I am new to gardening and wrought like to plant some wrought iron troughs for winter colour. What do I line the trough with please and where do I buy it! Thank you

Sallygold.
If your containers are a standard size you can line them with coir liners, or you can buy it by the yard and make them to the right size yourself. Any good garden supply store should have it, or check online.

Welcome Sallygold....I agree with Hetty. If you have a good nursery near by they should have it.

For a bit different look, you can also use spagnum moss, which comes in bags at garden centers or craft stores.

Are these troughs made of open-work like wire? or are they solid? Photo please.

I get most of mine at Home Depot or Lowes. They eventually break down and need replacing but that's a good time to freshen up the soil and plantings anyway.

>> plant some wrought iron troughs for winter colour.

I've never done that, so consider ignoring this thought: won't wrought iron rust rather quickly? And look unsightly, dribbling wet red rust down it's sides or out the bottom? And then fall apart sooner than it would otherwise?

If it's unpainted, you might consider a waterproof spray paint.

Or perhaps line the inside with black plastic film to keep wet soil or coir away from the iron. The black ought to be fairly inconspicuous. Coir could go inside the plastic.

I should stress that I'm guessing and have ZERO experience planting in metal containers, or ornamental containers. But I would love to know how people do use wrought iron without it dissolving in a few years.

We have several metal, wrought iron and cast iron baskets and garden art but have never had any problems or issues with rusting.

Now I realized I'm wrong. I do have one metal chair that holds a container and that does rust but still looks nice. I should refinish it this winter to preserve it.

>> but have never had any problems or issues with rusting.

That's great! Surprising to me, but great.


I know they protect propellers against seawater by connecting some zinc to the bronze propeller. The zinc corrodes instead, because it's more chemically active which makes it the "anode", and protects the bronze by turning it into the "cathode". Or I may have those two words reversed!

Maybe (wild guess here) the one that is rusting would slow down or stop if you set a piece of zinc under one foot.

Thanks, Rick. Do you think if I wore zinc innersoles it would stop me from rusting?

As long as the zinc is more chemically active than the rest of you!


It is better to wear out than to rust out.
- Bishop Richard Cumberland

The Bishop is right!

To protect metals from rusting.

First clean any existing rust.

Next use a Asphalt base material such as roof coating, or what they still use to seal wood water tanks, just make sure its "Water Potable"

Most of those "wrought iron" window boxes and hanging baskets are powder coated, which lasts pretty well unless the coating is damaged.

You can get pre-formed coco fiber liners for most shapes and sizes at big box nurseries, or online which is sometimes cheaper.

Sallygold!

Gardeners Supply is a mail order company located in Vermont and they have these AquaSav™ Windowbox Liners in 3 different sizes; 24, 30, and 36 inches. They're priced in sets of 2.

http://www.gardeners.com/buy/a...

If you're interested in these....

They also have Hayrack Hanging Baskets

http://www.gardeners.com/buy/f...

You could contact them regarding the 18 inch size. When they state, "This Product is No Longer Available", they could be just temporarily out of that size and may have it back in stock soon. They do have the 14 inch size available now.

They offer Hydro-Mats that you could use in the above item (Hayrack Hanging Baskets), if you wished.

They come in: Set of eight 7" x 7" mats or 15' L x 21-3/4" W roll

http://www.gardeners.com/buy/h...

They also offer:

They also have AquaSav™ Replacement Liners, Set of 3

http://www.gardeners.com/buy/a...

They come in 12, 14, 16 and 18 inch sizes.

I've ordered from Gardeners Supply many time for about a decade and have been happy. I just haven't ordered of the above items from them yet. There are a lot of positive reviews for each of the products that I've listed.

Hope this helps you.

Marilyn, she only posted once and that was Oct 2013!
Good info though!

Didn't notice it stated 2013.

When I plant into my coco fiber baskets, I use black plastic, pierce holes in it and line the fiber before filling it up with soil. It tends to help hold moisture in better as the coco fiber does not. On topic, I have not had any problems with rust on my baskets. But I think they are painted iron.