Tropical Plants and Gardens #120

Ben, I think the key to winter hardiness is good drainage. We never freeze here, the soil temp does not go below 55, but it stays damp and that is the killer. Those who garden on sand here have no problems, I am not one of those lucky ones, my soil is pure muck.

Walhalla is one of those areas where there are both unusually warm and unusually cold microclimates. Your uncle might be in the latter.

Does anyone have any insight into the difference(s) between the Tea Cup and the Coffee Cups EE's? They look so much alike in the literature.

Some kind of scented geranium flower, not tropical but oh so pretty.

Ben, you can grow culinary ginger from the rhizomes you buy at the grocery store, providing they're fresh. Look for one with a pink bud.

Must admit I've done it before, and let the plant disappear because it's just not as pretty as the other gingers I'm growing. It's leggy and flops over for me. The fresh rhizomes don't taste any different from the ones you get at the store either. I like the hedychiums with the lovely fragrant flowers, myself.

I have 3 kinds of hedychiums, 3 different spiral gingers, plus Alpinia, (the variegated shell ginger that's a landscape staple here) one that's related called Pinstripe ginger, and the little Peacock ginger. Can't see why you shouldn't try overwintering any of them with a deep mulch. As long as the rhizomes don't freeze they are very vigorous. Except the little one, it's a diva.

Ardesia: My uncle's place is definitely Zone 7b: He has two decent sized windmill palms he started as seedlings, and a HUGE canna bed that he doesn't do anything to except cut down the dead plants after they die back in the winter... As a matter of fact, I gave him two Musa basjoo last summer, and not only did most of the trunks survive, but they started leafing out in late March!

...Then again, he's got red clay soil, so it may have been the same rot that did my Yellow Lotus bananna in finally caught up to his. Thankfully the place I'm moving into is on the other side of the county with Rhyollite/sandy based soil (there's a sand quarry about a mile away), which should help things out.

Dyzzypyxxy: I've tried scouting the local grocery stores, but they all seem to have a blanket policy of removing all the "eyes" from every single last piece of ginger root. >:(

You know, when I first saw your peacock ginger, I thought they were some kind of Calathea or Maranta (which ARE distantly related)....

I may attempt to give Hedychium Coronarium another try, mainly because Brian Williams in Louisville, KY has had success with overwintering it outside (with only 4-6" of mulch), and I like its pretty white flowers.

Oh, BTW, that windmill palm that I posted a picture of a couple of posts up, here's a link to a pic of what it looked like when I first planted it:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=2707296

....And this is what the Y. Recurvifolia in the pot looked like prior to its decline, starting with the third winter (i.e. when the area it was in REALLY started getting shaded out):

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=2707148

Hello Everyone!!

Thanks very much for the nice welcome back but between road trips and helping out with my GK's, I have to put my garden on the back burner for a little while longer.

KayJones and Joeswife, glad that you had a good visit, and the weather was good for Deb and her sister to enjoy Florida. Ken and I had to leave Pensacola due to the rain.

ardesia, The plant from Rj is a variegated Heliconia, it is much prettier than in the picture. I have killed my last AeAe. Love your bromeliad!!

Here is a pretty mess of Firespike still blooming, Maya Brug. and a bromeiad blooming.
The second bromeliad has been blooming for two months.
Newly planted Coffee cup

Dyzzy, outstanding! That ginger plant looks much better than the mother plant.
I promise to send a start of the Canna later in the growing season, I will have to look up the name. It is a great bloomer. The blue flower with the white eye is a Blue Pendant Ginger from Zone 9 in Houston. Those guys send healthy nice size plants or I have little starts if you care to have one.

Ben it is good to see you!! I wish that a few more DG's would pop in to say Hi. I will be happy to send you a start of the Helicona if you would like to try again. This one loves water.

The first few blooms on Telosum Cordata "Pakalana Vine" Its fragrance is it's best feature.

homer, that Monstera seems to have tripled in size, you sure know what to do!! I love the big leaf in the background.

Candea, I am enjoying your pictures. Keep them coming. Your last photo seems to be an Chocolate swirl alamanda

I have a few plants from earlier this spring. The first is a Strophanthus gratus, Climbing Oleander also from Zone 9. I love this vine!!

Dragon fruit bloom
Variegated sea grape

GAgirl1066, I hope that you are getting a break from the rain. I bet your pond is full and ready for summer fun. I'm looking forward to seeing your new plants and flowerbeds.

Rita, I'll probably have to pass on the Heliconia, especially if it's one of the BIG ones like my grandfather had: After all, I'll have to either let the frost kill it back and dig the roots (works with cannas and bananas, but I don't know about heliconias) or dig it up BEFORE the first frost and keep it in a container in the garage/house all winter....

Oh, when I was moving my yuccas back out into a sunny part of the yard after mowing today, a 10" garter snake that was hiding under the foliage of one of my Color Guard yuccas popped out... Unfortunately it slithered off before I could get a picture of it.

Oh, and I just recently read that you can make a Sarsaparilla-like beverage from the roots of Common Greenbrier (Smilax rotundifolia)... I guess I shouldn't be surprised since a tropical member of the genus is the actual Sarsaparilla vine. I was debating about whether or not to plant some at the new place (in a controlled area), but that decided it! I know it can get very tangly down south, but it is a native plant, and is also an important winter food source for deer, rabbits and birds (humans, too... You can use the young leaves in salad and eat the tender stem tips, the deer's favorite part, like asparagus). I think it is an attractive plant, but it is also interesting in that it is one of our few native woody monocots in the area (the others being the Hairy catbriar and Yucca filamentosa).

That's a delicious looking chocolate leaf, Rita. Please, you don't need to send me any more plants, I feel as if I owe you so many already. I think I am going to order that pretty blue ginger from Zone 9, though. Other than orchids, I have hardly bought any plants this spring.

Thunbergia is from Mj - has anybody heard from her recently? Walking iris. Two flowers open on Plumeria Pudica. Beach buttercup, alba.
My favorite dwarf Canna - little 18in. plants with lots of big flowers.

Ben, I am amazed to hear deer eat smilax, I wish they would eat it at my house instead of the flowers they prefer. Smilax, along with wax mytle and yaupon - all natives - are the bane of my existance. It is non stop weeding around here and there are times when one has to resort to using Round Up. Smilax is resistant to RU though, all it does is slow it down. I wold never, maybe I should say NEVER, plant it in your area either. We once lived in Maryland and had to clear several acres of the evil stuff, fortunately we had a golden retriever who loved to dig and he also loved helping so it went much quicker than if we had to do it by ourselves. I sure miss that dog.

MJ has been quiet, hope all is OK.

Ardesia,

Based on my own personal experience, it seems that rabbits and deer have some kind of psychic ability to sense which plants you want around your place and which ones you don't, and then only go after the former... I planted two greenbriers in the woods behind my house, only to have them be killed about two years later by the local rabbits repeatedly eating them to the ground. All the weedy, invasive, nasty Chinese Bittersweet, Japanese Honeysuckle (gad I hate that pestilential plant) and multiflora roses (whose thorns are 10x worse than greenbrier) remain completely untouched while the rabbits would devour my Mahonias, American Holly, Trifoliate Oranges, Bamboo, Upright Yews (not sure how that worked out for the rabbits, since Yews are HIGHLY toxic) and any other plant that I planted and forgot to put a wire cage around in the winter!

That actually seems to be the key to Greenbrier being relatively well behaved in this area: Our (relatively) harsh winters, combined with local critters seems to keep it in check. Also, the reason that Smilax is resistant to roundup is likely because, unlike most other broad-leaved weeds, it is a monocot, i.e. closer related to grass, so maybe try a grass killer?

Alice, I love that you mention how you miss your dog... I've seen you post before and I know you loved him very much!

Beautiful weather now, and finally stopped raining after the 11'' of rain this past month Elaine... However the 50's lows we are going to get tonight and tomorrow night are NOT going to do me any big favors! Coldest wettest spring I have ever seen in the Charlotte area.

Rita that is the Philodendron maximum you spoke of in the background. ALL the big boys should have another leaf, however the weather has not been cooperating.

Good morning to all of you! I was just thinking about Martha yesterday - such a lovely lady. I'm sure she's just busy with her livestock and all her plants - hopefully she will pop in and update us.

All the plants you share pictures of are wonderful - WOW is all I can say!

we got rain! YAY! here are just a few pics of what is going on at my place

Lovely, Deb!

Hey Deb! Is that an Amorphophallus you have there or are you just happy to see me? XD For years, one guy my dad knew grew A. konjac without really knowing what it was... He just called it a "Stink Plant" because of the horrible-smelling blossoms.

Also, lovely lily you have... I just had my Madonna lilies finish blooming yesterday, and in another couple of weeks, the Tiger lilies should be blooming.

Oh, and my Rohdeas just started blooming... I'm going to have to try and take a couple pics to post both here and in the Plant Files (nobody's posted pics of the flowers yet)....

This message was edited Jun 15, 2012 6:26 PM

Yes I have several kinds of voodoo lillies, they are slow to grow here cuz of the climate..
what is a Rohdea?
i plantesis is now blooming, and th oriental stargazer lillies are early for some reason, they usually open the 4th of july..

Debra, those are just gorgeous!

Hi guys,
Rita...thanks...my heart jumped when I saw the V Heliconia...looks great. I knew the plants went to good home...save me a shoot!
I'm visiting Houston, good to be back home. Was in Colorado last week, and was asked so many times, do I like Chicago? I paused, and said, yes there is something I like about it....I like to leave it!! It's not so bad, but it is a very condensed city..like New York, and the slightest attempt to get from point A to B is an exercise in patience and futility , particularly with some of the much needed elevated train repairs going on. Driving..wow, I literally crave a cocktail everyday after driving 10 miles from the Sears tower to where I live. Imagine, trying to get back and forth to work in such a tourist destination. It's an exciting place, but I've graduated from exciting, to a slower pace.
My apartment is only a 4 plex brownstone style building, my landlord lives next door and is in Japan for 2 months. He is an avid gardener which in fact was one of the attractions for me as his garden is beautiful. The other tenants think I'm a little off, because I've been keeping the garden watered and the courtyard swept. I'll have to take a couple of pictures.
Been traveling a lot, and working weird hours (4AM to Noon) ...just not right!!?? The noon part accounts for part of the crazy in driving. I prefer the elevated train, but lots of renovation in progress. I take Lake Shore Drive home which really is beautiful.
Enough blah..happy to be home in Houston for a couple days.

Rita...let me know how Dave's interview went. Haven't heard from him yet.

Who's coming for a visit?? hmmm

Randy - SO GOOD to have you post! Only another year and a half and you can move back to Houston - we are counting the days WITH YOU! Yes, do post pictures - we'd love to see where you live!!!! Many hugs to you!

afraid all I have is the statue I brought and some lilys..I have no idea what kind they are, but beautiful

Anything you put your green thumb on is beautiful!

This is part of my office...we call it "The Bridge" ...our division called Network Operations Control....brand new...state of art...takes an id and finger print scan. Monday is "media" day so will probably be on news next week.

apartment
1 block from lake (ok..not so bad)
The Sears tower which has actually been renamed Willis tower.....not even the local folks call it that

more office pictures
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/h4s8xmstpviq8yw/pJIXL1FVK3

This message was edited Jun 16, 2012 6:55 AM

Very nice RJ!

OK, Randy - that's all lovely - now, tell us exactly what you do for the airline.

Load Control....weight and balance ....aircraft weight, fuel weight, customer weight, freight,mail distribution based on runway length, height, temperature, landing, enroute and terrain clearance limitations, while maintaining an acceptable center of gravity (or CG). blah blah blah

Well, I understand exactly what you do - not! LOL It sounds like a job a very technical Engineer would do. I'm glad you do what you do - wouldn't want my plane to fall out of the sky because all these vital variances weren't calculated correctly - THANK YOU, Randy!

A Rohdea, a.k.a. Sacred Lily or Rohdea japonica (http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/56687/) is an evergreen, shade-loving, slow growing plant that can basically be thought of as a hardy Snake Plant (which it is closely related to)... They tend to be a bit pricey, due to inability to tissue-culture them and slow-spreading growth habits. The variegated varieties tend to be REALLY expensive (i.e. typical R. Japonica going for about $20 for a 10" pot at the local nursery, vs the variegated varieties going for anything from $38-$75 at Plant Delights for similar sized variegated ones).

Randy, tell your landlord "Konnichi wa" for me next time you see him. I was stationed on a ship based out of Yokosuka, Japan from October 2000 until November 2003. I've been wanting to go back to Japan for quite some time now, but life just keeps getting in the way.

RJ, I understand your situation. DH and I were transferred to downtown Boston from SC. It was so exciting, we were living downtown in the heart if all the activity and we got to take advantage of all the cultural opportunities, the most fantastic farmer's markets, outstanding restaurants, etc. but after 18 months we decided it was like being on an elegant vacation but we were ready to go home. So we did.
Enjoy it while you are there and know the end is in sight.

Also had to smile when I read your job description. I was on a flight about 15 years ago and the main computer system that handled the weights for whole airline went out and agents all over the country were trying to figure the weights and balances by hand. What a mess. I guess i just never thought, until that day, what a huge job that is to take all that into consideration before a flight takes off. For instance, I always thought they just tossed the bags in the hold, I never realized they distributed them by weight. I was blown away when they explained what they had to do and why.

LOL, I will, he has an art exhibit going on in Japan. He is from China, and had never been...he was looking forward to it.

aah Thanks ...we have decided to treat it like a long holiday, and that does help.
You are so right about the weight and balance, by hand it is a long convoluted process with so many variables that one is constantly using the eraser..and when a plane is ready to take off, there is no time. I wondered at the mind that created the spin charts for the process.
I was charter coordinator on a flight from Kuwait back to Europe a few years back right after we dropped off some troops, and a voice came on the PA, LOAD PLANNER TO THE COCKPIT.....a sandstorm is coming and our satellite navigation wasn't picking up the numbers...he said we need to get out of Dodge before the sand storm hit or we'd be grounded for who knows how long. Sweating ..I ran to the galley with my huge manuals, and spin charts thinking we are so .......out of luck....and the numbers came through...he whiped the 777 on to the runway and blasted off....we could see the wall of sand as we did so....I think I officially made that my last charter...haaaa

Randy, I would have to bet a LOT of people needed clean drawers after that incident!!!

Hello Everyone!!
Awesome pictures Dyzzy, I am more than happy with the plants you sent me, the ginger is growing gangbusters and I keep checking my hibiscus for blooms.

homer my little Philo has a lot of catching up to do.

Ben, I am embarassed to say that I have no knowledge of some of those plants you mentioned. I will have to do a lot of research, but I enjoy learning. I can't say how much I appreciate all the knowledgeable people on this thread, all of them. I'm looking forward to your pictures of your Rohdeas.

Joeswife, congratulations on your 32nd wedding anniversary. I'm sorry that I missed it earlier. I am always in a hurry lately. I can't wait until I can relax and enjoy my garden again. I lost so many of my perennials. I will have to enjoy your's with you this year. Ken bought me 3 new perennial hibiscus plants (Midnight Marvel) and said Happy fathers day to me LOL

Kay Jones have you seen Duranta in a hanging basket, out of my usual 8 baskets I made 3 this year.



This message was edited Jun 16, 2012 8:01 PM

Rj, all your adventures are very exciting and interestng to me. I am more afraid that you might like it so much at your new job and new friends you might not want to come back to Houston. (just kidding)
I gave Matt your phone #. His first interview went well.

Here are a few of your plants.

Anthurium from Rj.

Debra, I forgot to wish you Happy Anniversary, too - you didn't mention it when we last talked - I'm OLD - ya have to remind me OFTEN!

Rita, those baskets are amazing! Where do you get hanging baskets big enough to plant shrubs in?

Even more of a question to me, Rita, where do you get duranta that drape like that? Mine are mostly 10' tall. Obviously there are different varieties

Oh, sorry about that assumption, RJ... In that case tell your landlord "Ni hao" for me.

Well, to be honest, I've been messing around with growing plants since I was 8 or 9 (back in 1986 or 87), and I only found out about some of these hardy tropicals as recently as last year.... Well in that ones case, the Hesperaloe, I knew about it because one of my best friends from the Navy has a bunch of it growing at his house in Phoenix, but I didn't know it was hardy around here until I saw it for sale at a local nursery. I also didn't know that Yucca Glauca (a.k.a. Soapweed Yucca) was capable of forming a trunk until I saw a specimen growing at a house that my realtor took me to look at for buying... Unfortunately the house was an absolute DUMP because it had an awesome garden but I'd have had to put entirely too much work into it. That's one of the great things about gardening and plants... No matter how long you've been growing things, there's always something new to learn.

Also, your gingers are looking great.... I'm definitely going to see about getting some Zingiber mioga "Dancing Crane" either this year or next spring, since its SUPPOSED to be hardy around here.

Speaking of which, Rohdeas, according to PlantFiles, are hardy to Zone 10b, so most of you guys in warmer locations could give them a try.

KayJones, I got big hanging baskets, 18in. across, from Gardeners.com last winter. Here's a link, and they're on sale now, too, surprisingly. http://www.gardeners.com/Hanging-Nest-Baskets/38-589RS,default,pd.html?start=17&q=hanging%20baskets

Mine came with the Aqua-Sav coco liner, which has plastic between the layers of coco fiber so it retains water better. Matter of fact, I had to poke more holes in the one I did for my white begonia because it wouldn't drain hardly at all.

Now, I have a second one that I haven't even planted yet. Was saving it for my Achimenes but honestly I can't find another tree branch big enough to hang it from. Those big baskets are SO heavy be sure you have a strong hook or big branch to hang it from. It's a heartbreaker if they fall. Frankly mine is too heavy for me to lift now that it's full of plants, had to get DH to help me hang it and it's not moving any time soon.

Elaine, I too found those large baskets to be a mistake. Mine are 22" and they are just too heavy once you get the soil and plants in them. I had planned on hanging mine from the eaves on the house and realized I could not do it, a molly bolt or an anchor would not be strong enough. They are more suited to a conservatory where they can provide the adequate support for them. I have not found the perfect way to hang them from the Live Oak branches. I had large (huge) S hooks designed for large brances but when I tried one it straightened right out from the weight. At this point I could put a loop of heavy rope around the branch but that would not look too cool. Maybe I just can't visualize it.