Lori: Thanks for giving me some direction. My experience with hypertufa goes back many years. I made several out of the perlite,cement and --?--. I wrapped it in plastic for the winter the first season ,it was fine but the following year it disolved so I gave up on desert plants in a northern climate.
That was 15 years ago now I am revisiting semps and alpines. I like the troughs and will continue my search. Betsy looks promising.