I have been experimenting with troughs on a sunny porch, since the rest of my yard has been decimated by an exploding deer population. Since a majority of plants suitable for a trough are better acclimated to an alpine climate, it's been a pretty rough go given our summer heat and humidity. But over the past few years, I have a number of successful tough plants that appear to be thriving. But I'm new to trough gardening and have a number of questions. The soil I've been using is about 1/3rd clay pebbles (meant to serve the same purpose as gravel, but lighter so the troughs can be moved more easily), 1/3rd coarse sand and 1/3rd coarse bark-based soilless potting mix. I know most of these plants thrive in a lean soil, so I don't fertilize and I haven't been amending the soil in any way. Should I be fertilizing or amending the soil annually? One of my dianthus (D. grationopolitanus Nyewood Cream) has formed a dense cushion 10 inches across and is nearly occupying the entire trough. Seems happy, though a very shy bloomer. Maybe a little fertilizer would boost the bloom? Should it be repotted? Also I am aware that many of alpine plants need to avoid winter wet. A couple weeks ago, I moved some troughs under an awning so they receive no rain at all but due to the low angle of the winter sun, they're still getting full sun. But I looked at the troughs today and they are bone dry. The plants still look fine. Does avoiding winter wet mean no water at all? Or should I water them sparingly maybe once a month over winter? Any advice would be well-appreciated!

Hi Scott--I am no expert on the thing, but, I will tell you what I have learned by desiccating plants... they die.

That said, many plants do just fine dry and dark all winter.

Avoiding winter wet just means avoiding soggy conditions generally, and especially during winter dormancy. It doesn't mean no water ever, at all, or if one drop of rain blows in from the side that everything dies.
The lengths you must go to, to avoid winter wet and rot, are directly related to how much rain you actually get and how well-drained your media is.
I made a lot of planting areas very freely draining all concerned about the 'winter wet' issue, which I don't have a problem with here because snow isn't wet until it melts But of course, now, summer is my biggest problem because it doesn't rain here then either.

Anyway,
Nyewood Cream is a nice one; it has topped out at about a 2' spread here so you might consider planting it where it has more room.

It has also been a consistent massive bloomer for me without any fertilization and our deer don't eat it.

Thanks for the info.
I think I should be less paranoid about the winter wet issue.
We don't get that much snow - when we do, it melts rather quickly.
But we can get pretty cold - usually less than zero a few times each winter.
But just as often we have a crazy warm spell mid winter with temps near 70.
I guess I'll just go with the notion that my plants will need to be tough.

I am a really big fan of scoria or pumice in a trough mix to not only make it lightweight but keep it permanently oxygenated/draining well, so you never have to worry about wetness.

Most folks don't fertilize troughs unless that trough is for very hungry plants (like Aquilegia, or bulbs) or they are gardening in a really wet climate.

Containers getting bone dry in winter is a real pain... I struggle to keep an eye on them because they seem to go gracelessly from an ice cube to totally freeze-dried. I resign myself to "when in doubt, water a little." Everyone has to sort of suss out the balance to strike in their climate... there is a long-standing tradition of piling snow on one's troughs.

I have a Little Rock garden (4'x18") beneath a spreading crabapple facing west. It actually does well but every year it is covered in leaves from the tree. In the spring I start getting the wet leaves out from on top of my little plants. I was thinking of putting a little canopy over them to reduce the chance of rotting in the spring. I have lost only one or two tiny plants thus far. I could even leave it all winter as when the wind blows it brings in leaves from other places. Any thoughts?

Oh, I live in Anchorage, Alaska

I reccomend Atlas Daisies!! Super cute! Super fun! Super Fuzzy! Does not care about being wet that much!

I can't think of any reason a little canopy wouldn't work, except to block sunlight, but how much of that do you have in winter way up there? I can imagine how soggy leaves could smother some small plants, not to mention the aesthetic drawbacks. I have similar issues and I've never come up with a remedy: I have a little rock garden and some river rock-covered areas, and cleaning them of leaves in the spring is tedious, although mine are usually dry. I suppose a leaf-blower would work, but I'm not going buy one to use once or twice a year. So far, hand-picking has been my remedy.

I have a battery powered leaf blower that is light weight and does a great job year-round of keeping leaves and cottonwood tree pollen out of my raised rock garden beds.

I have one too and unfortunately last fall I didn't bother to use it...nor did I do much of any fall clean up, and yes, I have a big mess this spring

Wish I was closer, I would come help you with spring clean up.

it'd be awesome if we were closer for soooo many reasons besides that--thanks for the thought

I sure miss you guys.
If I have a gathering at my new place, would you come. Early part of June?

Dirt, I'm not going to wait til then: hopefully my parking reservation on your property was approved by you and ASA for early second week in June on our CO trip back to OR?

Yes Bev!
We are looking forward to your visit in June, and now I understand that it is the early part of the second week that I need to finagle some time off work
Lynn, I'll be lucky to swing that

Here are some blooms from my troughs this spring. Though I threw in a few from the yard as well. All my plants are still small but made it through a couple years, so hopefully will gradually clump up. The plants are:
1. Helianthemum nummularium Henfield Brilliant.
2. Erodium petraeum
3. Saponaria unnamed hybrid from Wrightman Alpines
4. Aethionema saxatile
5. Saponaria lutea
6. Myosotis terglouensis - teeny tiny flowers
7. Minuartia verna. Foliage drapes off the sides of the trough with blooms all along.
8. Alyssum oxycarpum
9. Dianthus Dainty Dame
10. Silene alpestris Flore Pleno
11. Geranium sanguineum
12. Phlox subulata North Hills.
13. Potentilla neumanniana Nana
14. Phlox x Crackerjack.
15. Lewisia 'Constant Comment'
16. Dianthus Grace Bay
17. Rhodohypoxis Hebron Farm Red Eye - has to be overwintered in garage
18. Daphne x hendersonii Fritz Kummert. Still a tiny plant but I love the dark green tiny foliage and deep red buds opening to white flowers with red reverse
19. Marrubium rotundifolium - just for the fuzzy felted leaves. Flowers are forgettable.
20. Erysimum John Codrington
21. Valeriana montana
All of these have made it through several years of totally non-alpine conditions, so hopefully they'll continue to do well.

Your troughs must be beautiful.

Thanks, Lynn. You'll notice my photos are generally close ups of the flowers, not the entire plant or trough - it's because my plants are generally still young and haven't formed those wonderful mounded globs of color we get to see in pictures of Dirt's garden in this thread. I have a couple plants doing super well (maybe even close to Dirt-worthy!) but most are still a slow go. I'm at least pleased that a number of plants seem to be tolerating my climate OK and maybe with time I can show the entire plants!

Scott, I look forward to seeing your plants in their mature form. They will be beautiful.
I am in that same process right now. We moved summer of 2020.

We all start somewhere, and you may find that those fast growers now might want to take over tomorrow. Funny, I first grew Valeriana supina in a trough and it grew and spread so much and so fast the first and second year, that I labeled it as invasive. But in a 3.5 inch pot it just stays alive.

For scale, the pink behind is a normal Dianthus callizonus, about 2-2.5 inches high.

Where do you get your alpines from? I have a hard time finding affordable sources that don't just sell stuff like sedum or semps