Please give me some hints or tips on if I did this right. I heard an idea long ago that I could plant some annuals in a bag of top soil. I put these bags where I don't have any flower beds. I bought impatiens and made an "X" for each flower, added some Osmocote and watered. Then the flowers would grow tall and bushy to cover the bag. Did I make a mistake in using topsoil instead of potting mix? I don't think there will be enough nutirents in the top soil for the flowers to thrive. Any help?
Yes, I have done this several times with impatiens and petunias. You need to have a green bag, cut 4 x along the front of the bag and insert your plant in each x. Leave the bag to sit for about 3 - 4 weeks in early spring so the roots can grow. Then hang up. Look beautiful.
If you had drainage holes, and not growth, was there enough light? Impatiens come in two varieties, one takes moderate watering and med. light, the other takes LOTS of water and more shade. Do you know what you had? Also, you are correct that the topsoil had no significant nutrients. It's intended mostly to fill in bare spots in the lawn, and adding Osmocote might have been too slow in "melting" for the impatiens. I'd go with Miracle Grow potting soil for outdoor flowers, if you can afford it, and I'd use only a half bag for impatiens-sized plants, if planting from the top. I'd suggest planting from the back or front and lay it down. Those roots can grow sideways as well as down. They aren't deep rooted annuals. If you go to this much trouble, why not look for some perinnials for your region that will not need replanting but should return each year?
I have a short story to tell you. I transplanted a Texas silver sage into a medium Mexican clay pot one Fall, with the intentions of letting it winter over and planting it somewhere the following Spring. To protect it from the ice, I set the pot and all into a thick cotton pillowcase, then wrapped the whole pot in an old sheet. It cracked with the winter ice and yet the sage has grown to five feet, lived for five years longer so far, in almost no pot, little soil, food or water, and utter neglect hidden in my wild herb garden overgrowth, blooming it's heart out for me each Spring,beneath a plum tree that's beneath a huge Mulberry, and practically no direct sun, which is unheard of for a Sage, patiently waiting until I find a place somewhere for it. lol. Only in Texas! God is good . God bless you. : )
Well, they're just annuals. Better luck next year. See if you can rip a hole in the bottom for the roots and surplus water to exit. Actually, I just just use the 'plant in the bag' method for starting seedlings. I suppose if you stood a bag on its short end and put a plant in the top, the roots would have plenty of space. Around here it's too windy to do that. The bag would be all over the sidewalk in a matter of days. And, the bag might leave a stain if you propped it up on wood or paint. Propping it on a decorative lawn rock would be ok.
Did you make drainage holes in the bottom of the bag? You might also have better results if you remove the top of the bag completely before ferytilizing and planting. Try googling " instant raised planting bed construction" for more information.
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