Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Now I've done it!, 1 by vcb1

vcb1 wrote:
I have a big white BOP at one end of my pool in the ground in full FL sun. Two years ago one of the trunks was about 25 feet high. During our 2 major hurricanes that season that trunk broke and brought down my screened pool enclosure -- frame and all. Those trunks get like trees and they're very heavy. They also send out lots up 'pups' and you'll get new trunks growing all around it. The flowers are also amazingly heavy and fill with some kind of sap or other liquid that the birds and bees and wasps like to drink.

I've let mine grow back but I'm keeping the pups under control so it doesn't go nuts. I don't have to worry about the pool screen anymore since I fenced instead of replacing it -- I got sick of replacing screen every time the wind blew hard. It is a magnificant looking plant. I'd agree with others that if you want to keep it under control, plant it in a pot but plan on a huge pot if you really want a specimen plant.

Here's mine today -- you can see it's already towering over the fence.

-- Vicky