Pamela Crawford Living Wall Planter

With 15 flexible holes, a variety of standard nursery plants (2.5" to 4.5" roots) can thrive in the Living Wall Planter.  Each planter measures 14"W x 14"H x 5"D.  If hung individually, the Living Wall Planter holds nine front plants, six side plants, and three top edging plants for a total of 18 plants.  Through preliminary trials, succulents such as Echeveria type and Sedum 'Angelina' did well.  Also foliage plants such as pothos, spider plant, ferns, ivy, syngonium, and dracaena did well.  Almost all annuals including dragon wing begonias, coleus, purple queen or purple heart, wax begonias, sweet potato vines, lantana and gomphrena thrived also.  Depending on the outdoor space needed to decorate, the Living Wall Planter can be hung alone or in multiples.  Hangers are included with each Living Wall Planter.

Planting

1. Stand the planter on a table because you will be planting from the top.  Wet the root balls of the plants, squeeze them and slide them through the bottom row of holes.  Add potting mix (use potting mix-not potting soil, garden soil or top soil for all plants except cacti and succulents, use a mix specially formulated for cacti and succulents when planting these plants).
2. Repeat the same process until you have finished planting the holes.  Plant one layer at a time.
3. Tuck in the edge plants along the top.  Be sure to leave about 3/4" space between the top of the potting mix and top edge of the planter.  This space cuts way down on watering time and makes it much easier to water evenly.
   

Hanging
Two J-hooks are included with each planter.  J-hooks keep the top of the planter away from the wall, but not the bottom.  Since most walls are concrete and can withstand moisture, many people just hang the Living Wall Planter using the included J-hooks and are not concerned about the small area of contact at the bottom of the planter.  However if this is an issue, to keep the planter away from the wall tucking spacers such as plastic bottle caps at the bottom corners of the planter keeps the whole planter away from the wall.

If you are interested in hanging more than one living wall planter together, do not plant the edges that will touch or the plants will not have room to grow when you hang the planter.  As you plant each layer, fill the unplanted holes with small wads of newspaper to keep potting mix from escaping.

Watering
Hand water slowly from the top to give the water time to absorb all the way to the bottom of the planter.  Water with a gently spray until a steady stream of water is flowing from the bottom.  If planters are hung one above another, water as mentioned plus water the front and side holes of the bottom planter until the potting mix is saturated.  Do not over water.  Wait to water until the potting mix at the bottom is dry to the touch or the plants are showing signs of wilt.