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

Sunset, April, 2002 by Colleen Smith

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.