Why vertical gardens fail
Most vertical gardens fail for ordinary reasons: plants that don't suit the light or heat, water that stops, and nobody looking after the wall. Delhi's public vertical gardens showed all three in 2018.
Sources checked
What happened to Delhi's vertical gardens?
In 2018, civic bodies put vertical gardens on flyover and Metro pillars in Delhi. By July, the NDMC was swapping delicate plants for hardier ones after many died. It blamed the summer heat. Experts quoted in the same report blamed plant choice, poor maintenance and small pots. (Hindustan Times, 8 Jul 2018)
In October the paper found dried plants and empty pots at several sites, months after installation. (Hindustan Times, 1 Oct 2018)
What are the usual causes?
- Wrong plants for the light. A fern on a wall in afternoon sun won't last a summer.
- Water stops. A timer fails, a line blocks or the supply is cut, and the wall dries in days.
- Nobody looks after it. Pests, overgrowth and blocked emitters build up unnoticed.
- Heat without a plan. Sun-facing walls need tougher plants and more water before the monsoon.
- Too little root room. Small pots dry out faster. Ask any installer about pot size, including us.
How does a modular pot wall help?
Each plant sits in its own pot. When one tires, its pot lifts out and a fresh one goes in, without disturbing its neighbours. Tap a pot below to see.
Lift a pot
Every plant on a Greenwall wall has its own pot. Tap any pot to lift it out and see what it is.
On a keyboard, use the arrow keys to move between pots and Enter to lift one.
What keeps a wall alive?
Regular visits. Under a Greenwall annual maintenance contract, a gardener visits every month for cutting, pruning, pesticide, fertiliser and an irrigation check, and sends before and after photos. See what maintenance covers.
Sources
- NDMC steps in to save vertical gardens from thieves, city heat. Hindustan Times, Delhi edition, 8 Jul 2018.
- At vertical gardens, dried up plants and empty pots. Hindustan Times, Delhi edition, 1 Oct 2018.
Sources checked .
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