Retro planter, Tassie style.

Welcome to our patio! Today in putting the cart before the horse: setting out my concrete cone planter. There’s so much I want to do out here (hey, walls and tile, I’m talking to you), but today I’m all about that planter. My house is never going to be a mid-century masterpiece, but I love these things.

Before I get into it, I want to mention a very quick update: removing the screen door. These diamond-mesh aluminum screen doors are common in my neighbourhood, and they always make me think of crime-ridden areas where houses have bars on the windows. They look mega forbidding, no? Since we’ve never used it or needed it as a screen door, I made an executive decision to just take it off. It didn’t even have a spot to latch into! So much for security.

Okay! Now I can talk about the planter.

This killer retro planter (found at a secondhand shop, passing cat inspection) had been patiently waiting for a plant. I gave it a fresh coat of paint: matte spray paint for the base, primer+paint for the concrete shell, with a couple coats of satin poly on top for additional protection. So far so good, but what on earth could I plant in it that would match the awesomeness of the planter itself?! This had me stumped.

It had to be something sculptural, like a cactus or a snake plant. Naturally. But it would also have to cope with a shady location in our cool climate. And on top of all that, I also wanted something impressive and a little bit unusual. Something special.

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(Huon pines growing along Gordon River; a sapling found on a bushwalk; a bowl made from its timber.)

Huon pine (Lagarostrobos franklinii) is a legendary tree. It’s a Tasmanian endemic that grows along riverbanks in damp conditions, and not only is it renowned for its rot-resistant, buttery-smooth golden timber, it’s one of the slowest-growing, longest-lived trees in the world. This little tree could very well outlive me, you, this house and all of western civilization. When the Australian continent bakes dry and Tasmania begins to sink into the sea, this tree might be there.

I’ve been enchanted with the idea of having a tiny Huon pine of my own, so I picked one up from Plants of Tas Nursery. They put out these weeping branches and the trunk can’t catch up. It’s graceful, yet endearingly gawky. I’m not worried about it outgrowing its container any time soon.

As for planting it out, here’s the extra-detailed series of events:

1. I inserted a mesh piece at the very bottom, so soil wouldn’t fall out of the hole.
2. I lined the inside with a layer of coir peat, for water retention. (I got one of those coir bricks, stuck it in a wheelbarrow, poured water over it and let it expand.)
3. I filled the planter with native potting mix, and then mixed in a generous amount of water-retaining crystals. Huon pines like non-compacted damp soil.
4. I planted my little tree into the planter, watered it in well with Seasol, and added a generous layer of bark chip mulch.

I also added a few black mondo grass clumps to keep him company. They’ll fill out, slowly.

He’s been in his pot for about a month now, and he looks happy enough! Happier in that pot than in the ground, I figure, given that we don’t live in the western Tasmanian rainforest. He gets a lick of morning sun and then sits in shade all afternoon.

(Knock on wood here, I really don’t want to tempt fate, but so far I don’t have any worries about leaving this planter outside in our neighbourhood. Citizens of Hobart, I believe in you. I also have photos and watchful neighbours, in case the unthinkable happens.)

Have you got any container plants you’re partial to? I’m curious about other native plants in containers, though I like anything pretty, really.

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