Update on my cold hardy tropical gardens

I thought I would post new pictures on the plantings I did a few weeks ago, it seems like they have grown so much! I really love these beds so much more than the old perennial gardens I had. i am posting them sort of in the same order as before

here is another part, I just took the pictures from left to right

another picture....I just love these digital cameras! I used to end up with so many rolls of film to develop because I was so bad about getting them developed....of course if my comp crashes, I won't be so in love with them!

here is my favorite palm-of the ones that grow here! Trachycarpus fortuneii -windmill palm

Very nice! I love the plants of course, but I also really like the informal rock edging on the sides of the path--I may try that in my garden!

last one

Thanks ecrane. At first I did it so the mulch would stay in place, and I had the rocks already, and I was just trying to get the bed planted, but the path, as it is, is growing on me as well. I was going to do something next year,wasn't sure what, but I think I will keep it. Do you think I should put down pebbles-in between the rocks? I am not an artistic person! lol

Heres a picture of just a few weeks ago! i am shocked-just looked at it myself-what a difference! Tropicals are fast!

beautiful! What tropicals do you recommend for 7b? :-)

I think your rock borders look fine the way they are (of course I'm not a designer either!). I don't think it'll look bad if you put down the pebbles, but I don't think it would improve the look enough to justify all the effort to put them in, so personally I would leave it. But it's up to you of course!

Great before and after pics, thanks
I've always used the small rock or gravel (the cheapest) and large pine park mulch which decomposes slower and is not not snail friendly , just so I can get into the plants when its wet without trecking dirt everywhere. I dont know if you have truck access to that spot , I the rock delivered and after asking nicely and the promise of a nice tip they made some smaller piles around the area so it was easier to spread with a shovel instead of a mountain and a wheelbarrow.
Then each Season I just top it up with a couple of bags to redefine the borders and my feet are cleen.. I think your border looks just great.

Holy Cow! You've really come a long way with that garden design. I can't believe it all filled out like that.

Your tropicals look WONDERFUL! I love the fact that although there will be some blooms on the cannas, you have such a variety of color and texture with the foliage alone that flowers aren't really necessary. How gorgeous! And the foliar display will last all season and still look great later in the year when many gardens start to look tired. You've encouraged me to include more hardy tropicals in my garden. Thanks!

In your picture labeled, "last one", there is a beautiful tree in bloom in the upper right. What is that?

Herpst. thanks, it was a lot of fun doing this-like totally redecorating a house...although I personally suck at that! You are right-it was the foliage look that I was going for. I have always loved the tropical look. The tree is a crepe myrtle that is blooming.

I hope that you do get encouraged to try some of these plants-the majority will come back ( esp if we have some mild winters first) every year and you don't have to take them out to overwinter them. There are at least 10 types of bananas that would do well for you. Tons of gingers-all types, not just heychiums, palms etc. Part of the fun was researching what would do well and then getting them.

Justdeb...there are so many plants the are hardy here-I was really surprised. So many colocasias and alocasias, bananas, palms, cannas, gingers ( curcomas, costus -a few, hedychiums-tons, zingibers, kaempferias), some semi-tropical shrubs like bottlebrush, caesalpinia gilliesii,erythrina herbacea, fatsia, tecoma stans ( well, not sure about this one-but I did see that it was hardy one place in zone 8a-maybe even 7...I put itin the ground and took cuttings off it to keep for the winter).
There are many that I have planted or will, that I have not mentioned, and some are definitely pushing the zone ( but planting within micro climates in your yard can give the plant a better chance)
Some will make it, some not-but that is part of the fun!

Great gardens. dixie

TL, if there is no source which brings together all of these "hardy tropicals," you should consider becoming the source! SB

Great job, tigerlily! Now I know why you were asking me the question...lol.
:) Donna

I agree with stressbaby. I've been searching for that exact information. :-)

I am considering becoming a cold-hardy tropical souce a zone & a half north of you. You're *really* in a great location to do it, though. :) I'm much more limited than you, and virtually all of the cold-hardy plants known require at least mulching this far north.

I am slowly testing and accumulating plants, but it's a slow process. I have located what is supposed to be a zone 5 hardy jasmine cultivar, jasminum x stephanense from Lazy S farms -- it's planted. I'm on a quest for a cold-hardy gardenia (Kleim's Hardy, also now planted), hardy crape myrtles (I have two that survived the winter), hardy yellow hibiscus (there's a light yellow variety that can supposedly handle 6a - 5b winters), and of course cold-hardy palms (I have a t. fortuneii too. Next spring I want to plant a t. takil, a nanohrrops ritchiana, and a rhaphidophyllum hystrix.)

I continue to muck around with musa sikkimensis and m. basjoo. DG's bwilliams is working on a 6a-5b hardy alocasia.

I have found a Carolina Jessamine that is rumored to be hardy to -25f -- gelsemium sempervirens "Margarita" -- that is destined for one of my trellises.

I still think we need a cold-hardy tropical forum for all of us zone optimists/pioneers. :)

-Joe G..

P.S. TyTy Gardens in Georgia claims to have palms hardy to zone 3(!). One of these days I want to order a few and test their return policies. :)

I saw TyTy's website, and I'm probably a terrible person for admiting this, but my final decision was based on the website and the design. Something about it just did not appeal to me. Like they were trying to be progressive and artsy. I want to order from people who focus on the plants, not a bunch of kids posing around tropical plants. LOL
I'm getting sooo oooold. ;-)

JoeGee -- what would you reccommend? What have you learned so far? If you were in 7b, what things would you be looking for?
Sorry for so many questions, but I like to plan ahead and I can hardly wait until next spring. :-)

joegee, I agree about a coldhardy tropical forum-one where we all could post our results of what survived, what didn't and why ( weather, where it was planted, no mulch etc) and what plants seemed worthy of trying.

I hate to burst your bubble on that jasmine stephanese...a good friend has had one for a number of years here in Raleigh and he saw mine and laughed. Said it was a waste of space in that it was a prolific grower, but no or hardly any blooms-not enough to make it worth the space it took up. Haven't figured out what I will do with mine-perhaps leave it in a pot outside and see if it survives that! I do have 2 of the J. fiona sunrise in the ground-again no blooms but a good grower. I have to go see if it blooms in the winter, I think so, in which case I will go start some cuttings and over winter it in the greenhouse.
I have a number of palms in the ground here besides the T. fortuneii. I also T. princeps and several different Sabals ( I think 4) besides the minor, several Needle palms, several Butias, Livistona chinensis ( really protected spot), and Chamaerops humilis ( 2 different cultivars). I also have some Braheas-armata and edulis, Jubea chiliensis that are very small seedlings. My next palms to get are a few Phoenix-theophastii, sylvestris and canariensis and Trithrinax ( different cultivars). Can you tell palms are my favorite plant??? lol

Believe it or not, I just got this started a few months ago-I think in April is when I started to accumulate all these plants.
We haven't even talked about my crinum bed-I have tons of those-most are hardy and in the ground, the rest I will over winter.

There are a few palms that are very hardy-I don't know where zone 3 is in the map, but there are quite a few people experimenting with the Needle palm, sabal minor (because the trunk is in the ground it is very cold hardy) and the Trachies in New England.

We are so spoiled in the Pacific Northwest (gardeners paradise) I live within a couple of miles of a nursery called Jungle Fever Exotics which specializes in hardy tropicals - the place looks like a jungle (really). Just up the road a piece (15 minute drive) is a place called Gorders which specializes in hardy palms and just outside of Portland is Cistus Nursery (they have a website w/ a webcam & do mail order) that specializes in "zonal denial" plants. If you ever visit the PNW & want to go hardy tropical nursery hopping, just let me know!

Justdeb,

I agree re: TyTy's web site. I think the pictures are Photoshopped -- I'm not sure there are that many pretty people in one location. Still, they *guarantee* some palms to zone 3. It's *their* loss if they're wrong. :)

Anyways, in 7b I'd be looking at plants hardy through 8a/8b to put close to my house in any sheltered locations. Along the eastern side of the house, camillas sound neat, http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/710/index.html . On the south, maybe you could push a pindo palm or two (butia capitata). You can easily grow palmettos and windmill palms with minimal sheltering, and I believe ginger lilies (curcurmas and hedychiums) will work well as foundation plantings for you. I think you might be able to grow oleanders if your area doesn't freeze too hard for too long. Crape myrtles are great for your zone.

You can choose from several jasmines (Confederate jasmine, trachelospermum jasminoides, MMMMMMMM!) MANY cannas are available, of course.

Alocasias (elephant ears) are fantastic, and I love the smell of citrus blossoms. Clem-yuz 3-3, http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/62200/index.html , is supposedly hardy to 8a, so it might be possible to grow it in a sheltered/protected 7b area.

Many bamboos will thrive in your zone, as well as things like some hardy gardenias (I am trying 'Kleim's Hardy' outdoors, with sheltering/cold frame.) You can get into the musas and ensetes (bananas): musa basjoo, musa sikkimensis, musa ornata, musa acuminata 'Bordelon', and ensetes glaucum (search plantfiles and profiles/journals of other people in zone 7b like you. There are more varieties! :) ) Musella lasiocarpa, the Chinese yellow banana is a stunner.

The passifloras (Passion flowers) are lovely, and supposedly have a wonderful scent. Gunneras are dramatic foliage plants. :)

Search for bwilliams in the forums, http://davesgarden.com/forums/search.php?q=bwilliams . Brian has an absolutely stunning collection/planting of tropicals in Kentucky. The good folks here at DG taught me most of what I know about cold hardy tropicals, and I am but a babe in the woods compared to Brian's extensive experience. :)

Some tropicals take a little extra effort, mulching in winter, digging up of rhizomes, etc, but to me that's no more work than other tropicals we grow up north like gladiolus, and they look *different* from what everyone else is growing. :)

On my "zone denial" roadmap: Kumaoan palm -- trachycarpus takil; trachycarpus nanus; Mazari palm -- nanorrhops ritchiana; needle palm -- rhaphidophyllum hystrix. I also hope to establish gelsemium sempervirens 'Margarita', Carolina jessamine, next spring.

Peace,

Joe G.

P.S. HEY DG! I wish we could do a search for plants by zone, wouldn't that be useful? :)

The easter side of the house....bummer, the only side of my house that gets sun is the western side. I have a large oak and a sweetgum tree on the Northeast side that shades most all but the eastern side. I do have some room in the backyard, but it faces south maybe a tad south south-east (So many shade trees).

Thank you for all the information! I've printed this out for reference. I sure appreciate it!!! I agree, it would be nice to search for plants by zone and maybe by catagory as well (shade, sun, perrennial, tropical, potted, etc.)

Joegee,

I'm in a similar climate zone to you (albeit about 350 miles to the east), and I'm currently trying 4 needle plams (2 seedlings and 2 3-gal plants), 4x Musa basjoo, 6x Cordyline australis, a Musella lasiocarpa, two 1-gal S. minor 'Mc Curtain's, two 1-gal T. takils, and a Yucca recurvifolia. In addition, I also have a 9-year old grove of Phyllostachys aureosulcata that has been through many a winter and most of the culms are 25 ft high, as well as two-year old plantings of P. atrovaginata, P. rubromarginata, and other such plants.

I'd be interested in comparing notes with you on some of these unusual plants.

I have a 2 year old grouping of p. aureosulcata. It's only about 10' high now. I'm looking forward to watching it grow over the coming years, and no one else in the area believed a true bamboo could survive, much less thrive. :)

I want to try musella lasiocarpus one of these years. If I'm in the mood for digging I might try one of the big musas some time, and dig it in the autumn.

I've planted a few of the Southern weed trees, empress tree (paulownia tomentosa) and mimosa (albizia julibrissin) because they're not weedy here, and they please me when they're under control.

The next plant I am excited about is gelsemium sempervirens "Margarita". Carolina jessamine sounds like a jewel of a vine -- I can't wait to try it. :)

-Joe

Joegee, Lol about people not believing that true bamboo could survive where you live... It seems like everyone and their second cousin has P. aureosulcata around here.... As a matter of fact, the building that's the HQ of the Bender's Potato farm has a HUGE grove beside it, and I'm willing to bet that if I asked the other 150 or so people who have groves of P. aureosulcata where I live where they got theirs, that I'd eventually end up with Bender's as the ultimate source for about 80% of the bamboo in the area. The stuff I got, as a matter of fact came from a local source near the university I was going to, but that guy got his from his sister, who purchased it at the national Arboretum in Wasington, DC...

We also have Paulownia and Mimosa around here, and while they have naturarlized, you generally only find them in abandoned farm fields or old rock quarries... I.e. recently disturbed ground or places where most native trees won't grow, otherwise they would be unable to compete with the native plants. I even got two mimosas in my yard.

Hikaro,

I think mimosas are lovely. Even though they are invasive, at least they're not kudzu-type invasive. I hate seeing hillsides and woodlands covered in kudzu, but where I have seen them mimosas just seem to fill in areas where nothing much else seems to want to grow anyways.

Of course, I am not an expert. In reading the plantfiles entry on albizia julibrissin I note some pretty heated cross-commentary pro and con. That is debate I shall do my best to avoid. They're ALL correct. That's why I planted a mimosa here in 5b / 6a (the seedlings have a hard time with our winters -- established trees do OK), but I probably wouldn't plant one intentionally in 6b or higher. :)

I'm too new with paulownia tomentosa to know what effects it has on the natives, but to me mimosas just seem to nestle in pretty nicely. In woodlands they seem to just be another understorey tree.

My p. tomentosa is now over 6' tall, with 18" wide leaves. I can't believe the growth I am getting out of this thing. :)

-Joe

Joegee, you can grow Camellias. Look for Ackerman hybrids. I have had Snow Flurry now through 2 ro 3 winters, I can't remember. Little to no dieback. Excellent bloom last year. The key is proper siting. Isn't that the key with every plant? ;-)

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/75797/index.html

SB,

Ooooh camellias. :) Does snow flurry smell good? :)))

-Joe

albizia julibrissin is marginally hardy here.
Every 5 years or so a bad Winter will knock it back to the ground.
Ours is now 30' tall or so and the only one that I know of w/in several miles.
Currently I sitting under it watching the hummers and butterflies.

We do though have 7 different bamboos that are quite happy in their barriers.

Ric

Yeah, the Mimosas around here also got knocked back during that really nasty cold spell we had in 1985 (with an all-time record low of about -20 or so), but they all came back, however.... What I'm kind of nervous about is that those kind of really bad winters seem to travel in 20 year cycles, so we're overdue for another one. If that happens, I'll just bury my palms and other stuff in straw and leaves when/if such low temps are predicted, and throw a blanket over them for good measure.