No need to freak out kim.....you can cut back just about anything.....it is a good practice once your plants have outgrown their planters and are drying out too fast.....my impatiens are becoming little trees and are drinking alot and may start to seperate in cooler months ahead...I will post a photo after I hack the hell out of them and the after they recover....I will be away for a week at the end of the month and everything would be dead when I come back if i didn't reduce them....regular petunias planted on the ground really benefit from heavy cutting back the last of july to avoid getting leggy......I think you should try the flowering kale at this late date for planting in your zone.......and a trailer like creeping jenny or vinca.....if you can find something small in flower like begonias or lobelia at this time of year and you can stuff it in there, do it...........this time of year you can get away with cramming in some plants because they will not have enough season left to be overplanted.......your kale and trailer planted so close to your house should get you to christmas.......another option would be geraniums or marigolds(or both) if you think you need a flowering plant......you could buy some kale put it in the ground, plant geraniums or marigolds for now with a trailer.....and swap them in november.....Kale will look nice to minus 20.......as long as snow does not lay on it you could have it well into january that close to the house, when choosing Kale, try to find some that the stems are not too tall, if they are a little leggy, plant them deep..........I don't believe you posted your supertunia photo kim......lets see what your other containers are doing

I was kind of hoping for a city instead of a state. I have contacts in most major cities (bonsai club office holders) & can usually pin down a source for whatever soil components you're looking for with a call or e-mail. You should be able to buy Haydite in bulk in PA, the perlite can be found through most large greenhouse/nursery operations, and anyone in the state specializing in orchid supplies will be able to supply or obtain 1/8 - 3/8 fir bark. Do you order any thing online in large amounts? No. Shipping too expensive. I have sought out reliable suppliers of bulk materials & usually pick what I need in quantity. It also helps that I have a business that allows me to buy from many suppliers that are wholesale only. Wait ... I take that back. I do order things like Messenger & some chemical products in quantity, but never heavy or bulky items because of shipping expense. You might wish to read through the link below & learn a little more about coconut by-products. Though I can't offer applause for Tcharles26's delivery, ;o) I tend to agree with his assertion & would pay heed to what's contained in the paper cited further up the thread. Al Here is a link that might be useful: Coir

Wow, that planter is way bigger than I was picturing it, lol! It kinda dawned on me, as I was rambling on, that what I was envisioning in my mind was NOT what you had! I suppose you might try planting an evergreen in a larger pot, but I would not just place that pot on top of the soil - I would bury it in the soil for a bit extra protection. One year, I got tired of looking out my kitchen window during the winter at my large patio which is surrounded by black asphalt. Dreer-reeee!! So I tried a few evergreen plantings in pots. I had a yucca Gold(en?) Sword, a juniper (Blue Star???) and I already had a potted variegated dogwood which I dragged onto the patio. They actually looked pretty darn good all winter. Funny thing is, it was when spring came that the juniper and the yucca bit the dust. Go figure. BTW, the dogwood loses its leaves, but has beautiful red stems. My pots were quite large - but I guess not much bigger than 2 feet deep, now that I think about it. I wonder about your sun conditions though. While I've been told that it's good not to have the shrubs in full sun in the winter, I wonder if they would need the sun during the growing season. My potted shrubs above got about a half day of sun during the winter, and were in a fairly protected area. I moved the surviving dogwood to a sunnier location in the spring. Sorry, I don't know a lot about evergreens. Maybe someone else can give you some ideas. I'm a firm believer in trying something myself, which is why I went ahead with my potted evergreens when everyone else was doubtful. I've actually been thinking of trying it again, and keeping a better eye on them come spring to make sure they make the transition. Best of luck to you! :) Dee

Thank you for your comments suggestions and encouragement. I am posting a few photos this time and it will show what I have used and how I made certain things. Firstly, perhaps I should mention that what happened as I searched deeper into planting in a steep-walled pond (with no sloping, shallow end) was that I found myself reading more about hydroponics and aquaponics. Because of the methods used in these fields, I have been using the sheet polystyrene (rigid sheet foam, or what have you) as you will have noticed in my video. My latest island (oh my, doesn't that sound grand!) is a 4 ft x 8 ft x 2" thick sheet with a 3/4" PVC (schedule 40) frame. For transport reasons I had to by 4 sheets at 2' x 4' and join them to make an 4x8. Having done this I decided that a PVC frame would help keep it together and assist with anchoring/mooring it. Here are a couple of photos: I joined the sheets with Gorilla glue which works very well. I jointed all the PVC with the appropriate glue to keep it airtight because open PVC tubing will sink. I then added some 'lumps' of polystyrene glued together and hacked them about to look like rocks: I angled the edges of the island and painted the sides and top with some exterior household paint I had lying around. Then I painted the rocks with acrylic paint of various reds, blues and browns until they looked natural (!?) Here is a photo or two, what do you think? (The wire is a set of solar night lights) Given that the ground cover in the foreground should later cover the nasty brown of the surface, I think (hope) it should turn out alright. Oh; one other thing I did was to add a sheet of filter material to the underneath to encourage bacteria (I used swamp cooler pads, but in a roll). That is the reason I placed it next to the air stone column, as can be seen in the photo. I originally placed it directly over the air but found that it smothered the air column so effectively that it made the whole of the pond appear to be still, like a mill pond. Clearly I did not want this so I moored it to the side of the column. The air bubbles assist the bacteria and will therefore help clear the water. Most of what you see there, plantwise, is a ground cover but there is also mexican feather grasses and some herbs (sage, parsley, etc). BTW. The photos are in high-def so you should be able to zoom in if you wish. Other updates: The lobelia is getting towards its end but still looks OK. The goldfish continue to grow, and goodness knows how many mosquito fish are in there now. I might have to consider another fish to keep them under control as there is no sign of the goldfish doing this and I am told that they should eat the eggs or small fry. Any suggestions welcome. Overall, the water is starting to clear, possibly thanks to the addition of barley straw and pellets. Pontyrogof; Interesting idea of wattles made with stuffed stockings Victorian_bellefonte; Cork, eh? Never thought of that. It should look very natural but does it not become too waterlogged over time. How about a photo of some you are using. Nice-looking pond, too! Mary; Thanks for the nice comments. I'm hoping to put an update video soon. Donna; I have had no success with water hyacinth or water lettuce, never have; I think it might be the full sun the pond gets. Thanks for the interest and keep those ideas coming, please. Steve