Anyone have success with this near the coast?

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/3017/

I saw a picture of one someone growing out on lady's island. Can you get these to grow into a tree or do they die back every year?

Next question if they do grow around here anyone have a cutting? LOL.

I was also looking at these. http://cgi.ebay.com/Kniphofia-Torch-Lily-Red-Hot-Poker-100-SEEDS_W0QQitemZ160128013619QQihZ006QQcategoryZ25463QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I just saw them on Ebay and they look cool, anyone grow these? They a worth while plant to grow?

I've got a Charles Grimaldi Brugmansia in it's second year here in Charleston. Dies back to the ground at the first frost, but like all other Brugmansias I've grown here, it reliably comes back from the roots. Pretty plant. It's blooming already, and the season is young yet...by September, the thing is absolutely covered with huge blossoms. Never tried to root a Brug cutting, but I'd be willing to try...

Some of my neighbors grow outstanding Brugs and they stay evergreen here and bloom pretty much year round. One cold night last winter the flowers dropped but they came right back within days it seemed.

Brugs are my nemesis; no matter how hard I have tried they do not bloom for me. I had a beautiful plant for several years that never bloomed. I gave it to a friend and it bloomed within a month for her. Go figure!!!!!

Corey, did you see the Lady's Island plant on the Garden A Day tour on the 4th?

CoreHHI-as far as Brugs go, I can't help, I'm starting to feel the way ardesia does, these might not be for me.

But Knifophia is VERY easy and has cool flowers-guys always seem to like them. I'm not near the coast, but I'm positive they'd do well there, because mine live on a hot, sunny, dry, sandy back and do very well. They reproduce quickly also. I've no idea how they do from seed (I'm disastrous with seeds), but it would probably not be hard to obtain in a trade. I might even have one or two..lol

Yes I saw it in the paper. It was some sort of garden tour of a master gardeners home. I would have liked to take the tour from the sounds of it. Next years project is to make a tropical section on one side of my yard. Basicly my backyard is fruit trees and large perenials on the left side. I'm going to fill in with flowers and ground cover, it's bright and open for the fruit trees. Middle is lawn. The right side is 40 ft pine trees right now which I'm going to keep and try to fill in around them with tropical looking trees and plants. Trying to make a shady spot with a water feature. I have about 100 x 50 ft to fill in. The pines pretty much are touching each other so it's shady but I really want to fill it in tropical looking plants, trees. The trouble is figuring out how to get some color in there or around the edges. I've seen very nice looking "jungle" but I need to figure out what I can grow here. I should have an idea by Christmas. EE's, palm's, I'm thinking of some clumping bamboo, BOP's if the one I have makes it through the winter. I have some plants growing to see how they do this year and I can start filling in between the pines. I'm thinking this may take a few years to figure this out.

I should be good at this stuff by the time I'm 70. LOL.

This thread has a lot of hardy tropicals for the area:

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/676582/

And of course these guys are a good reference (but expensive, lots of their stuff can be found elsewhere MUCH cheaper)

http://www.plantdelights.com/

For the shady spots-maybe some rhodos, fatsia, camellia, rice paper plant, gunnera, petasites, Ti plants for color, coleus......this could go on for hours..lol

I think you are off to a great start already. I was a docent on the tour that day and that garden was outstanding.

How about gingers for your jungle. They are relatively inexpensive, multiply rapidly and there are so many varieties that do well here. I gave away about 3 dozen Zingeber zerumbet gingers this morning. Also, alstroemeria blooms most of the year and prefers just a bit of shade around here; it is a good plant for the edge of a jungle.

It is not exactly jungle-like but hydrangeas love shade here and provide lots of color. This one is in morning sun now because the neighbors took some trees out and it would really prefer to be under some Loblollys.

Well had to look up docent. I know what that is now.

Hydrangeas and camellia would do great but I already have them planted if the front of the house. I've been looking into ginger for a while and Ti's for the last week or so.

alstroemeria?? This is the warning I just read. Nice.

This is an extremely invasive species. Although it has not yet been widely recognized as an ecological problem, parrotlily has spread into natural areas in western Australia and is likely to do so elsewhere. It is definitely ill behaved in cultivation. It self-seeds vigorously unless the flowers are cut off after blooming. Neglect deadheading or move a few tubers around in the soil and it will spread throughout your garden and haunt you forever. You can pull up every visible shred or even move away and start over with a new landscape. For a time, you may actually believe you have triumphed. But then you'll see that little umbrella of leaves popping up next to a prized plant... Spraying with Roundup just before the plants go dormant will knock parrotlily back, but it will take most of your nearby plants with it - and one or two treatments won't kill all of it.

Like I said probably by Christmas I'll have it figured out.

I've looked through plantdelights before some interesting plants.

Thanks for the suggestions.

LOL, if it were that invasive here I think I would still like it. They must be talking about a species alstroemeria, the hybrids are fine. I WISH mine would spread.

Okay I'll take your word for it.

Alstroemeria didn't do jack squat for us here in Charleston. Invasive??? We nursed it through a couple of growing seasons, but finally gave up on it. It doesn't like something we were inadvertently providing...not worth trying to figure out what it is, based on the blooms (real sparse).

arent Alstroemeria the flowers that are in arrangements so often that you get if you're sick or something?

LOL They are the flowers that are on every restaurant table in the Lowcountry. They are long lasting as cut flowers.

Stono, I have found they take a long time to get established and I have just learned they are supposed to do better if each entire stem is removed after flowering. I know that would make mine look better, they can be ratty at times.