If I was a little younger - ok if I was alot younger - and I had no obsticals like husband and children I would move south just to be able to grow colocasia gigantea. I love big plants and am looking for something that will survive in zone 5.
Has Anyone Moved To A Tropical Location Just To Grow Plants?
Josh, there are alot of people who care for their plants in their basements. I have 1900 square feet of heated space, tile floors and set up lights ( clamp ons) to mimic the suns movements east to west, turned them on as the sun would move, and left the lights on for 14 hours to 18 hours a day, misted, watered and believe me it saves me from depression, saves me money since I don't spend alot on annuals any more. I wintered over all my coleus, impatiens, begonias, crossandras, tropical ferns, hibiscus, EEs, brugmansias, etc. Had seed trays for spring, cuttings rooting, bubbler tubs bubbling, and alot of fun when it was all down there, how ever, it is alot of trips up and down the stairs carrying tubs and pots of plants in and then back out, and alot of flying things ( bugs) My bananas are now outside, all my EEs and brugs, salvias, pentas,jasmines, Iochromas, epis, geraniums, I wintered over, vines, climbers, lantanas, tropical trees, once I spend a dime, I want to get my dollars worth. hmm that didn't make sense..
I do not have a greenhouse. I did find that if I brought things in before the cold sets in , they do not go thru shock, keep blooming for awhile, and then I cut alot back and make cuttings and send out.
It would be alot easier if I lived in a different warmer zone. Or.. had a nice insulated huge heated green house..
I am not the only one who does this, there are alot of people that do it, right here on DG.
I had planned to put grow lights in my basement this winter and winter over all of my plants :) Do you have a link to the lights you use? Where'd you get them from? The only thing I'm worried about is not ENOUGH light, shade plants, how does that work with the light? Do the plants seem to grow any differently?
Sorry for all the questions :)
Unless high quality lighting is used, Sun loving plants may need some supplemental sunshine (such as in a sunny window) so they don't get leggy.
Here's lighting links: http://www.growlights.net/
http://florahydroponics.com/category.aspx?id=145
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/search_10153_12605?keyword=grow+lights+&x=0&y=0&vName=&psid=92003282&sid=ISx20070515x00001a&skwcid=TC|19994|grow%20lights||S|e|6426884365
http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/guide3.shtml
What lighting would be the best for like 10 plants or so in a basement with VERY VERY little natural sunlight?
What plants do you have.
Metal Halide and High Pressure Sodium lights reproduce the spectrum of the Sun the best, for the expense.
For growing a small number of plants you would not need a large one.
Light & fixture kits are available for about $100.00, replacement bulbs are fairly inexpensive.
I had almost 20 high lumin spot lights up , the clamp on with highest lumins bulbs and wattage worked best for me, using the new spiral florescent bulbs. The shade plants were under the tall sun loving plants. the 20 lights were scattered about high pointing down about a foot or two away from the plants. the aveage plant light set up for me was 13.00 including bulb and clamp. I have two daylight windows that never get washed and usually are covered with leaves, but the little that did make it in was from the East and from the South. the vines and salvias were closest to the light outputs.
This is a small area in December
Where did you get your clamps and bulbs? I've searched through some online and they're asking 40 for one bulb and one clamp!
walmart
I can't honestly say that I moved to the tropics because of plants, but I will say I fell deeply in love with tropical specimens as to result of being offered a job in Jamaica in early 1979. At the time I was a diving instructor living in Florida and was offered the chance to run a dive resort near Runaway Bay.
While living there for nearly 2 years we loved traveling up through the rain forest region beginning in an area north of Ocho Rios known as Fern Gully. From there we would travel to the east of Kingston into the Blue Mountains. The entire area is lush with tropical plant species. If you go to the west end of the island you'll also find lush areas containing Philodendron and Anthurium species. Once we move back to Miami as a result of Hurricane Allen in late 1980 I began to fill my yard with tropical plants.
So far, I can't kill the addiction.
Steve
mableruth, you may want try this Colocasia in your area. From what I have gathered in the past it is suppose to be one of the most cold hardy Colocasia's there are and you may even be able to overwinter it in the ground with a heavy mulching.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/161422/
Of course I am one who has thought many time's about moving to a tropical zone just so I can grow all the plant's I adore. As Steve said, "I can't kill the addiction"... well, neither can I!
Thankyou RacheILF. The plant in the picture is beautiful. Thank you for pointing it out for me. I will go right to the address you supplied in Dave'sgarden and see what else I can learn about it.
Instead of using my basement as a greenhouse, I used our 3rd bedroom that had southern and western facing windows. I didn't use much more additional lighting just kept the blinds up all the time. I lived in North Dakota at the time so I did use warm mist humidifers, I just filled them twice a day. The room wasn't anywhere near 1900 lol, probably about 10x11. It worked so well that I had a palm flower. Tina
I bought some Compact Fluorescent 6500 150 watt bulbs, those should work, right? I thought I had to get lights that specifically had *plants* somewhere on them! I didn't know I could get just regular bulbs!!!!
plant bulbs have a wavelength of the light most conducive to plant growth or flowering.. any bulb will give some activity in the plant.. back in the dark ages of flourescent bulbs and the grow lights were hard to find.. and very expencive,, growers would recomend a mix of cool white and warm white for a sun like light.. this light will keep them alive.. but are unsuited to flowering of the tropicals.. as there's less intencity...
I use a series of HID lighting..I have ballasts that will switch between the electrical requirements of the HPS and the Metal Halide bulbs... two of these lights are on moving motorized cars on 6' and 10' tracks.. so the light goes back and forth over the plants.. and give light to all parts of the plants.. making turning them unnecessary .. other areas have plant spots @ 150 watts over them.. the nursery and sprouting areas have few T-5 fixtures for a total of 12....4' bulbs
Mkae sure the ballast or lamp can withstand the wattage, is my main advice. I do not turn my plants, but like Gordon, have a East West type sun movement with the lamps. I do not know what you are growing , Josh. My lights were enough to make tropical hibiscus bloom, morning glory bloom and coleus and salvia bloom inside. That is what I wanted the most. What is that you want?
Don't use these shop lights, they are very hot and hazardous. I only ran it while I was home, and for seed starting.
Well, I collect lots of plants, especially tropicals, I just want a place that they can continue to grow over the winter. I also would like that area to use to start seeds and cuttings when it isn't suitable outdoors! I can control the atmosphere much better than I can outside! I got the shop lights that clamp onto things, like you said you have, I also two *red/blue* led panels for plants online as well. I was hoping that the mixture of those and the CFL bulbs would create sufficient lighting!
you should do just fine, and get you a fan, too ;) post pics this winter as you go.
Thank you so much for the help :) We'll have to keep each other updated and such :) I'll for sure want some pics of your plants as well :)
I'd move to Costa Rica, but when I got there, they would have probably finally defoliated the rainforest.
If I could live somewhere tropical where there were very few people but there was still a huge variety and availability of plants, that'd be great, but anywhere like that would be ultra expensive I guess.
I will just settle for my greenhouse, LOL. I'm not getting any younger here, have passed the 1/2 century mark, so I guess I have to wait til my next incarnation and hope I get that coveted slot in Hawaii or somewhere.
I would LOVE Hawaii, it's the perfect tropical paradise :) A lot of places cannot ship plants there tho, can they?
Plants such as Citrus cannot be sent to Hawai'i, because of disease.
Sugarcane & Sweet Potatoes may not be shipped in or out of Hawai'i. Although Garnet and Jewel "Yams" show up at markets regularly (especially from Thanksgiving to the New Year) which are actually Sweet Potatoes.
Fresh fruit & vegetables may not be shipped from Hawai'i, without a permit.
There are many rules for shipping; such as, plants must be either bare-rooted or growing in a soil-less medium.
All living materials must legally be inspected before shipping.
Seeds are legal to ship, without inspection.
I live in NE Texas, but as a child I lived near Galveston..I've always missed living there but also remember coming up here to visit my G'parents alot during hurricane season....rather not deal with that again!
Houses here don't have basements because of the sandy soil..... I have a small greenhouse for overwintering most of my tropicals, it also shelters my inground tropical garden from north winds. I use frost cloths over my garden plants and have found that with proper mulch/protection many tropicals can survive our zone 8 winters (probably due to all of the rain we get in winter, LOL).
When we remodeled our bathroom we left space (hubby's idea, believe it or not, LOL) for my tender tropicals/orchids....simply added a grow light, and the plants love the humidity!
I also keep a small (3 shelf) greenhouse in front of our west living room window, its great for tropical seedlings or plants that need more heat/humidity during winter.
This fall we're going to wrap the sides of our covered deck with plastic and try overwintering some tropicals there too.
Though I'd love to visit Florida, Hawaii, Brazil, etc.... if I actually lived in an area where tropical plants are abundant it may ruin the thrill for me. Finding the plants is part of the fun of growing tropicals in a nontropical zone, and the fact that mine is the only tropical garden in the entire neighborhood!!
Wow and I thought I was the only gypsy around here lol. I am a native Californian but have lived and gardened in AZ, NE, WY, KS, LA, ID, and FL. I spent small amounts of time 3-6 mos or so in other states as a medical traveler but am not officially counting them here LOL.
I didn't like KS at all but maybe it was just the part I was in (SW area). I did drive through the whole state a few times and liked the east side better than the west.
Hawaii is my dream destination, not only for the plants but for the beauty as well. It's amazing there, look at that picture, the skyline is amazing.
KS isn't my favorite state, it's interesting for sure tho!