12-Pocket Vertical Garden Planter

I did a lot of research on living walls and hands down, Florafelt came tops and for a host of excellent reasons. I haste to add I have no pecuniary interest in the company; just a big fan. Here are my reasons. 1. Felt: there are lots of felt systems out there, most a lot cheaper but I think Florafelt's higher prices are amply justified. They use much thicker felt and each planter is made from one continuous length folded up and down to make the pockets. This gives a much larger water reservoir than you would get with most systems. It's also made from recycled plastic bottles ticking that green box. Felt also has the great advantage over potted systems for being a lot more visually discreet. I've seen potted systems which possibly work better in huge commercial settings where space isn't an issue. Felt pockets are much slimmer and can be easily upscaled to a vertical hydroponic system with continuous irrigation that Florafelt have as an option. 2. It lasts! Most other felt wall systems will only last you a season. Plants and soil sit directly in the pockets and as roots grow into the felt it is impossible to remove the plants without damaging the felt. Florafelt have got round this by wrapping each plant in a felt wrap which then sits in the pocket. Fine roots will find their way into the pockets but they tear away easily. You can change plants, swap them round, and your pocket system is intact. 3. Well designed: I'm impressed by how well they've through their product. Each panel comes with 4.5mm drip irrigation pipe at the top which is compatible with other drip irrigation systems like the Gardena Microdrip which i use for the rest of my garden. The corrugated plastic backing is lightweight and sturdy making for easy installation. It's easy to alter by cutting too. I installed my panels by a rockery waterfall and easily cut out steps in the panels to hug the rocks. There are neat details too. Eg even the bottoms of each panel come with an extra skirt of felt allowing you to tuck it into the panel below allowing for efficient flow of irrigated water between panels. 4. Support: they are passionate about their products with loads of helpful tips on their website and great with support. I'll be posting photos of the panels once the plants have filled out nicely.

We bought 7 panels, 6 are hanging together in one square. It is very easy to place, the wall stays dry, watering with a automatic drip system works perfect. The looks are awesome. There are no competitors for this product as far as I can tell. Quality of AliExpress items doesn't reach a quarter of this quality. Price is high but worth it.

Truly an incredible product. I am close to saying I have the best downtown balcony because of this product. Buying several more. Add solar powered auto pumps for water and the you can really make a cool setup.

Easy to install and can change out plants when you want to. It may be the way I wrapped and pocketed the plants - although I did go to the website and watch the video - but just watering from the top isn't working completely that way for me. I am growing a small succulent garden and while the plants are growing great, I have to hand water those at the top more often with a very small, long spouted watering can. The water seems to drip down and out at the bottom without thoroughly wetting those on the top row. However, it's great against a stucco wall...the backing keeps moisture from sitting against the wall. When I get better at this, I will buy another one and extend my vertical garden!

This product is awesome, very durable and a creative use of recycled plastic. With the root wrappers, it's so easy to rearrange your plants or replace plants that aren't working. We purchased 4 of these panels from the maker (Florafelt) and they've worked so well that we're adding another two on top to fully cover an outside wall. Lots of complements, and it turns an otherwise boring space into something awesome.

I actually have two of these that I purchased back in January. I wanted to give it some time before reviewing. I use this indoors on a brick wall that has an opening behind it, so it is not flush with the wall. For indoor applications, if you choose not to set it up to a drip system or a trough for it to drain during the watering process, just know that you are in for a serious time investment. What I have resorted to doing is either taking the system down every week to water it in the shower, or removing the plants from the pockets individually to water them in the sink, allowing them to dry out a little bit, and then returning them to to wall system. I also mist the system with a spray bottle because I have some ferns in there. The top method will put your shower out of commission for over a day and night, while the water soaks through, and while I think the second method does a better job of watering, it takes more time and is disruptive to the plants. Like others have stated, top watering has not worked effectively for me. When I experimented first with top watering, I found that many of the plants towards the bottom were bone dry. Everytime you move the system or plants from the pockets, you will spill water and dirt. Another concern that I have is with the pockets. In every Florafelt video you will see, they appear full and easy to open, and of a size that will accommodate plants and some soil. With both systems I purchased, I was nowhere near able to stretch the felt to an adequate opening size, or one that I could compare to what is shown in the videos. The felt pockets have very little give, and I feel more fabric was required to get them to a manageable working size. I spent a lot of time trying to get these pockets to open more. To give a size comparison, my husband can barely fit his fist into the pockets after stretching. This gave us some trouble trying actually to fit plants in there. I had a selection of small and semi mature plants that I was hoping to use (neon pothos, philodendron (silver, gray, marble and others), boston and bird nest fern, among others). I had to take out a lot of soil to wrap in the pockets. What you get initially is a small balled up plant wrapped in a rubber band, sitting in the middle of the pocket. The rubber bands provided were tight and did not allow you to use the full width of the pocket. I thought that it was really unsightly to have one small plant in the middle of a pocket, with lots of black felt around. I was pretty amazed by the videos because it does not look this way when installed by the professional, who was able to fill it up very full, with little to no black felt showing. The reality is not this way. What I had to do was buy preserved moss to fill in the empty spots. It looks better, but definitely adds to the mess. Lighting: I have built my own lighting system for this wall, which consists of led grow lights at the top and bottom side of the wall system. The wall also gets regular indirect sunlight throughout the day from a north-facing window. I think this is a requirement even though unsightly wires. I have had these pockets up for about three months now and some of the plants have been able to grow in a little better, however it is nowhere near what the photos in the advertisements show. Growing is not great, I think, because the plants are so constrained in the pockets. However I am hopeful for springtime fertilization and perhaps more growth to occur. I have lost some plants throughout the time period that I have had this up. You will see in the picture that some are doing better than others. Verdict: this is the review I wish I had before going all in with this system. Even without hooking this up to a recirculating water and trough system, the costs of the panels themselves, lighting, and plants/moss really does add up. The time and mess is also something that is really something that you need to consider. While I always get positive comments about it, keeping this wall system alive and looking good is a constant job that requires real effort, and even after all this time I am still not happy with it. I still look at the picture in the advertisement and wish I could get something like that, but it might be out of reach for an amateur.

These are very high quality pockets. So far, we are pleased.