I am in Northern Albera, where in a good year summer lasts from mid-May to mid-September. Most topiary I have seen has been outdoors -- indoor ones have always been fake or in a conservatory or other place where there is a "master" gardener. Is there a fast growing annual I can use or should I look for a bush? If I should look for a bush, what would be good? We are designated Zone 2 but I have occasionally grown Zone 4 plants and have a healthy Mountain Ash busily re-reproducing itself every year.

What am I looking for in a topiary plant? Does it have to be a woody plant? Can this be done indoors? For example, can I plant the front and back feet in two different pots and grow plnnts this way so I can bring it in for the winter?

This is a cage-type of topiary frame, not an espalier(sp?) type of frame.

Has anyone ever fixed up a topiary frame with artificial flowers/plants? Will I need to go this route as I am planning on moving to BC in a couple of years and don't want to damage the frame or whatever plants when I uproot things.

Any ideas are welcome. This is not something I would have chosen for myself, but now that I have it, I'd like to take on the challenge!

Yhsnks so much for any ideas or suggestions!

Congrats on getting a nice frame. Do you think that playing with Topiaries is something you want to do or do you just want to do this one? If you think you may be interested in getting more or making your own frames I suggest The Complete Book of Topiary. It's a neat little book with tons of projects and plant suggestions.

If I were you and going to be moving I would grow a tropical or annual vine on it until I knew where I was going and keep it in a pot to bring indoors. There are a lot of vines that you can get as houseplant that you could use, like ivy, hoyas, jasmine, passion flower. They'd look great and wouldn't have to be 'permanent'. Once you move and you know what kind of plants you can grow you can put it outside and grow another kind of vine on it or fix it to the ground and grow a small shrub inside it to take the shape like boxwood or anything that grows well in your area. Maybe you could stuff it and cover it with a vine or small plants or some sedum or some Hens&Chicks. Your choices are pretty limitless.

But you may love the way it looks as a houseplant topiary and decide to keep it like that. Good luck.

MrBrownThumb

I don't *think* I want to get into topiary as I tend to prefer natural forms in plants and trees. And with 3 dogs, I am being forced to appreciate it more! :-) However, depending on how successful I am with this one... :-)

It is quite a long frame, about 3 or 4 ft from the nose to the back legs, and in two sections. About the only plant I can get here is ivy, and my track record there is pretty poor, partially due to a very dry climate. Our stores do get jasmine occasionally, and that is a lovely, fragrant thought! Doesn't it need fairly high humidity though? I've had it before, and while it survived, it did not grow.

What do you mean by stuffing it? Lining it with moss, filling it with potting medium and placing plants so they protrude like in a moss hanging basket? Wouldn't that make it incredibly heavy to move? Since it is split down the middle, I'm thinking it would be prone to collapsing in the middle.

Would you put the front and back feet in two different pots and grow two plants, or just do one and let it gradually take over? One would be so much easier for housecleaning purposes! If I do the pot thing, do I need to cover the soil with moss? Any indoor topiary I have seen has had moss on top.

I guess I'm off to the library after the holidays! :-)

Yes, that's exactly what I meant by stuffing some of the Topiaries you see are lined with moss and filled with soil or either compeletly filled with moss. It could get heavy and filling it would probably not be the best option for you if that's going to be a problem.

Sounds like your best bet is to grow a vine on it. You could do it either way. Put one set of feet in a pot and grow a vine up that way or you could put one on either end and grow two vines on it. You'll get faster goverage with two plants. You don't have to put moss on the soil if you don't want to...it's just for decoration there. You could cover the soil with pebbles to keep your dogs from digging, you could grow something smaller at the base like Mondo grass or geraniums that trail over the pot. It's really just a matter of personal choice.

Good luck.

MBT