hey tropic !!! hope work isnt keeping you from your plants to much ..:)
im kicking around idea of using heat cables in beds where bananas,EE's
will go.. just to heat the soil up.. or even use clear plastic and solarize soil
to warm it up before plantings..
Thailand Giant
Definitely, my work keeps me from my plants far too much. And it also gives me the money that makes me buy even more plants so that there's even more that I'm neglecting. Work is a really terrible thing, LOL.
Solarisation is good, it wakes up the worms and micro-organisms getting the whole system working early. What I do (no need to warm up the soil here) is to put (diluted) molasses on the soil and water it in. That feeds and boosts the micro-organisms in the soil.
ya..i hear ya on work.. its letting up some for me ..but last yr was really
busy ..
excellent posting on molasses use tropic.. ive used dried molasses..and
strap molasses in hose end sprayer for couple yrs..
it does feed the "bugs" in the soil and get them going..making for healthier
soil..
Why not use Black plastic? That stuff will set your soil on FIYA!
ya..i guess ive just had clear plastic around..:)
i hate using herbicides..so when i have an area i want to get rid of
some weeds that mowing down,just doesnt do it.. i cut down..throw away
remains..cover with clear plastic ...during summer.. and those weeds be
cooked in a week.. yea !!!! :)
I had developed an addiction of collecting after collecting over 500+ varieties of hosta. i got my colocasia alocasia from well spring and if you had not bought from them they are having clearance right now. i think I have all of their variety.
I overwinter all my tropicals in the garage together with plumerias. it is a disease/ addiction.!!! LOL!!! I usually hire someone to bring them in and bring them out. i have a bad back and with my golf i have to take care of my back!! LOL!!!
My thai giant is doing great and has few pups as well as other species.
Happy gardening and it is 70--80's here now.
Belle
belle..send some of that warm weather my way !!! :)
i also get help pulling in all my tropicals in fall/autumn (for my bud in darwin) :)
i enjoy the planting.. i get some help putting in my biggest bananas.. but
everything else i do myself..
i agree belle..it is an addiction.. lol not such a bad one though..
i started with common EE's 7 or so yrs ago.. then read more..found better sources
for more interesting plants..bigger plants..
made some super gardening friends..all over the globe..:)
makes our world smaller somehow.. not such a bad thing..)
its about a month away before i can haul things out..
i pot up some alocasias/colocasias/xanthos.. to give them head start..
looks like most everything overwintered good.. stems are firm..most actually
are shooting out new leaves.. so.. sigh.. full garden this yr..
lol
btw belle.. those EE's will give you a TON of pups.. mine have last 2yrs..
i havent bought any EE's for awhile now.. even lari ann gardiners robusta
hybrid pupped for me last yr.. yea.. free plants !!!!
Well, we're coming into late autumn here. Day temps are 36C, low this morning was 22C. My largest Xanthosoma is now about head height. I'll get a photo later in the week (it's Monday here now).
thought of potting up my EE's..but.. geesh..i didnt know i had so many
back there.. i have them in slightly heated back rooms of house..and basement..
so..i guess i'll just wait for warmer temps..and then..put them right in gardens in
back..
my ensete maurelli.. wow.. 2 of the bigger ones..are shooting out leaves..
one leaf is 4ft..lol.. "take it easy babi" "you'll get planted soon enough"
LOL
hope we have a good summer.. i see brian williams(brians botanicals) is having
a contest.."biggest leaf on 4 species of EE..
dont know if i'll take part.. i should..:)
any of u all going to???
EE's.. i think its.. good temps..not to much sun, good soil, TONS of fertilizing,
and LOTS of water.. good drainage of course..
i can do all that.. one thing i struggle with..is i get full sun where i plant..
this yr im going to put my big bananas on west side..EE's on east facing..and
hopefully they get a bit more filtered light..
my biggest alocasia borneo giant..(base of plant was 12" across at planting)
got way to much sun last yr..and just sat there.. :( poor babi.. i was a bad
parent..
hows things going down under tropic??? how bout pic on your xantho??
hint..hint..:)
i hope my robustas do well this yr.. they pupped alot last yr.. i think i'll cut them
off if i get them this yr..
I ordered a robusta from Lari Ann as well as Maharlika philodondron which will be mailed as soon as she gets my consent not to propagate and sell them .
Robustas!!! How many do you have?
My bananas are all out but not potted yet. One hire did not show up!!! The murelli is huge but no babies , I bought it 3 years ago for $100.00 !! Can you imagine spending that much for a banana!!! DH would faint if he knows how much I am spending for my addiction. At least it is not other types of addiction!! LOL!
How many varieties of bananas do you have. Do you have chinese yellow? I have tons of them but no flowers yey I've had them for 15 years and very prolific.
I will post pictures as soon I get back from vacation.
Happy gardening!!!
Belle
hey belle!!
im jealous you are having such nice weather.. we had snow here on
monday..sigh..LOL
summer will eventuallllllllllllllllly show up..i hope..:)
dont let your hubbie know u post on here..and he'll never know how
much $$$ u spend on plants..:) lol
we all have our addictions..
i got my X.robusta from a super nurseryman in lousiana.. they were big
plants and grew like weeds.. :) durio nursery..
also was very fair in shipping charges..cant say enough good about them!!!
how many varieties nanners..oh gooolie.. ensete maurelli,ensete glaucum,
sabas,kandarain,some species i got from good people on bananas.org,i lost the
markers..(my bad)
i gotta get pics on my nanners too..
back at ya belle on HAPPY GARDENING !!!!
dave
Luckily DH does not visit DG otherwise i am in trouble. He is not too strict with me as far as spending as long as I save for the rainy days.
When i was working and made decent $$ he always reminded me the set aside retirement funds and I am glad i did.
My on line pant orders are potted by the time he comes home from golf.
i checked out Durio nursery and I did not see any EE 's yet.
Happy gardening!!!
Belle
wow..its been over a yr since anyone has chatted up thai giant..
i have 6 in the gardens..outside..planted in the ground..
i ammended the soil heavy with compost..and pumice..
im going to be a good parent..and feed them heavy this yr..and see
if i get some giants this growing season..
hope so..
who else is growing thai giant????
I just got one for my birthday. I potted into a bigger pot and now I am just waiting....I put it in miracle grow potting soil should I do anything else?
if you have good drainage,good compost rich potting mix..and keep it
moderately watered..not wet..dont let it dry out..
i have mine in full sun..i think they would appreciate a bit of part shade mid day though
but they seem to like alot of sun..
fertilize well..they are HEAVY feeders..and u will be amazed how big they can get in
just one growing season! :)
take pics and let us see how they are doing...
good luck to ya !!!!
What are you fertilizing with? That is something I never feel sure about. I use miracle grow on flowering plants.
I don't have compost but could buy some.
I am being more diligent with the 1 T. urea/gal of water with my EE's and any non-flowering plants.
Where do you get it?
Hmmm............don't know about anyone living in the city. I got mine from the farmer's chemical/fertilizer place where we got our crop "necessities". I sort of have to "plan ahead" and allow some time to do it because those little BB's of urea take a bit to dissolve. I even tried dissolving in a little hot water and it didn't make much of a difference.
as anna says most EE's do like heavy feeding..
i dont use urea..it comes in around 50:0:0 i like to use
a multipurpose fertilizer..heavier on the N..but still some P and K..along with
minor minerals..
i use a 20:20:20 with minors,and i add urea to it..so im comming in around 30:20:20
there are some great sources online,ebay. many dont charge shipping too..:)
i also add kelp powder to my fertilizer routine..
my thai giants are on there 4th leaves now..were having some HOT weather now..and warm
nites..so these babies will really start to put on size..and fast..
3yrs ago..i started with 4"potted thai giants..and by sept..i had plants with leaves over
60inches long.. yea..thats fast !!!!
they were quite the attention grabber..:)
i'll start taking pics..and post.. hope u all will too.. hint..hint..:)
Oh yes please post pics I would love that!
I will check into the fertilizer and get to feeding.
tropicalnut, I also fertilize the EE's with Miracle Grow too, along with the urea. Not the same day, maybe a couple of days in between.
You all make me feel like a neglectful parent. I rarely, if ever, fertilise mine.
They would crowd you out of your bedroom if you fertilized and gave them urea. LOL
i dont see u as any kind of neglectful pop tropic..:) lol
hows your winter going there..?? any rain??
I'm thinking about getting Thai Giant. Its difficult getting plants into Hawaii. How successful and long do they take to grow from seed
Anna, they're growing about 60 to 70 metres from my house. If they crowd me out of my bedroom from there I'm really in trouble, LOL.
Dave, my largest now has a trunk nearly a metre long, but it's laying along the ground. I was hoping it'd grow upright. I think the plant is too heavy and the soil too soft. I'm hoping we've come through the worst of the winter/dry season now. This mornings minimum temp was 19.1C. Last week it was around 14 to 15C. Fortunately our days are always over 30C so plants can get over the cold part of the day. Still no rain, and none likely until possibly September, but definitely some during October. Even the titanums are taking it in their stride. One of the smaller ones opened out in the coldest weather still "smiling". The other small one isn't showing signs of dormancy so I think it might be moving into its annual cycle. And the leaf cutting is still growing its tuber despite the cold. All happy little aroids.
Microb, you'll find Thai Giants are already in Hawaii. There's a Colocasia called Thai Giant, and also a Xanthosoma. You'll find both if you look. They'll even show up under other names, you need to know what to look out for. Hawaii is trying to "close the gate" on exotic invasive plants but they left their run far too late.
Thanks, I will start my search.
Well mine are potted up but I haven't fed them except what is in the potting soil. I better get with it.
My konjac fell over in the wind. I thought it was really protected but we got strong winds out of the NORTH! This is summer not suppose to get strong winds from the north. Anyway I propped it back up and so far everything looks ok.
We are going to be down in the 50's at night next week. We are having odd weather. Don't think the tomatoes, cantalopes, and tropicals are gonna like that.
i was reading on wunderground weather blog..about the artic vortex thats gonna
chill the mid part of the country early this week..no frosts..but chilly for july..:(
happygarden..we had a microburst last summer..late july..my 2 largest titanums..weighing in
over 200# with potting mix and all..were blown over..no damage to the corm or plant but..
wow!!!
i was also gonna suggest checking with foster botanical garden in honolulu..for thai giants..
last i was there they were very helpful..
i hope to have a couple days off ..sunday/monday..if so..i'll try to get some pics on my plants...
and post..
Have to admit I will enjoy the artic vortex, actually we have only had 2 days that hit 90 this year.
Glad to hear my plant will be ok after falling over. I have never had one fall over before.
Oh yeah I would love to see some pics. Mine are so small that there isn't much to take a pic of right now.
enjoy the heat reprieve joyce!!! :)
u get a cooling..here in west..next week..preliminary forcast is early part of week over 100F
sigh..gotta get my 2 can hat out and wear when im mowing the lawn..hehehehe..LOL
I'm on the Big Island so Foster Botanical Gardens remains a dream to visit. We've got a few good garden shops and nurseries here so I hope I will get lucky.
microb they won't ship between islands? I have been fortunate enough in years past to visit maui several times. It was my favorite place I have ever been. But I have been told it is way over built now. Probably been 10 years since my last visit.
Well right now it is about 95percent humidity and sunshine, you can barely take a breath! ugg..
I was just repoting some plants and sweating like I was running a 500 mile race! Yeap the arctic cold front will feel good for me.
Well back out to repot a couple of different black ee's. Will post some pics later.
Probably would ship from Oahu to Big Island. Problem now is invasive species. We have colonies of fire ants, cocqui frogs and giant black palm beetles making the news so moving plants between islands has become really sensitive. Fire ants started on Big Island and are now spreading on Oahu. Cocqui frogs are pretty much limited to Big Island and so far the palm beetles are limited to Oahu.
Never a dull moment for plant lovers.
Doesnt sound like you would want any of those things. I had fire ants in Texas, none in Missouri yet. No fun.
i hear ya joyce..i mowed my lawn and neighbours this afternoon.. its 97F out there..
?? whats the saying,, only mad dogs and englishmen go out in midday sun..LOL
not sure which one i am..:) LOL
neighbour actually brought over some ice water..i have wonderful neighbours!! :)
ya.i moved all of my potted (small and medium sized pots) amorphophallus to back today..
whew..its hot!!! you will enjoy that cool down when it shows..
ive been mulching all my vegy plants now..i use neighbours grass clippings,straw,leaves..
i gotta get out tomorrow morning and take some pics..
everyone stay 'cool" in this heat...
finally got out early and took some pics..
bananas,canna musafolia,thai giants,various alocasias..2 r lari ann's
robodoro hybrid..:)
I love the giant ee. Are they in pots or are you digging? I have a couple of banana trees but everything I have is in pots so I can move them 'easily' roflmao. Least I don't have to dig.
everything except my amorphophallus are in the ground..
yea..in oct..i have alot of digging to do ..for overwintering..:)