Maybe Eclipse can answer this question. I have planted lots of tropicals in my well established perennial beds. I'm hoping this will look alright. I have lots of daylilies and they are the main flower in the beds. I took brugs, cannas, taros and bananas and mingled them in amongst the perennials. I added some gingers and abutilon and put trailing plants like sweet potato vines at the edge. What do you think? Will they look "funny"? I use 20 gallon pots placed here and there at strategic points and will be using tropicals in them too, hoping to tie the look together.
I do have 2 beds that are strictly tropicals, but wanted more. Plus I have these brugs that need to go somewhere and I really don't want to have to water a hundred pots this summer.
Tropicals in a perennial bed
Sounds great to me. Love a tropical look.
Cala, I'm going to be doing the same thing. I am going to try to keep most of my tropicals in pots so I don't have so many to dig in the fall, since I have to bring them in or if they are a bulb, store them for the winter. Since the tropicals that I have seem to be those that get taller and larger, I am going to mingle them in the perennial bed. If that doesn't work, then I'll build something different next year for them.
Joan, I'm hoping I didn't put anything that gets huge in front of the smaller stuff. Some of the gingers I'm not really familiar with, and not sure how big they get. I can't figure out exactly how to put the vines in the garden. I've thought about adding a small trellis, maybe one that is made like a ladder. I bought some light arbors at Big Lots last year ($9.99) but don't really have anywhere else to put one of those either.
Cala, I'm in the same position!! I fell in love with vines, but now what do I do with them??????? We did take several 2 x 2's and put copper wire spiraling from top to bottom so there is a little interest until the vine grows, and something for them to catch hold of. Well, that still leaves me with about 50 vines that I have to find something to do with. I have clematis growing as ground covers, and more clematis coming from the co-op!!! OH MY! And even after doing my tropical bed and then another, I have brugs with no home. I hate to keep them in pots especially since they will probably winter over here. I'm going to have to cut down the forest behind me and across the street, the trees are just getting so big and changing my yard from too sunny to too shady.
decided I had some questions. how close did you put everything? In my empty beds I put things pretty far apart, but I'm worried about all the space in the middle and did i get them close enough. I tried to allow room to grow, but wonder if I should put more in??? can you post a picture to give me something to go by?
TiG, I've always believed if you can see the ground, the plants are too far apart!! I believe in "intensive" planting. It's never been a problem(GoVols came and helped thin out my daylilies and can't even miss them now)before since my soil is rich from all the composted horse poo(bunny poo too) that I use on it. It's got so many earthworms in it and I've not had disease either, except a bit of mildew if I plant the phlox too close together. I try to remember to spray them with neem early in the season to head off the mildew problem. Around my patio, I planted the brugs 2 feet apart. I'll grow them as single trunks, like a standard and I don't mind if the tops grow together. I was thinking about using the sweet potato vines at the bottom of them, but haven't decided yet. I can't put anything else tall in the row with them because it's only 2 feet wide.
OK guys here goes..I place the plants(tropicals) in the ground , if you sink pots you still have to water more often.Yes you can interplant them amongst perennials,try to pick contrasting foliage types to add character.Use solid big leaves(taros) in amongst daylilies(narrow leaves)..and use colors for contrast...takes to long to explain all the principles here..but sounds like most of you are on the right track. I space all plants about 24 inches to about 6 feet apart depending on how much they grow in a season..crowding will cover up the character of the plants..and most tropicals grow so big and quick..the bed won't look bare for long!! :-) does this help?
yes. :) thanks!!!
Yes!! That's what I did, taros against the daylilies, Tropicana cannas added for the colorful foliage, some gingers tucked in amongst the tall phlox. I will post a photo if it looks good, lol.
Eclipse, I didn't mean if I can see dirt when they first come up, I meant when they are mature in the summer.(Tig, I hope you knew that's what I meant too or you will have to rip some out, lol) I loved the look of your tropical beds.
no, I didn't know you meant that, but couldnt' move today after working so hard, so it didn't matter!!! LOLOLOL!! I thought maybe you meant after they were grown though:)
Should I cut the leaves off the bananas off before setting them out??
Crestedchik..only if they will get sunburnt or damaged when you first put them outside..its still too cold here to put them out for the summer..I'm getting very Antsy..to get things outside. :-)
Will cannas and bananas handle just morning sun or do they need more light than that? My front beds face north (yuck) and only get morning sun and late afternoon sun.
What if I sink the pots in the ground and drill big 3 inch holes in the pots for the roots to grow through. I need an easy method to bring the pots back indoors in the fall.
Will this work?
What size pot should I use for passiflora vines?
Joydie
I think the sun and wind will be a factor,but they look soooo good now (in the upstairs bathroom)hate to cut them but I keep thinking how bad they'll look after a few days out side.....
Joydie.... cannas and bannas will do ok with just morning sun... I have some that only get a few hours a day and they are doing well
Thanks Irish,
You wouldn't believe it but today we got more rain mixed with hail. My indoors looks like a tropical jungle with pots of flowers and veggies everywhere just waiting to get outdoors...still 4 weeks to go before anything can go outside. I put them out for about a hour or so each day when its mild enough.
Joydie
Where do you live Joydie? This weather has been so strange.
I'm in southwestern Ontario, zone 6. This weather is the strangest we've had in decades. No snow until late December with Autumn like weather up until then. We had very little snow over the winter. I think I had to shovel snow maybe 3 times...most of the time it melted by the next morning. The daytime temperatures hit about 55-65 degrees or so and then fall drastically now at night.
joydie