Tropicals & Tender Perennials: pruning & propagation questions, 0 by Buckthorne

Buckthorne wrote:
Thank you EVERYONE:)!!! I am a head gardener up here and the propagator/greenhouse manager will be very happy to have such considered information! We have many more standards in the works.

What we will be doing with these standards is lining a pool with them. They'll be going in much larger pots so the increased pot size won't be a problem. Fortunately, someone will be tending to them at least once a day every day and they'll get lots of TLC.

Kell - To answer your question, the plant is 6' tall. My boss likes lots of things trained into standards: geraniums, myrtle, bay laurel, citrus, roses.......So, we needed to devise a support system that didn't rot out and could withstand the blasts of wind that we get here on the ocean. I went to the local metal fabricator and had these metal stakes made up that are welded to a disc that sits in the bottom of a pot. The base has drainage holes drilled in to it and the bottom of the base has bolt welded to it so that there's just enought space underneath to insure good drainage. Naturally, we paint them so that they don't heat up as much in the sun. I've found that a nice almond color looks good in almost every instance. In my neck of the woods, a support like this runs $30./ea but is well worth the investment if you intend to keep your standards going for many years. Nonetheless, I'll have to see about bulking up that stem. I don't want the other plants kicking sand in poor Bruggy's face.

Thanks again,

Karl