All of you tropical lovers must have some advise for me. I am looking for a really good book on the care and feeding of tropical plants. With our rainy/windy seasons and salt spray and scorching sun, I need some SERIOUS help. Beautiful full flowering shrubs are now leggy, leafless ....pulling my hair out. Can anyone help?
Recommended Reading??
Sorry, can't help with the book recos, but if you let us know what the plants are that you're having trouble with someone here may have some suggestions for you. If your conditions are really as bad as you make it sound (baking sun, wind, salt spray, etc) a book may not be what you need, all the care and feeding in the world isn't going to make a plant look good if it isn't adapted to those tough conditions, the key is to find the right plants for your climate. It could be that you're not doing anything wrong at all, just that the plants you have can't handle those extreme conditions (many plants can't!)
Are there any Botanical Gardens near where you live? If so ask to speak to one of the gardeners and tell them what you are growing and they can usually help you with any problems you may be having. Where exactly are you located?
Hello ShariScott.
Welcome to Dave's Garden!
From what I pick up (and thanks to the internet), you are in the Marshall Islands, correct? Here is a what I found about where you live:
Kwajalein Atoll is located in the western Pacific Ocean, about 2,100 miles southwest of Hawai'i and 1,400 miles east of Guam. The island is home to USAKA(United States Army Kwajalein Atoll), the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site, and about 2,000 support personnel and family members on Kwajalein and Roi-Namur islands.
I can't even begin to imagine your growing conditions, let alone make any recommendations. However, I'm sure you've piqued the interest of many experts here and will get alot of great advice.
Good luck to you.
Erick
Yep Erick, you nailed it first try. Our island is very small - 3 1/2 miles long by 1/2 mile wide. All of the plants I have in my garden, I purchased or was given by other people on the island. Well, almost all. I am growing an herb garden that I planted from seed - it is doing very well, my basil and cinnamon basil are thriving. I am also growing peppers from seed. So far so good. The plants that I received from others here - hibiscus, ixora, croton, orchids, and more ....when I got them they seemed to be in great shape, but all of a sudden they are losing their leaves, leaves are turning yellow or brown.... how can I be watering too much AND too little at the same time? I even had a beautiful lantana, that is now bare bones! And I thought those could grow anywhere! I just got here a few months ago from the Rocky Mountains, where I had a beautiful garden - but those conditions were considerably (!) different. Any ideas?
Government conspiracy?
Lol, sorry... but you're right- I can't really imagine Crotons or Ixoras dying! If you received them from others on the island, maybe they can give you tips?
Could it be that someone who lived there before you used something in the soil that would be harmful? Although I don't know how orchids would fit that scenario, unless they're terrestrial orchids(correct term?), and are in the ground as well...
Good luck!
~Gina
Gina I like how your mind works! :)
Unfortunately, the way things work out here, usually when you buy plants from someone, or inherit them, its because the original owners are leaving....so no joy there. I have asked around, some folks water every other day....one gal who has beautiful ixoras waters get this - twice a day! I'm right on a corner - so I get a lot of wind and spray....I'm thinking that is my problem. But by reading a lot of the forums here I am finding that many of my "problems" aren't really - they are just going dormant. Of course that doesn't really explain my hibs and crotons....but I am still trying with them. I am nothing if not determined....but thanks for the good thoughts.
You're very welcome Shari! I just hope they all make full recoveries. :)
ShariScot
How is your Humidity ? What type of soil ? Zone 11 must be warm no frost ? Here we rarely have any plants go dormat in our zone, humisty goes down in Winter .
We would have very sandy soil but we pre-pare our garden beds with lots of Organic materials. This has allowed us to grow everything with no problem.
I Nurse Aid who has lived in Florida told me yesterday you can't grow this can't grow that , hardly anything grows in her sandy soil. I to,d her you need to make the soil in your garden beds first then you can grow anything and everything !
We have never had Crotons lose leaves ? Our Hibiscus lost all their leaves when they were trans-planted ruffly by gardners but within a month or so ever leaf grew back.
Maybe your soil/plants that are near each other have a virus .
Can you tell us more about your soil, humidity , growing condition please.
If you have some pictures of the damaged plants that would help us too. My thoughts would either be that there's too much wind or salt spray (some plants are not very tolerant of that), possibly the people you got them from lived in a little more sheltered location than where your house is, or as Violet mentioned if your soil is really sandy it may not hold much in the way of nutrients or water, so some amendments with organic material may be the best place to start. Also, transplanting can be tough on plants, I know here if I plant things in the summer when there's lots of sun and heat, I have to really baby them to keep them from dying, and sometimes even that doesn't work so you're better off planting things during a cooler rainier season (if you have one of those). Your comment about watering too much and too little at the same time makes me think about transplanting in hot weather--a newly transplanted plant doesn't have a good enough root system yet to be able to take up all the water the plant needs from the soil, especially during the day when the sun's beating down on it, so it will wilt and look like it hasn't had enough water, when in fact there is plenty of water in the soil, the plant just isn't able to take it up fast enough. Then people think the plant needs water and water it more, and then the roots rot from being too wet and the leaves turn yellow and fall off.
Ecrane,
Incidentally, you just solved one of my problems!!! LOL!!!
Although it's not funny when I think about it... poor dead things. I really have to seperate the adjacent pots by watering needs...
~Gina
My dad worked in Kwajalein for years (he is a carpenter), mom lived on Third Island. I'll ask them about plants, all I recall hearing is about plumeria, and breadfruit.
Watch out for radiation there-sorry, bad joke.
Did anyone else watch "X Files"? When I read the above description of her island, then heard about those dying plants, I immediately thought it was a case for Mulder & Scully, LOL
And of course, the government would have been involved...
Sorry for being off-topic,
Gina
Forgive me if this has been addressed but how long have these plants been in the ground? With such harsh weather conditions transplant shock is a real issue.
I didnt read all of these but I was thinking sea salt might be a problem?
Thank you all for your suggestions and ideas. Our island is a coral atoll, so very few plants are actually grown in the ground .... palm trees, plumeria, sea grape, sea lettuce, breadfruit....a few others. Mostly we container plant. Our temp is right around the low 80's year round give or take a few degrees, and we have very high humidity. A rainy season and a windy season which is what I am battleing right now - very strong winds. When I water, I also wash the plants down so there isn't a lot of salt accumulation - and yes they probably all came from more protected areas, because I am right on a corner and have very little space out of the wind. And of course the plants in that area are doing fine....should have given me a big hint , huh?
That's probably it, wind especially if it comes with some salt spray can be bad news for many types of plants. I think the trick for you will be to find some tall plants that can take the wind/salt spray and plant those at the edge of your property as a windbreak (planting in the ground would probably be best, but if that's not an option then get big heavy containers that won't blow over in the wind). Once the plants in the windbreak have grown a bit, then the plants closer to the house should be protected somewhat from the wind and you'll probably find they do a lot better. Unfortunately I don't live right on the coast and even if I did, coastal CA is not at all like your climate, so I can't suggest specific plants that would be good as a windbreak, but hopefully someone here can (or take a look around the island to see if other people have plantings for this purpose and copy what they've done)
That's a good idea, Thanks ecrane. I'll start looking around for some good windbreaks. And thanks for the tips on the replanting in hot weather.... I had, and that is probably the answer to my over/under watering....common sense just took a holiday I guess. Now I can go into my garden with a plan instead of just reacting.