Tropicals & Tender Perennials: My coldhardy tropical gardens...an experiment in the works!, 0 by wallaby1

wallaby1 wrote:
They have all been growing first in the cold greenhouse, then outside in pots. That is the plants in the bed and the Trach fortuneii. The ensete I brought in the house (spare bedroom!) for winter, it need to go in the ground to get real growth, then you need a fork lift truck to dig it and a warehouse to store it! I am going to risk it, look at the read ups on

http://www.jungleseeds.co.uk

he has some Ensete Maurelli in the ground and lots of other things, they have been growing tropicals for many years. You can build a wire cage around and stuff with straw, someone a little south of here does that and has a plantation!

The Musa sikkimensis I had 2 lots in the same batch germinate slightly apart, in July and late Sept 04. I left 2 of the first bigger ones out, one in a garage with a south window, one in the cold greenhouse, only in a largish deep clematis type pot. The garage one lost half the stem and has been slower to take off than the other one which lost all the stem to the stub, but has made a good new growth with a pup too, both in the ground now. The ensete has established, none have been in the ground for long, it is fattening up.

you should talk to bwilliams, he will tell you these things can be grown with a deep woodchip mulch, they regrow from the corm.

I have collected a few bamboos, Phyllostachys aureosulcata spectabilis, Semiarundinaria yashadake Kimmei, Sasa veitchii, Phyll. vivax aureocaulis, Phyll. bambusoides Castilloni, Hibanobambusa tranquillans Shiroshima. There are a few more I would like, but for the moment treading water! They all live outside in pots, some still small.

My Phormiums get through no trouble, we do have longer cold and not as much heat as you might have, with some things you could overwinter better because the heat ripens them and toughens them up, I lost a couple of things this year that I've had for a few years, the winter never ended. Phormiums don't mind moisture as long as they are well drained, I have sandy soil but they are tough.

A long shot of the bed