Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Alpines => Topic started by: Leiomerus on February 08, 2013, 01:26:59 PM
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I have planted alpines in sandstone, in tufa, in marble stone and in stone that we call in Belgium : 'moonstone', because there are a lot of holes in it.
Most people think it's only possible in tufa, but as you will notice, there are a lot more good options.
Of course, the most crazy option is of course : cobblestone. I think it's the most hard stone there is.
But let's first take a look what results one can achieve in some 'normal' stones :
Of course only pictures of Saxifraga, firstly because I'm very fond of them and also because it is a natural rock loving plant.
1/ Saxifraga 'Cumulus' growing well inside this 'moonstone' (I don't know how it's called in English ?)
2/ Saxifraga 'Red Poll', very happy to have a spot inside a sandstone.
3/ Saxifraga 'Winifred' planted in 2002 inside a little hole in a big marble rock. As you can notice, 'Winifred' loves its rock.
4/ Some Saxes planted in sandstone.
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Very effective Leiomerus. You might have seen that Ian Young has had some success planting into old concrete blocks too.
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Very interesting to see how well the sax is doing in marble, which is usually not very porous.
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Now some pictures of alpines I'm trying to grow inside cobblestones, even harder stones than marble. That's what my good stone drill (Dewalt drill) told me, because the drill had some trouble when I drilled some holes inside the cobblestones. When I used a smaller size of drill bits it went better.
1/ This is the little rock garden I made, only using cobblestones.
2/ This is a picture of the hole i drilled inside a cobblestone after a day of rain. When it stays dry for a day, the level of the water in the hole drops 1 cm. So, even
a hard cobblestone is still a tiny bit porous.
3/ Androsace globifera inside a cobblestone. It's only one rosette, but it had an amazing amount of roots. I managed to put all the roots inside the little hole.
If you look carefully you will notice an other little hole I have drilled a bit lower, this hole connects with the one the Androsace is planted in. So the surplus of water
can get away.
4/ Normally I don't do that with my marble stones and it might be hard to believe, but the plants don't bother. Here is a picture of Saxifraga 'Your Song' inside a marble
stone when it's raining. This Sax. is growing in a hole with no other connections, it's only a hole 15 cm deep and the surplus of water can only get away because of
the effect of the wind, the sun or the draining capacity of the marble stone. This Sax. also grows on an almost flat surface. The first year is always difficult, but the
plants growing in marble never die, only birds sometimes like to destroy these little plants.
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This is another example. You will see a picture of Saxifraga 'Excellent' from March 2012. This Sax also grows inside a little hole on top of a big marble rock. So it also gets a lot of water. It was planted in Spring 2011.
The second picture is from December 2012.
Compare the two pics and you will also jump to the conclusion that it has grown a lot in only a few months.
8)
Although the marble is far from porous, the plants do like to grow in it. ;D
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Most rock is far from porous. If porosity were a "must" the alpine flora would be confined to very small patches. Most plants will grow very well in granite, limestone or indeed, as Ian has shown, in old concrete blocks. (Fresh concrete would have a too high pH) It is the substrate between the rocks that is important.
Göte
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Of course, most people use tufa rock to grow alpines inside a stone. It works very well.
This is why I started this, to prove it is also possible in many kinds of type of stone.
If you walk around in the mountains, you don't see tufa, but other types of rock and full of plants in the cracks and fissures of even hard rock.
Of course it is possible in old concrete too, but I prefer 'real' stones. ;D
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Here are some other rock plants I have planted inside cobblestones :
1/ Saxifraga matta-florida, a Sax. that does not produce many flowers. So, let's see if the hard life inside these hard rocks will stimulate this Sax. to take care of some offspring. ???
2/ Saxifraga 'Niobe', a nice Sax. which makes a nice cushion with sometimes a few sessile flowers. It's already a 'big' plant, but it hadn't many roots so I managed to squeeze the whole root system inside the little hole. It's always important that all the roots are kept, otherwise it's much more difficult for the alpine to grow inside the rock. Especially the lowest roots, the 'delving' roots should not be damaged. Therefore it's always wise to only plant little alpines inside rock, since they have not yet an extensive root system.
Of course I'm not always that smart. ::) :o ;D
3/ The last one is a part I detached from a bigger plant of Silene acaulis.
Silene acaulis grows very well in my situation, but no way you will see any flowers. And in the mountains you will see thousands of flowers on it.
Maybe we should deprive the Silene of too much food, starve it a bit. So I planted it in a cobblestone. :o
I will be very excited when this should work ......
We will notice in a few months if the plants will be happy ..
and me too. ;D ;)
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You seem to be having wonderful success. I always think of tufa and I know that the roots will really delve into that rock. I also grow in crevices, real and man-made, and the rock is not tufa. With the crevices, though, there is a lot of depth for the roots because the rock (graywhackie) is
quite hard. I've never tried planting in the rock because it doesn't drill well at all.
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It looks great. It will be interesting to see how the plants do with time. If the rock is as tight as it sounds, their root growth will be restricted pretty much to the size of the originally-drilled hole. As long as the root mass is enough to sustain the plant, I imagine the top growth may be able to spread out across the surface of the rock with time?
The difference with planting in holes drilled in tufa is that the rock itself usually has quite high porosity and permeability such that roots may be able to penetrate beyond the originally-drilled hole and, I suppose, collect some water and nutrients (there can be a fair bit of organic matter trapped in tufa due to its origins, i.e. algal binding of sediment and precipitated calcium carbonate). It might still be a somewhat restricted environment but in nature, life exists wherever and for as long as it can...
I agree that planting in crevices though (in nature, these would be along bedding planes and fractures) would give the best opportunity for roots to go as deep as they might want.
Great experiment!
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Of course you need a good drill. When I first tried this, I borrowed a Hilti, a professional drill. Of course, I needed a good stone drill of my own.
At first I tempted to drill a hole in marble stone with an ordinary Black and Decker drill. After 10 minutes the Black and Decker was broken. It was still under guarantee, so I got a new one, but I didn't use it for this purpose anymore. ;D
12 years ago I bought a good stone drill : Dewalt. It costed at that time more than 8000 Belgian francs, that's now 200 Euro.
But it's really a good one and it still works fine.
You should try it, Astragalus, it's amazing, but it works.
I never had any tufa, I only bought some last year.
Maybe the plants will grow faster in tufa, but I'm not sure. If I compare, there is not a lot of difference.
I also grow a lot of plants in sandstone, and it's much cheaper than tufa.
This sandstone is not that hard, to give you an idea, if you drill a hole in it and you fill it with water, the water will be vanished (or swallowed by the rock) after 10 minutes.
Here some pictures of (of course) Saxifrages in sandstone :
1/ Saxifraga 'Ann Beddall' in sandstone, planted in 2011
2/ Saxifraga 'Your Smile' in sandstone, planted in 2009
3/ Saxifraga 'Peach Melba' in sandstone, planted in 2011
All pictures are from Spring 2012
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I do not agree, Lori.
The plants do grow inside the rock, either if it's tufa, marble, cobblestone or sandstone.
All plants only have a restricted room for their roots : 10 cm deep and 0,8 cm wide. But they grow and flower each year more and more.
Just take a look at the picture of Saxifraga 'Winifred'. Its cushion gets bigger every year, if it would not grow inside the rock, it would have starved a long time ago.
This nice Sax. is growing in marble rock since 2002.
They grow inside the rock by using their delving roots with the help of bacteria and fungi, in this way the plants are capable of dissolving the rock and doing so, taking the rock's nutrients.
It's also a fact that plants which are growing inside rocks are much stronger than the ones growing in the open rock garden.
When I plant an alpine inside a little hole in the rock, I use the dust produced by the drill (in fact very little rock particles), I mix it with coarse sand and some fine sand. That's the only medium I put inside the hole I drilled. That's it, no peat or compost. In this way the plants will have to look for nutrients inside the rock. ??? ;D
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This is a fascinating discussion. You've given a lot to think about and I'll be doing some experimenting this season. Thanks for starting the topic. One question - are your drilled rocks in full sun or are they shaded?
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It would be most interesting to hear if Dr Rock (Dave Millward) has any views on this ??
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Just do it, Astragalus, you will be surprised. Of course, when you plant a preferably small alpine, you should give it water when it doesn't rain, but only for some weeks. After that the plant should be able to take care of its own.
A long time ago, I think in 1996, I also planted some alpines in this sandstone rock (the same one of which I posted a picture in the beginning, with all those Saxes, now in a better place) But the stone got sunshine almost all day long and it was not a success. I think the most plausible reason was also that I made the mistake to plant the alpines in a mixture of mostly peat and chippings. Maybe it's strange, but by using peat the plants are initially not stimulated to grow inside the rock. This also means they are more prone to sun burning.
I have planted a Saxifraga marginata in a marble stone, it's there more than 10 years. I never really looked after this one. Never gave it water when the weather was hot, I forgot all about it. Between 2003 and 2009, I had some other hobbies and so I rather neglected my alpines. So they had to take care of them selves.
Talking about this Sax. marginata, this plant is on top of a big marble rock, very exposed and gets all weather elements, including a lot of sun.
After all this neglect, it's still alive and kicking.
Most saxifrages will never get burnt from the sun, as long as they have water at their roots.
Now, if a hard stone like a marble rock, takes up very slowly water, this means that it also very slowly loses its water reserve by evaporation. So, since it rains a lot in Belgium, its water reserve should always be at a good level. This is probably the reason why I have never ever lost a plant, growing inside a marble rock. :o
When I say never, I lie a bit, because I did lose plants growing in it, but this was only due to blackbirds who love to play with little plants, especially young ones that are planted only a few months. It also depends on the spot. Some spots are frequently visited by these feathered devils and other places are always left in peace. You never know it beforehand, only by trial and error.
Is there a Dr Rock, Luc ?
Interesting, some people call me Mr Stone. ;D ???
1/ Here is a picture of that Saxifraga marginata I talked about, its grows together with a splendid yellow lichen. Also a recently planted Saxifraga 'Sissi'.
2/ This is the rather little rock my Saxifraga 'Winifred' is growing in. 'Winifred' is now happy to have the company of a lot more Saxes. Some were planted a few years ago, the lower ones. The others only in 2012. Also an Androsace. The names you will see.
This side of the rock gets only 2 hours sunshine. There I took some precautions. ;D
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Is there a Dr Rock?
Oh yes! Dr David Millward is a geologist. Many posts in the Forum and articles in the main SRGC Website:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/monthfeature/content.html (http://www.srgc.org.uk/monthfeature/content.html) "Land of the upside down Tulip" in two parts
and for the Rock Garden, the IRG and , and .... 8)
[attachimg=1]
Alpine Plants: Ecology for Gardeners
By John E. G. Good and David Millward
Alpine Plants: Ecology for Gardeners explores ecosystems above the treeline on mountains and beyond the treeline in sub-polar regions from a gardener's perspective. It looks at the effects of geology and soils, low temperatures, precipitation, drought, and snow on the morphology and life cycles of alpine plants — including perennial herbs and grasses, annuals and biennials, prostrate and dwarf shrubs, bulbs, and cushion plants. Armed with an understanding of how plants function in these extreme environments, gardeners will be able to tailor their cultivation practices in lowland gardens to mimic the alpine habitat as closely as possible. A concise introduction to the science behind the success of alpine plants, this fascinating and accessible book is an invaluable complement to more plant-focused references.
http://www.timberpress.com/books/9780881928112 (http://www.timberpress.com/books/9780881928112)
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Hmmmm, maybe it should read this ..... :)
I might become a bit less crazy. ;D
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I do not only plant saxifrages inside my marble stone, here are some pictures of other plants :
1/ Androsace hirtella x (of course not the real one, mostly you get hybrids between Androsace hirtella and cylindrica)
Although this high alpine requires a lot of drainage, it feels fine without it. It grows inside this marble rock in a single hole I drilled, about 10 cm deep. The growing
medium consists of the leftovers from the drilling job, coarse sand and crushed shells. Normally the birds are fond of this Androsace, but for now, they leave it alone. I
seem to have found a good spot for it. When the sun shines in summer, the Androsace gets about 7 hours of sunshine. Of course the slope of the rock tends towards
the east.
2/ I also recently planted an Asperula sintenisii, I think it will feel good inside its marble rock.
3/ I can't end without a Saxifraga : this is Saxifraga bryoides planted to enjoy a cobblestone.
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Now a Sax. I planted this summer inside a beautifully coloured marble stone. Sometimes I think I'm rich, there was a time that only rich people owned marble in the form of stairs or a mantelpiece. I have more than 50 tonnes of marble stone, so I call myself rich. Lol. ??? ;D ;D
Of course, I use it for other purposes. ;D
Here is Saxifraga 'Jaromir', I will be amazed when it will flower, for it's rather a big Sax, but you never know .....
Anyway it will make a nice hard cushion on this rock. The cushion will absolutely be hard, it's a hard stone after all. ;)
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A Sax. that is also always nice for the cushion alone is Saxifraga paniculata minutifolia.
So, it also deserved a place to live inside a marble rock. :)
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Sorry for not replying sooner to Luc's "challenge", but things have been hectic here lately. References to DrRock remind me of some colleagues of mine on the staff of the Geological Survey here in the UK from the 1980s and 90s, by the name of Drs Rock, Stone and Basham - yes really, I'm not making this up!! Drs Rock and Basham were both petrologists, and Dr Stone a field geologist like myself.
Leiomerus, this is indeed a fascinating experiment. I hope you will continue to keep us posted on how the plants perform in the longer term.
I'm not sure that commenting on the rock types you have from the photographs will be very reliable but I shall try anyway. I know of no rock called moonstone here in the UK. This name is usually reserved for a semi-precious "stone" used in jewellery where moonstone is the mineral adularia (one of the feldspar group of minerals, that is: sodium potassium aluminium silicate). The rather knobbly and 'holey' appearance suggests to me that this is a limestone. The weathered surface of many limestones show such holes as a result of dissolution of the rock by the slightly acid rainwater. Such crevices in limestone areas are a distinct habitat for all sorts of small plants, including bulbs.
Some of the other rocks you have also seem to be a limestone. The name marble is used in the stone industry for a wide range of rock types, many of which are not made of calcium carbonate. In geology marble refers to a limestone that has been metamorphosed deep in the Earth's crust.
By contrast, the rocks in which you have Saxifraga matta-florida and 'Niobe', and Silene acaulis for example are igneous - you can clearly see the crystalline character of these. Both of these rock types will have almost no porosity and therefore will not allow water to flow through their mass. Water will only flow in these rocks both when the rock is fractured and that the fractures form an interconnected network. Such fracture crevices are a major site for alpine plants in the wild.
This is very different from tufa, a freshwater limestone. As has been said this is often highly porous - but very importantly the pore spaces are interconnected, allowing root penetration and water to be drawn through it by capillary action. Pumice (a volcanic froth) has a similar interconnected structure and ought to be a similarly good growing substrate: unfortunately it is not easy to obtain large blocks unless you live in a volcanic region.
I was interested in your comment that your sandstone block drains well. It seems likely here that the rock has many tiny, interconnected pore spaces between the sand grains - you can see small holes on the surface; any "open" fractures would enhance the water flow. So, in a sense the structure of your sandstone is superficially quite similar to that of the tufa and pumice.
So in summary, we have two quite separate groups of rocks - those that have interconnected porosity and those that are impervious without fractures. Intuition says that the former ought to perform well in the garden whereas I'm not sure about the latter, particularly over the longer period. There is plenty of good evidence that alpines will grow well and live for long periods in tufa and, by extension in your porous sandstone. But do remember that not all sandstones have pore space.
One particular concern is with those plants in the impervious rock - the plants seems to be doing well whilst they are young and small. However, Saxifrages like many alpines have a huge root system compared with the growth above ground. Growth of the root system will be severely restricted as there is no space for the roots to penetrate the rock unless it is fractured. What will happen to the plant as it gets older - will it maintain good health and flower power or will it gradually dwindle?? So please do keep us posted.
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Many thanks Dave ! 8)
A much appreciated scientific look on things. I'm sure Leiomerus and many others will be very interested !
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Soft sandstones do sound good possibilities in the absence of being able to locate tufa - I wonder how they get colonised with plants in the wild, even in the absence of fractures? I suspect that the crevice garden is always going to be the most effective way to grow a lot of plants in the long term because of the extensive root systems that Dave refers to - surely only lichens and maybe mosses (in very wet places) are likely to grow for really long periods on 'hard' rocks? I would have thought holes would need to be drilled right through to the substrate below if plants were really to establish.
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Thanks for the appreciation, Mr 'Doctor Rock'.
Of course I will experiment further with planting alpines in 'hard stone', there's no doubt.
Thanks for the information about the stones.
Here is mine : the 'moonstone' is indeed a type of limestone, I already knew that the holes in this limestone are created by acid water, which dissolves the softer limestone. The harder limestone is left with a lot of holes in it.
The marble stone is indeed the result of the enormous pressure executed on deep buried limestone by the earth above it. This way a hard limestone is created.
Ideal for lime loving plants like saxifrages. At least, that's what I think. ;D
The cobblestone or I rather think it's porphyry, should be igneous. That's why I planted Silene acaulis, Androsace vandellii, Saxifraga bryoides and Sax. 'Niobe' inside these.
These plants all love rather a more acid medium than lime.
Now I know for sure it's igneous, thanks for that.
Of course these are the hardest stone's there are, but they do have some porosity.
I did an experiment and drilled a hole in this cobblestone. Than I filled it with water.
After a day the water had dropped 1 cm, this means the stone had swallowed some water. It was only 5 degrees Celsius when I did this, so it was not by evaporation.
My sandstone is much appreciated by the plants (and by me). It surely has an open structure, but not as open as tufa. When you poor water on tufa, it's away after a few seconds, whereas this sandstone makes the water disappear in ten minutes.
Now some explanations about the plants. High alpines are adapted to grow inside rocks, in cracks, in little holes. But by doing this, they also grow inside the rock where they have found a home. Of course, these high alpines have not much food, when they grow in a rock. They make a cushion, and the old leaves, on which the new leaves grow, are used by the plant as food and also as a water reserve. Most of the energy comes from the sun, so the plant can also grow through fotosynthesis. The rest of the food the plants needs, is taken from the rock it grows in. The plants roots even will penetrate the hardest rock. This they perform in symbiosis with the little creatures that live en masse on their roots : bacteria and fungi. With the help of these, plants can grow inside rocks. The roots of plants in combination with bacteria and fungi do dissolve rocks. To explain it in a very simple way : bacteria get carbon from the plants, the bacteria produce acids when they digest the carbon, these acids help to dissolve the rock. A bit like bacteria that make nice holes in your teeth when you eat candy (or sugar or carbon)
I have written a whole explanation on this topic at my website : www.rots-plant.be (http://www.rots-plant.be)
Of course, I'm not a scientist, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested in this matter.
Not everything I write can be true, but a great deal is true, I believe, especially because of the things I see with my own eyes.
I do like to experiment and I think I already have proven that for instance saxifrages can prosper several years growing inside a little hole of a big, hard rock.
You already saw Saxifraga 'Winifred', this one is planted in 2002 inside a 'moonstone' and inside a marble stone. That's more than 10 years.
These are all pictures from today : full of promising buds and as healthy as can be :
1/ Sax. 'Winifred' in 'moonstone' 11 years
2/ Sax. 'Winifred' in marble 11 years
3/ Sax. 'Your Song' in 'moonstone' I think more than 15 years
4/ Sax. 'Excellent' in marble 3 years
;)
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After a day the water had dropped 1 cm, this means the stone had swallowed some water. It was only 5 degrees Celsius when I did this, so it was not by evaporation.
I don't think it needs to be very warm for there to be evaporation of liquid. There will be some wind, perhaps and that can also cause water loss, don't you think?
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Leiomerus - it is certainly impressive to see that you have plants over ten years in limestones, and it will be encouraging to try something similar (although it would be really nice to use tufa!) - I suppose in a way it resembles gardeners growing bonsai, so long as there is moisture available and a small amount of nutrient they will grow very slowly. The 'proof is in the pudding', but scientifically the important way is to compare different methods of growing plants; and Nature must provide the best examples, so I still think cracks and crevices with deeper root run will be more successful. Even though stone will be slowly broken down, this occurs very slowly, more in geological time, and plants naturally are adapted to easier situations.
What would be really interesting would be to plant up similar sized blocks of different materials (like this block of tufa) and compare how plants develop over long periods. It certainly looks as though some of the stone you have used can be very effective, and I'm not sure many gardeners would ever thought of using them. There are also good examples from years ago in the AGS Bulletin of gardeners using 'Hypertupha' very successfully, and there must be great opportunities to play around with these ideas.
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I don't think it needs to be very warm for there to be evaporation of liquid. There will be some wind, perhaps and that can also cause water loss, don't you think?
This week I will drill another hole in this cobblestone, fill it with water, cover the hole with a plastic bag and a stone, so no evaporation can take place.
Then I will see if the water level drops or not. ???
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Thanks Tim.
Of course, the more nutrients and space for the roots a plants has at its disposal, the better it will grow.
But alpines are sometimes a different matter.
There are some rock plants I lost over the years, but luckily I still had some growing inside a stone..... ;D ;D
I'm already comparing the results of the same plants (mostly Saxes) growing in different type of stone.
For instance, I have Saxifraga 'Cumulus' growing in my sandstone, in marble, in the limestone with the holes (what we call 'moonrock' in Belgium) and in tufa.
Saxifraga 'Your Song' I have also growing everywhere.
I have already compared Saxifraga 'Jaromir'. One in marble and one in tufa, planted at the same time.
The one in the marble looks the best for now.
The experiment with the cobblestone is only going on for three months, so I can't see the results yet. Therefore you certainly need a whole year.
I planted 2 little plants of Androsace vandelli inside a hole in this cobblestone, this is a plant which needs a lot of drainage and in this hole they get none.
After 3 months one is dead, because of too much water, I also planted it a bit too deep, but the other one stills looks very good.
I already planted an extra one to replace the one that died.
We will see what the future brings. ;)
Hypertufa is a stone that you can make yourself, I suppose ?
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Yes - 'hypertupha' was described by Fisher way back in 1936 - a mix of Cement (1part), sand (1 part) and Peat (2 parts), all by volume. It is much more used for covering old glazed sinks (or making sinks) than for actually casting 'stone', but Fisher showed a nice example of it planted up in a trough after five years, with saxifrages and sempervivums and it looks very effective.
He used a box of fine sand and a range of good jagged pieces of stone to make moulds to cast the 'tupha', and there must be a lot of gardeners who have tried this since. There are many more recent descriptions but I don't think many gardeners have actually shown examples of plants growing after quite a few years, and these would be really interesting.
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One has to be little careful when dealing with materials bound by portland cement (yes the "portland" is often dropped) The pH is initially very high. Too high for plants. Fortunately this extra alkalinity is eventually neutralized by carbon dioxide in the air and water. I would be worried about growing directly in hypertufa that has not been aged long time enough. A through covered by hypertufa would be less of a problem since the high alkalinity would be restricted to the interface between the container and the compost.
Aerated concrete (Thermalite, Durox, Celcon and that ilk) is porous and has connected pores but also that has a pH that is too high for plant life. Again: it can be neutralized by carbon dioxide.
It is possible to neutralize using other acids than carbon dioxide but the result tends to be disintegration of the binder.
I would buy a roll of the type of paper that shows pH by changing colour and test before using any of these materials unless properly aged (meaning years).
Good luck
Göte
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Hmmm, I prefer stones over hypertufa.
Here are some pictures of saxifrages that are living inside my marble stone. You can see the development of these little plants over three years.
1/ Here is Saxifraga 'Johann Wolfgang Goethe', planted almost a year ago.
You will notice that the first year the plants suffer a bit, because of the lack of food (they are planted in a mixture of coarse sand, fine sand and the leftovers of the drilling job) and also because of a lot of water. The marble stone takes it up very slowly, but the Saxes don't seem to bother a lot.
2/ This is a picture of Saxifraga 'Marie Curie'. 'Marie Curie' is in her second year, growing inside her big marble rock. She's already taking food from the rock itself and as you can see, she feels really good.
3/ Saxifraga 'Allendale Ghost' is at home on his marble rock. He has been there now for 3 years and already starts making a nice cushion with almost ten flower buds.
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Even in this very cold weather, already going on for quite a time, there are some alpines that start to show their flowers, even growing inside a stone.
You will think it's a Sax, if you start to know me a little bit, but no, it's a Draba. ;D :o
This is Draba sphaeroides in a sandstone, gets a lot of winter sunshine now and seems happy with that. 8)
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Here are the first flowers this year of a Saxifraga growing inside my marble rocks.
1/ Saxifraga 'Louis Armstrong', a little plant has been put inside a little hole in September 2012.
This Sax. shows its first flower, only one, but don't laugh, next year there will be a lot more. ;D
2/ This is one with a lot more flowers. That's normal because Saxifraga 'Excellent' has been growing in this rock for three years now.
On its rock, this Sax. didn't mind all the rain, the snow, the freezing, the wind it has experienced this winter.
It grows inside a hole the size of my index finger without any drainage. Does it seem to care ? 8)
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I find these posts very interesting, thank you Leiomerus.
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Here is Saxifraga 'Marie Curie'.
Very happy inside her marble rock, as you can notice.
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Another little plant inside the marble : Saxifraga 'Allendale Ghost' ;D