Hello garden_chicken! The trough I bought is approximately 2 feet long, and maybe 8-10" wide (at the top)?? It is the kind that is narrower at the bottom, and gets wider as you get towards the top. Does that make sense?? I'm not at home, otherwise I would just take a picture and post it. I'll try to remember to do that... I purchased it from a small, locally owned nursery. The owner of the nursery told me the tufa troughs and planters they had for sale were made by a local woman. I paid $25 for it, which I thought was a good price for as large as it is. The only thing is, as I already pointed out in my posts above, it has no drain holes, and the edges around the top are still rather rough (I'm still wondering where to get a piece of granite or something to use to smooth out the edges??) So I've got to try and work on it a little bit before planting my mini hostas in it. Hope this helps!! Thanks, Buff

I am a conifer nut too, and that is definitely Blue Star juniper. Yes, it is rather common now, but rightly so! It's a great plant jspece, thanks for the ID of that most interesting plant. Sagebrushred, your experience with the rising temperatures is typical. Even with established plants in pots (or in the ground), it's amazing what shade can do in the trying time of the season. I had a few trays of assorted alpines in mostly sun, and they were doing fine . . . or so I thought. Company came over, and I moved them to a very shady spot. They remained there for a week, and when I went to put them back, it was like they had been rejuvinated! I have small alpine willows that are very particular about the heat, but even my potted Pulsatilla turczaninovii benefitted from the shade. Grandmasgarden and all, maybe we should make better use of our exchange page. Wouldn't want those excess seeds to go to waste. I have a few kinds of alpine seed, and I just put them on the page. How 'bout it, any takers? Sagebrushred, in fact I have made troughs with powdered terra cotta coloring, sort of. I taught and supervised some GW friends on their first ventures. Julie had the coloring. I wasn't too excited about it, but they were their troughs, so I wasn't about to discourage them. And actually the results are quite pleasing. Incidently, I guess at one point I was remiss in my supervision, as both of their troughs have a layer tufa that is not packed as well as the rest. Both at the same level. I worried the troughs might separate at that weak point, but everything seems to be fine so far. In reality, that layer adds to the beauty of the containers, giving them a natural strata quality. I just might be experimenting a bit in the future, and an incorporating a facsimile thereof. Rick

Are you in London? Western Fair is Sept. 5-14. If you think that there is enough time, then I would love for you to make one for me, if you don't mind. I had thought to give the plants time to "grow" into their new home...but this could work! Let me know if you're up to it and what I can do for you in exchange. Maybe you could "borrow" my exhibitor pass... Fran

I have not had great luck overwintering hostas in my hypertufa pots, of which I have many, in different sizes, some are even bottomless in my attempt to ensure good drainage, which is super important in the winter and early spring. Most of my hostas that stay in the tufa pots have survived the winter, but often they are damaged and come back smaller, depending on the severity of the winter. These are pots I just leave out, exposed. The things that come though the winter the best for me ( of my potted ones) are the ones that are completely buried so that the level of the soil in the pot is at the same point as the level of the soil in the ground. So I am guessing that the freeze thaw freeze thaw thing that happens to unburied pots is a big part of why those ones get damaged in my yard. ..that, in combination of not being too wet. Just my opinion! THe ones I bury are just in plastic nursery liners- I do not have the energy to bury anything in a hypertufa pot. The hypertufa itself does fine over the winter...I don't do anything to protect that.