How to make a tropical jungle 101

OK It's like many things you learn as you go and each year gets better. First you need some basic things like a area to plant. I have a nice area layed out over the past years adding more each year. I use my displays for show to propagate and to breed with. So it has a multi propose to me. The raised beds get a bit taller and richer each year. I have added manuer rotted mulch and compost to it many times. The better the dirt the faster the plant. Here is a picture of the garden in the middle of winter. Note to the far right is Basjoo bananas protected with mulch old trunks are laying down.

OK well spring hit and I am ready but first it is clean up time. At this time of the year my plants are getting ready inside. My bedding areas are getting cleaned and usually some extra compost or rotted leaves. This is a good time to look at the shapes of your beds figure out view points. At this point I usually imagine were the larger plants are going to go. Like bananas on the coners of the greenhouse any center areas will need main veiw point plants and the corners and back drops will need tall plants.

You really cannot screw this up to badly I have stuff come up in wrong places all the time and I just figure what I will do with them the next year. You want to make it possible to see as many plants at once as possible. Now sometimes this may take away from some plants or make other plants less dramatic. A main them is to go from smallest up front to the largest plants in the back. Plants for the back usually are Bananas large growing cannas usually in between them I put gingers in they do not bloom as much for me and grow to a nice hieght. The next role is a bit crazy it zigzags usually with cannas at 6ft tall to colocasias at 5ft tall and curcumas at 4 ft tall. so cannas are slightly back further in between them are colocasias and curcumas a bit out front. I find that putting a lot of the same varieties together is not as attactive so I usually alternate 1 colocasia 1 curcuma or darf canna. Colors play a large role in were to put your plants as well. I usually go for a blast of every color but it usually only makes a huge impact if the colors clash. Yellows with blacks reds with whites and so on. I usually put coleus and caladiums right to the edge and they usually tie into the plants that are behind them color wise.

PS at this early stage I should add that the plants are not fertilized but usually hit with root hormone until a few good leaves are present. This usually lets me know the root system is doing well also. After a hand full of good leaves I begin watering weekly with a liquid fertilizer.

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A improtant thing to look at is Size shape and color of each plant. This determines were it should go. Put the plants into catogories in your mind. Is it a fealer plant one that has good foliage and will take up space. A center piece plant one that should be at the view point of your landscape or back drop ones to make you feel enclosed with height and bold leaves. I also place flowering plants manly cannas evenly through out the whole landscape. The constant blooming all over gives it a good look to the whole picture. In the end you are painting a picture you can do with it what ever you want. I tend to go over board with all of it. As much color as much foliage and as much size as possible. If you do a good job people will notice. I have people who don't even like plants stop and stair or get over whelmed by it all.

I like your before, during, and after pictures. Beautiful garden.

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(I thought my first comment didn't go through.)

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Brian, thank you so much for sharing that with us. That will really be helpful to me. I now have to learn to practice more patience as I see it is best to have patience. I've bookmarked this for future reference. Thanks for the quick course.

This was a fantastic help!! Now I just have to figure out how to incorporate the planning for the front yard of my home, and to figure out how to appease the neighbors who all have lawns (lol). Karen

Thank you so much for the lesson! When I look at pic #2 I feel lost, so this will really help me. I live in Zone 9 CA so I can leave alot in the ground over winter. I think I will start with a smaller area, But I love the look.
Thanks again and keep the info comming.
Linda

Thanks for the comments. Hopefully this can help people who have a hard time putting plants in the ground. I have a lot more pics and will add some more of the center piece in fron of my greenhouse. What I notice I do a lot is if the plant looks good in a certain area one year it usually gets the same spot the following year. This Ensete in the center of the bed before you get to my greenhouse has this spot to its self every year.

Your gardens are beautiful! Very interesting to see all the pictures showing how it was made too! Thanks!!

OK, time to go dig those beds up again! I have no talent for planting gardens. Wonder how many times I can dig and move them before they get mad and quit growing?
Thanks Brian, this is a big help!

Oooohhh can you take us inside the door of the last photo? What's it look like now? Thanks for the lessons in tropical101!!!

Wow that is just gorgeous! I love the mixture of textures and different plants. I haven't gotten the hang of mixing my tropicals yet - - but you inspire me to keep trying!!!

Thanks Brian!
Nice overview of how it all came together.
You guys do a Rain Forest in a big space as well or better than any Midwest Arboretum I've seen!
In fact you rival many I've seen in FL and CA.
Kudos!

One tip for us w/o as much room.
I pot a lot of Aroids, Canna and Musa.
This way you can get a feel for where they should end up.
ALSO as the Annuals and Perennials lose their peak you can fill in the bare spots.

Our garden in Spring appears to be a regular Perennial/Bulb Garden.
Mid Summer a pretty stock Cottage/Shade Garden.
By late Fall a Tropical Jungle.

Look into tropical appearing Perennials for your area too.
We have several different large ferns, Pulmonaria, Asters, etc that have a jungle look. Don't overlook the Mammoth Hosta.

Thanks again for the Tropicals 101 Brian.

Ric

Another pic of the Ensete infront of the greenhouse. I find that in most cases I try to keep things even a bit of a butterfly effect it does not have to be exactly the same but similar. In some cases were I have a large square pond I keep it almost exactly the same on either side. I think your beds make a large difference on the look as well.

This pic you see a bit of the stadium seating effect the plants have small ones up front tall ones in the back.

As for the greenhouse in the photos. Most the plants outside do not go in this greenhouse. This greenhouse holds most my super tropicals things form south america that do not do well out doors. Around 100 orchids 200 or more philodendrons two large amorphophallus beds. Tons of other anthuriums and odd aroids and other obscure plants.

I may add some more pics this is just right in the door LOL.

views inside the greenhouse

inside the greenhouse. It really is more like a jungle than outside more vines and odd rare plants. Many are not yet named and new to culture.

hold on while I go get a towel to mop up my drool! Amazing!

Brian, the picture at 3:59, what are the plants in the lower right corner? Are they philodendrons? Several varieties? I love those.

Well I collect all kinds of philodendrons. That is Gloriosum are the smaller forms there and the large shinny leaf ones are a hybrid called Mcdowellii also a crawler. This is one plant that I have no idea why it is not in more homes. It does need a larger rounder pot but boy it looks amazing and is easy to care for inside. I have mine in 7 inch pots that are about 3 to 4 ft around. I usually keep the soil down a few inches to keep the plants from crawling out it usually hits the side and starts growing around the pot feeling it up.

Brian,

Thank you so much for the extraordinary planting guide! As my basjoo starts to pup and I am looking for places to put the babies, this gives me excellent ideas. Barebones image (except for my musa sikkimensis), is below.

I am looking to eventually eliminate all grass from my yard. Who needs it?!

Take care, hope your holidays are going well.

Peace,

-Joe G.

Joegee, I agree with your opinion of grass. We had our driveway paved with brick and when they were done I asked them to put the extra brick in the yard til we could figure out what to do with it. He said "Well, OK, but it'll kill your grass." I said "No problem. I plan on not needing grass anyway." I think he thought I was nuts.LOL

I saw a pic of a friends yard a few years back all he had were Musa Basjoos Colocasia pink chinas and cannas. In his whole yard he did not dig anything up in his zone 6 and had a tunnel of plants to his front door. In winter he mulched the whole yard up. It was amazing looking. I have tried to push the whole tropical landscape idea here as well. I have a few people with pools who have done amazing jobs with their tropicals.

Living in S. Florida is not without it's tropical gardening problems. We have hurricanes here. Hurricane Wilma basically destroyed my little patio garden. What she didn't kill she left totally defoliated. It's been more than a month now and tropical envirnment that I created for myself has now rebounded

This is what my garden looked like after Wilma

This what it looks like now

more of the garden now

xeri- it's beautiful. Do you grow everthing in pots? You must do that for over-wintering.

I'm finding that all of the tropicals I've collected so far need shade, and I'm racking my brain trying to figure out how to provide it. Do you have the same problem?

Steve

Brian,

Do you think you could post again and give a little more explanation of what plants are in your pictures? That would help us newbies a lot, in determining which plants to buy or trade for, to get the effect you have in front of the GH.

Thanks. Steve.

Well were I live and how I garden changes my landscape a lot. If I were in a more tropical area I would probably use more philodendrons and anthuriums not to mention orchids and palms. But sense I am here I need the plants to move fast and most what I use close to each other maybe weeds for you and only look good for a short time before taking over. I grow around 30 varieties of banana 50 varieties of colocasia 30 varieties of alocasia thousands of cannas 30 varieties of ginger 7 varieties of ensete. Their are alsot tons of other plants angel trumpets crinums and the odd balls. But if I were in a more tropical climate it would look different I am sure.

Brian,

You have really inspired me. Thank you so much. I have never wanted to grow any tropicals outside until I saw all of your photos. I do have a few growing inside, in a tiny greenhouse that I got from Big Lots. You are amazing, all that you have accomplised with your plants and tropical gardens. Now all I can think of is a banan tree. I really want one. When the time comes for me to get one, I will ask you what is the best one for a beginner.

I do have a question about your photos. In the 3rd picture you show where you have just planted them. Then in the 4th one you show them all grown up. How long does that take for them to do that? When do you plant them? Do you replant them every year? This is all so exciting.

JesseK

I usually plant all my tropicals in March April and a few sensitive things in May. Its best to know your weather watch the news a few weeks a head. Usually leading up to this I get the beds ready as best as possible with rich dirt or cleaning them out. I usually put cannas out first and banana and colocasia out next. Cannas when rhizomes can take some cold so you have a good luck of putting them out early. But for most people it is hard to design a garden on the fly. For people who have problems wait till your last fost date and then begin putting out the largest growing plants first. These usually go in the back or are center pieces. Then work your way forward. I don't go by the size they are at that moment but what they can do. After planting they grow so fast. Each day new leaves and flowers each week it totally changes and in one season from nothing to a vast ocean of tropicals. On average with good soil and watering 1 to 2 leaves per week on the plants. The 3 photo is a few weeks in the ground the 4th photo is end of summer 4 or 5 months later.

Brian,

What are pink chinas?

bwilliams, I have come across an interesting plant in Chilterns catalogue, I wonder if you know of it or have tried it. Seed 3 for £4.89 but could be good. It's Nelumbo nucifera 'Ohga Hasu', a HHP, and was discovered in a 2,000, yes 2 thousand! year old layer of peat near Tokyo. The seed was sown and ONLY ONE germinated, a miracled I would say! Discovered in 1951, (so was I), and I grew, this is only a few generations seed from that. It is an aquatic plant, Nymphaceae, bluish green leaves to 2' across, 6' tall, and flowers fragrant to 12", upper petals pink, white at bottom. Sounds a bit like the 2 tone peony.

http://www.edirectory.co.uk/chilternseeds/pages/moreinfo.asp?Recordid=DBFBBIFB

Skatz,

most everything (except the bananas) is in pots but I never have to bring them inside (except maybe the next storm). The reason i potted everything is because this is a rental property and i don't know how long i will be here so i want to be able to move stuff fluidly from one location to another if ever the need arises. I have been very lucky because pots seem to do very well for me. I mainly grow Brugmansias (Angel Trumpets). I have several in bloom right now. Here is a pic of one of my small plants that bloomed last night. I have many others well over 6 foot tall. Ihave one large one that should bloom starting tomorrow. Probably 50 flowers on it.

Beautiful Brugmansias I have a few and a nice variegated form also. As for the Nelumbo Wally I grow about 15 varieties. I was first into aquatic plants before I was into putting them in the ground. I have been interested in breeding new hybrids of Lotus for sometime and will probably do a bit of it next season. Here is a pic of a bog I built at my mothers house for her Lotus Perry D solcum.

Here is a pic of my mother next to her plant I planted a few years back. When I first built this she yelled at me LOL. Now she says its her favorite thing in the yard manly because it has not upkeep to it.

Wow! The Lotus leaves are huge! Does she collect the seeds for you to start?
:) Donna

Yeah but I dont usually restart seeds of ones I already have its easier to get from cuttings. I do keep seeds of the hybrids though. Seeds can keep thousands of years some were found in Egyptian tombs