Pots - May 5, 2005

Growing plants in pots has really helped me understand the growth habits of some of these prairie and barren plants. Within the pots, I’ve tried to recreate a close approximation of the natural conditions the plants might encounter, so these plants are not luxuriating in the best of commercial growing mixes. It’s very satisfying to watch the plants go from seed to maturity. I have found that it’s difficult to maintain some of these plants for long periods in pots, but it’s not because the plants don’t survive. After the plants mature, seeds get spread to all of the other pots and the plants establish themselves where they can best grow. It kind of messes up the record keeping process when the aluminum tag on the pot clearly states that species A was planted here three years ago, but the pot is now full of species D and species A is now filling the pot that used to belong to species G.

NOTE: I’m away on a ten day excursion and have left the computer behind. So as not to have a ten day gap in posts, I’ve selected some of my favorite pictures from my pre-blogging days and set them up to automatically post one each day until I return. They may not be the best photo quality, but each identifies something of significance to me and to Blue Jay Barrens. I’ll continue my practice of current posts on July 27, 2011.