Maybe interest in new forum for gardening in the tropics?

I've noticed that a lot of the threads under the Tropicals forum are from people that are trying to grow tropical plants in non-tropical places. And there doesn't seem to be a tropical region forum. Am I just missing something? I would think that there would be interest in a tropical region forum since we have our own set of problems (heat and humidity being uppermost in my mind at the nonce), especially since so many of the members are from tropical or semi-tropical areas. Whadayatink?

I'd tend to agree with you. There's tropicals for indoors, plants you'd think are tropical in temperate climates and then there's gardening in a tropical climate (the real thing).

Growin - glad to hear I'm not alone in my opinions....though of course, even if I were, they would still be my opinions. So what now? How do we go about getting a new forum? Do we need to see if there is more interest?

Well, start a new thread for "regional gardening - Tropical" and mention it in the Tropicals forum. I can see where some things overlap but gardening indoors and in a tropical climate are quite different.

I always thought the Tropical forum was for people in tropical climates, and for those of us who grow them indoors, there is the Houseplant forum....maybe I was wrong????

The current forums include "Indoor Gardening & Houseplants" and "Tropicals" and "Tropical Fruits"

These are all pretty much focused on the plants themselves, without regard for whether they're being grown indoors or outside.

I think what's being proposed is a regional forum for gardening in a tropical climate (zone 11 or warmer, I think is the correct definition.)

Our other regional gardening forums are a place for localized garden questions and chat, and I envision this would be the same - there are definitely specific challenges to gardening in any given location and climate ;o)

A forum specifically for those of us growing in Zone 11 or higher...even Zone 10 maybe, would be beneficial. We share some of the same challenges apart from those challenges presented by the specific plant or plantings. I think that both the Tropical and the Tropical Fruit and the Houseplant forum may benefit from lurking there too...

Good idea Shari.

Carol
Hawaii

Carol - I was really hoping that I would see you here....I enjoy watching your comments since our climates and environments are so similar....caught on the news that you are cold (50's) the last few days....that must be very strange!

Terry - I guess you would be the one to ask.....so pleased to see you here....so now what do we do?

Oh, and can someone give me some advise on how to stop reading DG???? My family is beginning to think I have been zapped by an alien intelligence and I'm being reprogrammed to ignore them and only spend my waking hours at the 'pooter. LOL

This message was edited Apr 9, 2007 9:17 AM

Shari, I think someone suggested posting in the Tropicals forum, and referring the tropical zone "lurkers" there to add their yays or nays here in this thread. That's a prudent course of action (although I'd strongly encourage you to limit it to one "cross post" thread and include link to this thread so we don't have to keep tabs on two threads in two forums.

If/when there's enough interest voiced for us to feel there's sufficient interest to warrant a forum, we'll take it from there. For now, we wait and watch ;o)

"cross-posts" , "links".....right. How 'bout I just tell 'em....I don't know from all that fancy computer lingo....(too much time as a child spent reading about the tropics - ha ha )....but I shall give it my best shot. Spread the word double digit zoners!

Zone 10 - I would like to see such a forum.

Tropical Gardening Outdoors You have my vote and interest. I wish there were a forum for all the zones- Zone 3 gardening, Zone 7 Gardening etc.

Dale - What beautiful palms you have! Mine tend to brown at the tips.....yours are truly lovely.

dale, you hit the nail on the head!!!!! I hear you talk about what you are growing and I am only one zone away, but we are in two different worlds when growing the same plant. I vote for your idea, dale....just one forum for each zone to include all plants...and still keep all current forums????

I like the idea of having a separate forum for tropical gardeners (although I'm not one of them!) but I don't think we should have separate forums for each zone--that's why we have regional forums which I think do a better job of capturing gardening needs in a certain area. For example, zone 9 in CA is nothing like zone 9 in TX or in FL, so a zone 9 forum would be more confusing than useful. But for the tropical gardeners in zone 10/11, you have a bit of CA and a bit of FL so I guess they could participate in those regional forums, but there are a lot of areas in zone 10/11 which don't have any representation at all in regional forums, and the majority of CA and FL aren't in those zones so they probably feel left out too in those regional forums.

Exactly.....gardening is quite different when you only have 2 seasons - wet/dry. I would still participate in all the other forums that I do now - but I would ignore my family even more and forget to eat (?!?) and all that other type of obsessive behavior if I had a forum just for us tropicals. Hmmmm - maybe I'm asking for something that I may regret! Hah, just kidding.....I would love to be able to chat with folks who understand my frustrations - some of you are wonderfully kind and helpful, but just don't "get it".

Oh my....that sounded waaaaay too obnoxious! I love this site....and everyone who participates in it. You have all enriched my life more than I can say - please disregard that "get it" comment.

I live in Zone 9 Florida, which I know is different than Zone 9 Texas, or Zone 9 California. I notice we have separate forums for Pacific Northwest, Southwest, Mid Atlantic, Mid South, Central Midwest, Upper Midwest Gardening ... Why not a separate forum for Sub Tropical Gardening? Zones 10 & 11 are Sub Tropical in my mind and totally different gardening than anywhere else! The Forum for Tropicals is just mainly regarding Tropical Plants, that many of us grow indoors. Since we have all the different "State" Gardening Forums, I think one for those States or Areas in Sub Tropical Climates is warranted. Even though I don't live in a Sub Tropical Area, I would still "Lurk" and maybe chat with folks on that forum once in awhile just as I do on many of the others. And, I think folks who live in the Islands and Sub Tropics would greatly appreciate being able to get first hand advice from others in those areas.

Lin

I'm not sure that sub-tropics isn't already covered. I was thinking more of the international members and of course our dear friend AlohaHoya and others in Hawaii. There is just nothing in the regional forums that addresses concerns in Brazil, all the Pacific islands and the many other tropical areas in the world. Forgive me if I misunderstood....maybe we are just visiting a site meant for the US. Tis cool if so - don't mean to step on toes.

Lin--in zone 9 you're subtropical. Zone 10/11 are tropical and that's exactly what's being discussed here, a forum for people who live in those zones to get help from people with similar climates. (if zone 10 and 11 are subtropical, what's tropical? The zones don't go any higher than that!)

Dave has been trying to internationalize DG, this would be a wonderful way to do it!!!

I don't visit the Texas gardening forum much.....there are only a few people who post there except for one top notch lady called Htop or something like that..............way knowledgeable!!!! I would rather go the individual forums as the Texas forum is more for natives and wildflowers....
I can understand now why it wouldn't work to have zone sites...they are different even though the same zone....

Adding new forums doesn't mean that others will disappear. It would just give some of us a new place to discuss common plants and problems.

I think that the West Coast has a climate that is a world all is own, call it ocean infulence. I have lived in CA, TX & FL (about 13 years each) and the climate of Z9 of FL & TX have more things in common than not, call it the continental air mass. Z9 in CA has very little in common with the rest of the US in the weather department. Z9 in CA has thousands of acres of citrus, Z9 east has none.

I have seen one thread where 3-4 people from CA recommend that someone in TX, just south of Dallas grow a palm. What people in CA don't realize is that a couple nights of freezing weather and then warmer for weeks in CA is not equal to many nights of cold weather over months of witner in TX.

San Francisco is in Z10 and so is Tampa's coastal area. I can only think of about 10 plants that grow in both places. I can think of several hundred that won't grow in both. When I compare STexas (say Harlingen) to Tampa all their plants grow here.

My point is...we will sort it out. I still think that a zone based forum would work well.

I vote yes to "tropical" forum. Which will welcome everyone at home in the US and Overseas. Regional seems to isolate zonal difference/alikeness. But tropical? Will be a treat for EVERYONE.

I always thought Sub Tropical was a warmer, more humid climate like the Bahama Islands, Virgin Islands and even the South Pacific Islands. I have always heard North and Central Florida (Zone 9) referred to as Tropical, whereas South Fla, SW Fla and the Fla Keys (Zone 10) as Sub Tropical, much warmer and higher humidity.

I know an hour South of Daytona (still Zone 9), folks can grow things that I can't. Plants that will survive there in the winters would be killed by frost and freezes here in East Central Florida. Maybe since I'm not in Zone 10/11, I shouldn't be discussing it. But, If there were a forum for "The Tropical Islands" I would still visit it at times just for the education, hearing and learning about the plants they grow in their area.

Lin

I think "subtropics" are the regions adjacent to the true tropics.

Terry's right, tropical is the warmest areas and subtropical is areas near them but not quite as warm. Tropical areas are warm all year round and never get frost, etc vs subtropical areas you will get some winter chill, possibly some frost from time to time, and have to protect more sensitive plants.

Lesson Learned! Thanks!

Anybody know how to get this back to the top so people will see it? I'm afraid we are getting lost in the traffic.....DG is just too darn popular!! Hah - and would we be here if it wasn't just the greatest site on the web??

TTT

I would love to lurk on such a forum, as I am envious of those who can actually garden in paradise! -lol

Me too!! Love tropicals but can't grow them due to lack of space and a tropical green thumb. lol. My thumb is only green for plants that need little attention. I would love to see the tropical fourm.

TTT???

I think she was bumping the thread for you....any post will do it.

Oh! Wow, learned my something for the day.....cool. Thanks for the clarification.

Shari, you've a great idea, and although I am by no means tropical, I'd love to be a lurker in your forum!! :)

I'm going to post in a few more spots to see if there is more interest.

One of the big advantages to having a forum with everyone on the same page (higher zones) is that we could exchange seeds, cuttings and other information knowing it (they were) would be directly useable....without going into growing habits and temps etc......

Carol

Out of curiosity, I took a look to see how many subscribers there were in zones 10/11 (I only looked at subscribers, not members since I figure subscribers are more likely to participate regularly in forums). There are only 24 subscribers who live in zone 11 which is the true tropical climate, there are 194 who live in zone 10, but scrolling through the list many of them are in coastal areas of California which I wouldn't consider truly tropical--the winters may be frost free but nights tend to be chilly and we don't have any humidity to speak of so it's a different growing environment. Most of the rest were from Florida and they already have their own FL forum. So that may be why there hasn't been a huge amt of interest so far?