Tropical Gardens and Plants 108

Ohhh the humidity, the huummidityy! Arrrg. I have quit on pulling out the hundreds of weeds out of my rock-beds out front because of high heat/humidity, so they are growing tall and numerous. I can't stay out there this month.

Elaine, my Pigmy palms closest to the house (on a slight hill are almost shriveled and dead), the ones at the end of the driveway (not on a hill) were doing great for about 3 months but just recently started looking frizzled and less lush, but still look alot better than the others. I know they all have that dang Frizzle-Top problem but they also just want to turn brown and croak with little new green growth (had frequent rains though).
Three just completely died, so am chopping them down.
Here is one photo of a pair near my house (on a slight hill)....

Jeeze I wish Irene could have gone to Tx...I guess that could be a good and bad thing tho...Tx sooooo needs the rain, but at this point would cause alot of tree's to fall,and maybe too little too late. My thoughts are with you tho. And I hope you get a "Healthy rain", for those to the North, be safe.

Loveforest
did you fertilize those palms well. Queens, and pigmy palms are prone to frizzle top. my palms
have had that and all it took was fertilizing. My robellini's get the chelated fertilizer at least a few times a year.

LF, another small problem, easy to fix, is the rock mulch around the trees! First, rock mulch does not cool and insulate the soil the way an organic mulch does. The rocks heat up and bake the soil over the roots of the tree even after the sun goes away. Then the cooked roots will rot when they get rained on. Second, minerals of the wrong type can leach from the rock - especially if they are coral rock, marble or limestone they will leach a lot of calcium and make the soil pH too high. (alkaline)

If you can find a few cups of fertilizer specifically formulated for palms - a MUST - that will help immediately. Palm fertilizer has the trace elements to cure the Frizzle Top disease your little palms are suffering with. Maybe a neighbor will 'loan' you some?

Moving those rocks away from the trees, and putting some compost, humus-y soil, leaves, pine needles, or bark mulch over the root areas (within about 18" of the trunk) will also help. Your county may have free compost and mulch available. I know ours does.

But the fertilizer with those trace elements will immediately help those that still have green leaves. Long-term, though, you do need to change that mulch situation.

One more thing - check the growing tips before you cut down the others - if they have a green growing tip at the top, they may still recover. Cut off the dead fronds, and give them the fertilizer/mulch treatment. Then wait and hope. If a green 'spear' appears, you have succeeded!

Some Epsom Salt will give them some much needed magnesium... once a month per 1/2 package directions... make sure to dissolve well in the water.

Carolina Blue Sky today. 85F and gorgeous!

So Homer that's great ! Did you get much rain ? How are your big guys ?

Thank you so much Candela, Homer & Elaine, your input is much appreciated :]
Elaine, the one pair of Pigmies have no green, they took a nose-dive, trunks are soft and flopping over. The other pair across from them are on their way out too. Am going to chop them down and replace them with two Pentas plants, (butterflies supposedly love those).
The Pigmy palms at the end of the driveway I'll get fertilizer for them (they have alot of green fronds still).
I have that red mulch from Home Depot sitting in my garage, I could try using that around those Pigmies. I asked my Mower Guy if he would take on the job of removing the rocks from about 5 small rock-beds and then replacing those with the mulch I have and he said he would throw the mulch on top of the rocks, so I told him never mind, LoL.

You guys are awesome, hope you all are doing well. Talk to yas soon.

Btw, Epsom Salts is great for arthritic old gardeners, too. My daughter sends me lavender-scented bath salts, which is pure Epsom Salts with lavender oil. I put it in my bath water and soak at least twice a week, then I 'bail' the bathwater outside onto the plants. Dual-duty! Hm, maybe that's why all those plants outside the bathroom are doing so well.

My little pygmies got the full-spectrum long release palm fert when they were planted and will get another dose at the end of September (when we are allowed to fertilize again). It has all the trace minerals and releases slowly so I don't have to remember to dose them with my bath water. (besides, it's a long way to lug the water)

So glad the hurricane missed you, Drew! Let's see how huge Mr. Borneo is getting - can't quite see him from here yet, but . . I'll get out my binoculars.

Cherub is getting planted in the ground this week! I finally got all the old diseased fishtail palms out of her spot. (I know, she's in a 'way too small pot . . long story!) I do expect another explosion of new growth once she can spread her roots around.

Great color on the stems of my variegated ti plant. I think the leaves might get more creamy stripes once it's in a more shady site.

Elaine, your plants are beautiful and happy looking, they must love you :]

It is late I know, but home now from Arkansas and sister, am happy to see you are okay, all of ya.
happy to report that Joe watered while I was gone all week, and Sarian is still happy under the pear tree.



This message was edited Aug 28, 2011 11:52 PM

this "el paio" is happy too under the pear tree..

Lime ZInger from Rita three years ago appeared while I was away, but didn't take a pic.. now if everyone else would show up, I will be happy..
This is a voodoo lilly plant I took to my sister, it was an off shoot of the original bulb I have had for two years. She has it under her tree in Arkansas.

the vines have almost covered the arbor, and I missed the passi's blooming, but there are a lot of huge buds about to open.. meanwhile Kaitlyn decided to bloom, out of about ten buds, only four or five made it.. one of them was eaten inside out b a worm, the rest aborted from the 108 temps.. I went out an picked off worms off of about 30 brugs today, poor things..

I took a few plants to leave with my sister, since she will be off for 6 weeks and bored, ( her surgery went fine) , and I took some plants I was afraid would bloom while I was away..
like this one that opened tonight..
This is "Solid Gold" and yes, the plant room is getting loaded up already.. to many bugs, too hot, and they seem to be thriving down there..

I also cut the morning glorys away from the poor sunflowers, and trimmed the passis and other vines there..

my lantanas are all blooming now and really getting big.. my urge to take cuttings is about to win.. I am already in the mindset it is Fall..( altho it is still in the triple digits...) the only one I can't find is my good old faithful yellow one..

Debra, you sure pack a lot of plants into your garden. I really admire all the work you do there. If you could bottle and sell your energy you could retire and play in the garden for the rest of your days.

The pink bottle brush is blooming again. This is the up close and personal, the flower is not as large as it looks in this photo.

That soft pink just blends in and does not show up much at all.

The sky was on fire the night Hurricane Irene passed us; thankfully she stayed off shore here.

We're back to normal here. Hot, humid, etc...LOL

Purple cestrum, pretty sprays of blooms that are kinda small, so it's good there's alot of them.

Lovely flowers, everyone! I have nothing new at the moment, but they're coming!

Debra, glad you are home safe. Although it's risky to leave your plants, isn't it fun to come home and see all the growth and changes that you don't notice so much when you're there every day? Those bi-color lantanas set seeds really easily here.

Alice, the pink bottlebrush is lovely, but I've never noticed a pink one before - maybe because, as you say, it's very subtle. Makes a lovely lacy background for something, though. I love the red bottlebrush trees here, they have the most interesting twisty trunks.

Prince of Pink - ah, Orange - is going to town putting on new leaves. I shouldn't complain as long as he's healthy . .

Spoke too soon! A new flower on one of the costus Rita sent me in April. There are 4 more flower scapes on this plant, too!

Anyone heard from Rita? I'd like her to see this picture.

That costus is just amazing, I have never seen one like that before. These recent winters have cured me of lusting afrer costus but then I see one like that and start to drool all over again. :-)

I know, I'm very excited. The picture really doesn't do it justice, either. There's another Rita sent that hasn't put up any buds yet. They do have great foliage, and those cool spiral stems, too.

Let me know if you want to try one again - maybe next spring? I have 3 varieties, I think . .. They sure are easy to propagate. Don't know about Rita's but the coral one I found in my garden seems to be fairly cold-hardy. I haven't been covering them or anything, and they keep coming back.

Little 'water snowflakes' in the top of my waterfall. Cute little 1" flowers every day.

Thanks, I have two costus - C.barbatus and the French Kiss, I can't remember that one's other name. They have miraculously survived but I don't want to push it.

Love your little snowflakes. I put two new tropical lilies in my pond this year and neither has performed well. One has not bloomed at all and the other, supposed to be a "small" plant, has very small flowers but huge leaves, way too large for my tiny pond.

I am sooooo jealous !!! Dyzzy, and ardesia , I want a pond garden, but I just can't figure out where to put it !!!

Mj, I'm certainly no expert, but I've read and learned a lot in the 4 yr. since we bought this house with the little water garden out front.

Believe it or not, the first thing to think about is putting it away from trees. It needs full sun at least half a day for your lotus and water lilies to bloom well. Also, then the tree roots don't become a problem. If you've got an open area that's dry, and where nothing wants to grow that's where I'd put it.

Second interesting thing I learned is that a water garden is quite water-efficient as long as it's not leaking (or you don't let the horses drink from it too often). If you've got the water's surface largely covered with water lilies and lotus in the summer, all you lose is what the plants use and a little evaporation. I have a little pump-operated waterfall to aerate the water in mine, but some people use a fountain. I think you'd increase your evaporation if you used a fountain. Btw. you can get solar-powered pumps that work great, too.

I got a book when we moved here that was - and still is - a great help to me. It's 'Water Gardening for the South' by Teri Dunn. IF you find a spot and are going ahead with a water garden, I'd definitely recommend it. Tells you how to go about the project right from square one, and steers you around a lot of pitfalls, too!

MJS, Elaine, I sit here bummed becuse of the weather! Nothing is growing in the Borneo area except the Bananas. The heat, and about 10'' of rain, the below normal temps of about a week ago, have about wrecked things here.

Lost a lot of roots on most of the big guys. I have not watered since I got back from Boston On the Weekend of the 12th. ALL the leaves are pointing straight up in the air like you want to see them in the mornings in the summer after a good thunderstorm. Thing is, the fact that we lost some of the roots, they just can't suck up the water. Not with it in the mid 80s, lows in the lower 60s with friggin no Humidity, Dew points in the upper 50s. They probably think it is Fall.LOL...

I really can't complain (OK maybe a little!) because this is the first year in the ground for about 10 of my Aroids, including the A.Borneo Giant, X. Robustum and the A.Luteas with the summer being brutal! (NOTHING LIKE TEXAS And KANSAS though... just wan't to make that known)

I am looking forward to this winter and making the best of hopefully a normal, wet, humid and hot summer!

Hope everyone is doing well! I have not been on much ... I am working on a Powerpoint presentation for my Master Gardener brother and sisters on Tropicals on the 12th. I think it will go well as I have learned quite a bit this year! Will get some pictures up tomorrow of the casualties.


Goodnight to everyone!

I love the pond shots, mine has not put out flowers yet, but the fish are sure getting big.

still waiting for a costus and other gingers to bloom, one I gave to sis in law bloomed for her, go figure..


almost a 100 here, will be triple digits until weekend, then drop to 80's, so far gray water from washer before spinning and sink water has ben helping out with water bill, still not past 75 dollars so far, but I do not water the grass..
First time a passion vine I grew bloomed on the arbor, I was so kacited I had Joe come out to see it...

Hibs downstairs are blooming away, but I keep missing them.. the purple cestrum out front is blooming now, so nice to see it finally blooming..

black eyed susan vine is blooming again outside, but it sure performed better inside all winter..

This message was edited Aug 29, 2011 9:20 PM

this guy was above my head as I was watering, singing away..

mj, this was from your seeds.. salvia to the right there, it is peach or coral looking.. left this pot of plants with my sister, one of them is a realy pretty triple yellow datura from Lazlo..

this is eupatorium, came to me tagged "butterfly cocaine" it can get as tall as joe pye weed, but the flowers are white starry looking clusters that smell good and attract bees.. which are busy re-building their hives since they keep melting..so havn't seen as many right now while it has been so hot..

Debra, your plants are looking real good and I sure hope your sister made it through her surgery and is doing well. Nice Colocasia Elepaio.

Dyzzy, Jerry posted a few days ago to let us know that he and Rita were both doing ok.

Drew, you will be just fine. You have the passion to learn to grow Aroids in your environment as well. Keep up the good works.

Debra, that's that little Salvia Coral nymph, LOL..I say little it get's about 3 feet tall/wide here.
Little Hoya obovata seedlings, almost ready to pot up.

Almost finished planting my "driftwood lamp" planter, and need to fill in the ground in front.

Way to go Debra!

Rachel, It has been a humbling year for me! Although, if you are not growing you are not learning. The plants I thought I would have a hard time with(Watsoniana, Cuprea and Regale) are flourishing. I can control these as they are in pots. When in the ground, it has a lot to do with Mother Nature.


MJ,That driftwood art/planter is looking "stupid good"! You can come to our house anytime and help me with the "Design"!

joewife is that what makes the insane noise around here.... High pitch sound, tonight while taking a drive, weather was beautiful, we would drive through several areas that it sounded like those things, can't think of the name of them right off, but man I sure wouldn't welcome them around,,, to noisy for my taste.

Homer1958 sorry to hear about your weather not being kind to ya. Are you taking the Master Gardener class now to become one? I have tried off and on 1st in KY, class during the day, got my boss to let me off for it, but decided the 90 miles one way was just a little too far. Then in Northern Ohio cause they offered an evening/weekend class, but when I had time to do it they quit having it due to budget cuts and plus I decided who in their right mind would want to drive around at night in the snow and ice during the winter.... not this old gal... Checked into here in FL and it is only during the day and they only want you doing your time during the day, and during the week.... so I guess they really don't want to encourage folks to become master gardener's down here. The other two states didn't care when you did your volunteer time.

I did get an EE from a guy who was giving me some other plants, so as soon as I figure out my new iPhone, I'll post a picture of it. The ones he had in the ground had leaves about 6 foot tall... looked like something out of the ice ages.....

Elaine, that bloom is great, I think I'm headed to the dr on Thursday will give ya a call to see if it works for me to stop in.

Night all after 3 hours at the verizon store I'm beat....
Jan

Jan, Was it something like this! Folding chair center bottom.