Hanging Metal Wall Trees from My Collection on QVC

September 20, 2018

Hanging Metal Wall Trees from My Collection on QVC

Another fun planting project at my Bedford, New York farm is complete.

During my appearance on QVC earlier this week, I talked about my metal wall trees - 71-inch decorations featuring 11-rings and pots to hold your favorite flowers, small plantings, or fall pumpkins. I also mentioned another way I decided to use them back at my farm - as trellises to hold two vining, flowering plants inside my vegetable greenhouse - one vanilla orchid, Vanilla planifolia, and one jade vine, Strongylodon macrobotrys. My head gardener, Ryan McCallister, put up the metal trees and plants and they look wonderful.

Enjoy these photos. And if you don’t have one of these beautiful wall trees, go to the QVC web site and buy one today - just click on this highlighted link. It’s a great way to add a natural element to any space, indoors or out.

: This is the inside of my vegetable greenhouse. It is essentially a cold house where we grow organic vegetables in the ground all year long. Inspired by Eliot Coleman, an expert in four-season farming, this structure uses minimal artificial heat – instead, most of its energy is from the sun, and successfully grows a variety of cold hardy crops.

: I decided to hang two of my metal trees on the walls of the head house. These metal trees can be used indoors and out. My original metal trees, which I purchased years back at an antiques auction, are hung outside – one on my Winter House and another on a nearby shed.

: The trees are easy to install on any kind of wall – wood, plaster, and even concrete.

: Here is Ryan screwing in one of the branches of the tree. The entire tree attaches with three screws that are well-spaced for good balance and support.

: These trees come in gray or black and are 47-inches wide.

: Ryan ensures the tree is secure on the wall before moving onto the next step.

: The trees come with these pot support rings, which slip into the metal holders – everything is very durable.

: Here is one tree on one side of the head house door. The gray of the tree matches my signature “Bedford Gray”, which is found all over my farm.

: And here’s the other tree on the other side of the head house door. Both fit perfectly in the space provided with ample room for the growing vines.

: I use these stumps, made from felled trees on the property, to hold pots and to provide good use of space in my greenhouses. Ryan carries one over to the trees to use as supports for the pots.

: Ryan places the stump and one of two antique concrete pots just under the center of the metal tree. The jade vine will be planted here.

: As always, Ryan places a shard over the hole in the bottom of the pot. This helps the plant drain more effectively.

: For this pot, Ryan uses a good all-purpose potting soil. A healthy all-purpose potting soil contains two parts soil, one part compost and one part perlite, sand or vermiculite. We mix our own, but dependable pre-made mixes are available at garden stores. Ryan is also using my Non-Slip Grip Garden Gloves also available on QVC. They’re so useful around the garden and I love that they are made with nitrile-coated palms to help provide the nonslip grip.

: Ryan removes the plant from its pot and scarifies the root ball to stimulate new root growth.

: Next, he plants the root ball into the pot.

: And then gently hangs the vines on the metal tree branches, using the rings as additional supports. Jade vine plants are well suited for growing in greenhouses. With the right care, these tropical plants are rambunctious climbers. They need plenty of direct sunlight and temperatures above 60-degrees Fahrenheit.

: Jade vine is known for its dangling clusters of shimmering greenish-blue, claw-shaped flowers. The huge, pendant-like clusters hang from twisting stems with these waxy green leaves. It will look so gorgeous here when it is flowering.

: The other tree is for a vanilla orchid. The Vanilla orchid’s blooms are large and can be white, cream, greenish-yellow, or light green in color. Here is Ryan removing it from its pot.

: Ryan assesses the plant’s roots before repotting. He trims away any roots that look shriveled and stimulates the root ball.

: Ryan fills this pot with the appropriate orchid medium – orchids are potted in mixes containing bark, charcoal, perlite, peat moss and just a little bit of soil. The charcoal helps to filter out impurities.

: Ryan carefully hangs the vines on the tree. The stems of the vanilla orchid are long. Along the stem dark, thick, oblong leaves grow with aerial roots from each node so that the plant can adhere to its growing support.

: Vanilla orchids need bright natural light in order to thrive. A great place to grow vanilla orchids is in the southern end of a greenhouse because they will be able to receive indirect bright sunlight.