Creating a mini rock garden in a trough is very easy. It allows you to create a miniature garden a little high, easy to monitor and maintain, which will please children curious about nature.
Yarrow or saxifrage are the king plants of a mini rock garden, producing their rosette pads. They are easy and colorful plants.
Different kinds of containers can be used, whether it is a real old stone or concrete trough, a small molded trough made of fake stone bought in garden centers or a recycled zinc basin, a large bowl, even chipped, because the possible defects can be masked by a plant that overflows. Beware, however, of pottery that will not withstand the frost.
Drainage is important
The container, whatever it is, must be pierced at the bottom so that natural drainage is ensured and the trough in question does not turn into a mud bath!
Alpine plants, although very resistant to drought, generally like to sink their roots quite deep into the soil. They are therefore provided with between 15 and 30 cm of soil; if the container is deeper, the base is filled with pebbles, pebbles, shards of tiles,. Whatever you have on hand.
Which soil to use?
Clay, loam or sandy garden soil is fine. If the soil is too clayey, with a tendency to be impermeable, it can be lightened with coarse sand. If the soil is too rich, with a high moisture content, it can be lightened with gravel as well. Rockery plants are less beautiful and more fragile if the soil is too rich. The bare earth between the separated plants will be covered with gravel.
How to choose the plants?
The rock garden is theoretically created for years, and must withstand the weather without any protection. For this purpose, it is necessary to choose hardy plants. Among the succulents that are seen on sale, make sure with a specialist that they are frost resistant in your region. Some classic examples:
The sunny and warm mini rock garden
The ultimate beginner's rock garden plants are houseleeks, of the genus Sempervivum. Extremely hardy, these little shaved cabbages come in all sorts of species and varieties that allow you to achieve a cameo of color and texture with this one genus. They form a carpet of tightly packed rosettes: for example, large flat rosettes with brown tips with Sempervivum tectorum, bright red rosettes for Sempervivum 'Othello', or small, round and nicely woven with white threads for the species Sempervivum arachnoides.
Their cousin, Jovibarba, are rarer and slower to multiply. A Delosperma nubigenum, hidden behind its yellow daisies, finishes to brighten up the whole (photo). These species of plants, succulent, can be transplanted from April to September.
A shadier trough
If you only have a shadier spot to set up your little rock garden, then you need to put saxifrages in it; there are moss-type saxifrages, which are bright green and like a little more water, and limestone-encrusted saxifrages, which are very compact, in a gray-green carpet, with beautiful flowers. Indeed, the saxifrages are resistant to the drought, but prefer not to overheat, they are satisfied with half-shade, or bright shade. Their spring flowering is particularly attractive. The pots of the plants are basked before transplanting, which is best done in spring or fall.
Of course, a number of other plants can be suitable, as the world of alpine plants is vast. If you get absorbed in it, one trough after the other, if you become passionate little by little, do not hesitate to join SAJA, the Society of Alpine Gardeners.
