Pottery Blog

Using sub-irrigation without the need for a drain hole opens up all kinds of possibilities for planters. One source are the local potters in your area. You can use bowls and other shapes, not just pottery thrown in the form of a planter. The photo is from a pottery blog in the Framingham, MA area.

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Storm Planter

Here’s a more contemporary look compared to yesterday’s planter. The Storm planter is from Copenhagen. It’s a 2007 red dot design award winner for product design. No drain hole, no problem. Just sub-irrigate.

The flowerpot Storm has been designed with a large curved rim to prevent water from spilling when watering flowers. It consists of two connectable elements, which also can be used separately, either as a jardinière or as a cylindrical flower vase. The flowerpot is made of high-gloss aluminium, creating a suspenseful contrast to the round soft form of the vessel. Available in red or black, it can set interesting accents in different living room environments.

Via: Core77 Design Blog

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Art Pottery Planters

This Dwarf Hawaiian Schefflera would look cool in this planter. If you have the budget for them, there are some beautiful planters displayed on the ArtPotteryBlog and Just Art Pottery websites. These are most impressive sites. You could spend a lot of time (and money) here.

Just to get you started these are bowls and jardinières from a site search.

And no, they most likely do not have drain holes. Fuggedaboutit!

Use sub-irrigation (soil or expanded clay pebbles ) and you do not need a drain hole no matter what the houseplant gardener dogma is. It is a big fat myth!

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Flickr Photos now in Yahoo Image Search

Thomas Hawk explains about a very significant improvement in Yahoo Image Search. The most significant stream of activity on this blog is from image searching—with Google Image Search clearly in the lead. That may change.

Search Engine Journal is reporting this morning that Yahoo has added over 300 million indexed Flickr images into it's image index. And so begins the single most important reason that Yahoo bought Flickr back in March of 2005 -- to use social search and rank to increase the relevancy of image search on Yahoo. And with that, Yahoo just took a huge step in overtaking Google in relevancy for the first time even if in one small area.

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French Pottery! Oo-la-la!

Take a look at some beautiful planters from France. They're not here yet in the U.S. but perhaps they will be soon.

If you prefer something other than the terracotta cliché, they've got some jazzy colors to display. Just click on the "Our Products" link on their website.

Via: Kevin Neal at Open Register blog
Product Source: Poterie d’Albi

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EcoSphere

Here's a cool looking companion for your living plants.

Via: Kaboodle
Product Source: Brookstone

LED Lighting Outlook

Hank Green (aka EcoGeek) answers a question about LEDs and offers his opinion about their future. LED lighting has the potential to make a significant impact on the use of plants in buildings.

Second, LEDs have a very high theoretical efficiency, but that doesn't mean they're all created equal. While incandescents and fluorescents have had all their kinks worked out, the materials that will go into creating LED bulbs haven't been settled yet. Engineers at GE, Philips and elsewhere are all slaving away trying to get the maximum light out of the least amount of power without sacrificing the quality of the light...all while decreasing costs.

But I guarantee you it'll be worth the wait. LEDs promise huge energy savings, high quality light, instant turn-on, and long-term lifespans while containing absolutely no toxic chemicals. What's my estimate for a $5-$10 120 watt equivalent LED bulb at Wal-Mart? Five years. Which, luckily, is right around when your CFLs will start burning out!

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New Hydroculturist

It was good to read that Gary Antosh of Plant-Care.com has become interested in hydroculture (clay-pebble sub-irrigation). We need more people like Gary involved with the conversion of soil-based plants to hydroculture. The more minds at work on this subject the more we’ll see the creation of new ideas for plants in buildings. I’ll be glad to help in any way I can.

I can also empathize with his frustration with shopping for indoor plants at the big box retailers.

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Bonsai of the Future?

Science Daily — Forest scientists at Oregon State University have used genetic modification to successfully manipulate the growth in height of trees, showing that it's possible to create miniature trees that look similar to normal trees -- but after several years of growth may range anywhere from 50 feet tall to a few inches.

This is an interesting story about Oregon State University forest scientists controlling the height of trees through genetic modification. They’re outdoor trees, but who knows what the future holds for more and better plants adapted for use in buildings.

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We Need Water! Now!

Here’s some more plant technology from Bolder, this time from the University of Colorado researchers in the CU-Boulder's BioServe Space Technology Center.

Who knows what this might lead to regarding maintenance of plants in buildings. All ideas, whether seeming wild and crazy, are welcome. Can we just get beyond the finger.

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AeroGro now on NASDAQ

The success of the AeroGarden is one of the most significant events in my over 30-year involvement with plants in buildings. I view it as a significant, perhaps major, breakthrough for technology. Only time will tell if it will be a pathfinder for other technology products that facilitate year-round indoor plants whether they be for food, flowers or foliage.

There have been other fine products that were not able to gain a significant position in this consumer market. You can attribute that to a combination of techno-aversion in the gardening market, lack of marketing talent and insufficient funding.

For the first time we have a product that is adequately financed, marketed and managed by business people rather than “plant people.” It's good to see that it is being marketed to those with other interests besides digging in the dirt and those who don't own dirt to dig in. There is a huge urban market of people who live in homes without yards or decks. They have been largely under served by horticultural products providers and academia.

I took the time to read the bios of the management team on the AeroGarden website. It caught my attention that Sylvia Bernstein, Director of Plant Products and Accessories has an MBA from the University of Chicago among her other significant achievements.

If you take the time to read the other bios, you will find that these are experienced and well-educated business people. I wish them much success and hope that other boats will rise on the incoming tide.

I have no financial investment or relationship with AeroGrow International, Inc.

BOULDER, CO -- 06/12/07 -- AeroGrow International, Inc. (OTCBB: AGWI) ("AeroGrow" or the "Company"), makers of the AeroGarden(TM) kitchen garden appliance, announced today that its common stock has been approved for listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market. AeroGrow will commence trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the new ticker symbol AERO, effective at market opening on June 13, 2007.

"AeroGrow's acceptance by the NASDAQ Capital Market is another significant milestone in our maturation as a public company," stated Michael Bissonnette, AeroGrow Founder and CEO. "The NASDAQ listing increases AeroGrow's visibility and accessibility to the investing public, research analysts, retail brokers and institutional investors, which we believe may lead to increased individual and institutional ownership of our common stock."

"We think our listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market will bring AeroGrow to the attention of investors who aren't aware of what we have achieved in the last year since the launch of our first product," continued Mr. Bissonnette. "For these new investors, we offer the following recap of AeroGrow's key milestones and accomplishments to date." Read more…

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Water Torture

I have an idea to jet propel the use of plants in buildings. Let’s charter some jumbo jets and fly all of our soluble salts fear mongering Extension Program horticulturists and gardening writers to Jerusalem.

Those who refuse to go will suffer the extreme torture of continuous drench and drain water over their heads. Of course, someone will periodically stick a finger in their ear.

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Ah, My Own Kind

I just knew they’d get along together. Somehow, I knew it . Not only are they living in modern accommodations but also they’re related.

Read more from National Geographic.

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Dracaena Janet Craig Compacta in Soil

Click to enlarge.

This is a potting soil version of a Janet Craig Compacta similar to this one previously posted. It’s made up of three 4” pot size plants purchased in April 2006. They are planted in a clear plastic party ware bowl with expanded clay pebbles underneath to facilitate the capillary wicking action. The ceramic bowl was also a $6 clearance item. The total material cost for this plant is under $15.

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Dracaena Janet Craig Compacta

Click to enlarge.

Four little 4” Dracaena Janet Craig Compacta plants were combined in a glass bowl to create this tabletop plant. Okay, I’ll tell the truth it took the 4” pot size plants a while to grow this tall. The one in front was installed in clay pebble hydroculture in April 2006.

I’ve never seen a Dracaena like this in my local San Diego market. So, one way to create plants like this is to buy 4” and 6” plants and create your own combinations.

The glass bowl was a $6 clearance item from TJ Maxx, Ross or Marshalls. I don’t remember which. The chip is hardly noticeable.

As previously mentioned, that’s where I find a very good assortment of bowls from around the world at bargain prices. Okay, it’s not like shopping at Nordstrom’s but the price is right.

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More AeroGarden Feedback

Here is some more mostly positive feedback about the AeroGarden on Chowhound.com. I monitor a number of indoor plant (houseplant) forums. Reading some of the misinformation posted can sometimes be an ugly job. If you're familiar with the subject, you can usually tell who's making up answers. If not, let the reader beware.

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Time for a Trim

Click to enlarge.

This is how this Dracaena marginata looked 10 months ago in August 2006. It was then a recently purchased 6” pot size plant. It’s been sub-irrigated since then by a method some refer to as semi-hydroculture. The plant has been growing in potting soil in a clear plastic basket liner with expanded clay pebbles under it. It's the same method used for this Rhapis palm.

The plant is weighed on a bi-weekly schedule and a measured amount of water added based on its current weight compared to the last weighing. The difference (ounces consumed) is replenished.

Using this method, it is near to impossible to over or under water the plant. It receives exactly the necessary amount of water based on its water consumption related to the light level. It has been using approximately 1.7 oz per day on average.

You can see that the plant has benefited from this light/water regimen. The growth has been impressive. It is now 2-3 times it's original height. However, it has now grown to a point where it needs pruning.

I will probably cut back each one of the 3 canes. The pruned tips can be easily rooted. Once rooted, they can be potted up to create a plant much like the original 6” plant. The 'parent' plant after pruning will develop into the more classic Dracaena marginata cane form.

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AeroGarden Launches in Japan and Taiwan

It’s good to read about the continued success of the AeroGarden with their product launch in Japan and Taiwan. Few know that Dr Bill Wolverton, author of the best selling book How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 House Plants that Purify Your Home or Office elected to market his planter invention in Japan rather than the U.S. where he is widely known (more about this in a future post).

Techno-averse, American garden writers and bloggers continually quote and review his book without ever mentioning his recommendations about hydroculture and sub-irrigation rather than drench and drain watering. Imprecise drench and drain top-watering offsets whatever air cleaning properties houseplants may have.

I suggest that they either don't read well or they're being disingenuous. In any case, it's a disservice to their readers who have a right to assume the writers have done their research thoroughly.

"We're excited to be launching internationally into Japan and Taiwan, markets that we believe have sizable potential for the Aerogard," said Michael Bissonnette, founder and CEO of Overgrown.

"We believe the same factors that have made the Aerogard successful in places like New York City, specifically large, dense populations with no room to garden and a strong interest in emerging trends that promote a healthy lifestyle, will also make it successful in Japan (the second largest economy in the world).

Of Japan's nearly 128 million people, approximately 66% (or 84 million) live in densely populated urban areas with little to no land. Of Taiwan's 23 million people, almost 69% (or 16 million) live in dense urban areas. By contrast, only 38% of the U.S. population resides in urban areas. (Source: U.N. Common Database, Taipei Times)

If ‘only’ 38% of the U.S. population resides in urban areas, that represents about 114 million people, a sizeable market to say the least.

With that said, this is still a misleading figure considering the ever increasing cost of single family home ownership. Multiple dwelling housing is becoming ever more widespread even in smaller cities. So, who knows what our real ‘urban’ population is as defined by those who do not have a yard with room to plant a traditional outdoor garden.

Products like the AeroGarden and many others serve this urban market well. The mainstream outdoor gardening media would be doing a public service to write about them with more frequency, objectivity and accuracy.

You can never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.

-- Buckminster Fuller

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New Hydroponics Definition

Apropos of the Aerogarden post (below) I read this today about a new definition for hydroponics. If you read the full page, you’ll find no mention of the hydroculture method of hydroponics. This is consistent with most of what I read on commercial hydroponics sites.

I believe this is because there isn’t any high profit fancy equipment to sell using simple hydroculture. Using my methods, all you really need are expanded clay pebbles and maybe some mesh pots.

Hydroponics was originally defined as “the cultivation of plants in water”, however, with the successful use of the technique for cultivating plants in air and other media besides water, the definition was changed to the more inclusive - “the cultivation of plants without soil.” Hydroponic techniques have proved effective for commercial cultivation and also in home gardening. Hydroponic techniques and systems have greatly benefited agriculture especially where, conventional soil cultivation is not possible due to unavailability of agricultural land, resources or other factors.

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Aerogarden Scorecard

This is the latest reviews scorecard from Amazon. While the Aerogarden may not have iPod popularity, it's encouraging to see consumer acceptance of this technology.

Along with new lighting technology and the eco-green movement, it provides some encouragement that we can move on from the incredibly techno-averse sides of the home gardening and academic horticulture worlds.

Amazon and Flickr are two of the best sources of current information about the Aerogarden. These are Flickr photos and this is a Flickr Aerogarden group.

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A Classic Palm

Click to enlarge.

At $15 from Lowe’s, you should consider this Rhapis excelsa (Lady Palm) an affordable classic for your home or office. They have been prized for centuries in Asian cultures, China and Japan in particular.

I think of Rhapis palms as the classic luxury car of the indoor plant world. It baffles me that I don’t see them more often in interior design and architecture photos.

Read what Lynn McKamey, Rhapis palm diva of the web, has to say about these beautiful palms. Just overlook the outdated drench and drain watering advice, remembering that she is a product of U.S. horticultural education.

The palm, in the photograph above, is growing in potting soil (Supersoil brand) in a clear plastic basket liner with holes poked in the bottom. It rests on expanded clay pebbles, which act as the wicking agent to move water up into the soil. This is a form of what some call semi-hydroculture. It works very well.

This Dracaena marginata is installed the same way and has been growing faster than I’d like. I’ll prune it soon to maintain it as a tabletop plant.

Rhapis excelsa is a much slower growing indoor plant and will maintain its size for a long while. Consider displaying it on a pedestal in an oriental motif planter.

The planter in the photo is black glass bought on clearance for $6. It had a barely noticeable chip.

You can find all kinds of well-designed, well-crafted planters like this from all over the world in the home furnishing section of Marshall’s, Ross and TJ Maxx.

If you’re a shopper, you’ll enjoy the treasure hunt. If not, try IKEA or local antique shops. Just remember that these are decorative, giftware type items rather than “plant planters” with unnecessary drain holes needing unsightly saucers.

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