, prffered pots for ornamental potted plants.

Unless you are constrained for space, I don't see much advantage for hydrophonics, you will need investments for hardware and fertilizers.
I have seen organically grown veggies that can compete in size with the commercially fertilized ones. It's done with vermicompost and the proper ratio of compost. They say ipi-ipil and kakawate provides one of the best compost.

Re: CONTAINER GARDENING, prffered pots for ornamental potted plants.

Nice info bro on the Vermicompost, I have plenty ipil-ipil trees and kakawate here too and I use their leaves as compost too. he he he he , are you into gardening too beside wood working ? Curious lang po

Re: CONTAINER GARDENING, prffered pots for ornamental potted plants.

A little backyard gardening on what little spare time I have, but us city folks have space constraints for composting and scarcity of materials. I attended a seminar on organic farming once, the guy uses ipil-ipil and kakawate which he buys from school kids as a way of helping them in their daily baon. These are shredded and vermi compost.
He does things in a scientific way too, and he's crops are growing big. I think the Basil leaves are about 2-3 inches big.

Re: CONTAINER GARDENING, prffered pots for ornamental potted plants.

@rosy,

can you post a pic of your kakawate's as i dont trust google for this particular plant hehe.

i was telling my brother who is tending a small herd of herbivores in the province that another favorite of goats to munch on beside santan and ipil ipils are these kakawates...

tia.

Re: CONTAINER GARDENING, prffered pots for ornamental potted plants.

Ok V, I'll take some pics of the kakawates or madre de kakaw as they call it too and post the pics later.

Re: CONTAINER GARDENING, prffered pots for ornamental potted plants.

yung kakawate pictures po...

baka nalimutan mo na uminom ng memory plus gold brader?

hehehehehehehehehe

Re: CONTAINER GARDENING, prffered pots for ornamental potted plants.

@rosy,

tutuo ba ito?

http://silang.olx.com.ph/antique-able-kakawate-sala-set-iid-176888043