Karen, thats definatly a great book to put on your wish list!
Does anyone know if those cape fushias are hardier then zone7?
I'd like to add Fuchsia magellanica 'Aurea' to our list of hardy plants, I've overwintered it sucessfully here in zone 6, it needs to be well covered though, I found out that whatever stems aren't covered/mulched will die back here. Theres also a plain green type and a white flowered variety but I haven't tried those. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/125973/
Steven
"what-can-I-grow-in-my-zone"
Hi Steve,
I am sure someone will be along to help you out with that question. But in my opinion, I would tempt it here since it shows the lowest temp as 5º. Of course, I like to tempt fate, too!
I really like the pink one and it says -17C (0F) as the coldest. We do get temps colder then that, but in a sheltered spot with some mulch you're probably right! Now I just need to get my hands on one!
Steven
Add it to your want list and maybe someone will find something you have that they want and vice versa! 'smile'
Wow....Brian we ask, and there you are being your generous self again, thanks!! Steve, that's definitely required reading even for those that can grow palms easily.
Kara, my dear...that tip in using newspapers under mulch..I'll certainly use it.
Hey there sweet Jaye! ♥
Hiya Tammy! Ain't this nice, don't have to navigate all over the place, and one thread answers most of your questions!
Plus such nice DGers too.
AMEN sister! We have some wonderful input thus far and am hoping to get a ton more!!!
Shhh! I'm still lurking.
I didn't hear a thing, Robin! smile
---btw Robyn, I got your package mailed off today :) lol
Brian,
Good for you, I guess after I thought about it the only one I am surprised about is Moorei, because I have heard it reported hardy to 7b-8a, but doesn't bloom as well. Is your moorei blooming consistently over time? I sure hope so because I have some I was planning to try this year
misty, it occurred to me that there are people in Canada and other cooler climates trying to grow exotic plants, they may also be a good resource. Plant Delights can give you lots of ideas (and drain your bank account fast..lol) : http://www.plantdelights.com/
and my daughter is home but I'll try to get those links for you later, here's one that has caught my eye..I haven't tried it outside but I will this year (it may be listed above), livistona chinensis. If you scroll down the comments there was someone in 6b overwintering it : http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/57887/
I WILL NOT LOOK AT THAT LINK
I WILL NOT LOOK AT THAT LINK
I WILL NOT LOOK AT THAT LINK
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Here is a pic of the cactus garden outside in Atlanta Botanical gardens. A lot of the stong growers for them will survive up here if in a really well drained spot. Usually with cactus and succulents being drier is more important than the cold. Also with a hardy tropical landscape it does not take a lot to make a tropical to jungle effect. You can do a lot with Musa basjoo, canna ,and a few hardy colocasias.
really though, you could probably ask for what looks exotic in canada and have a safe hardy garden...lol...it would be much easier, I love tropicals but I am so sick of this clay.
I would love to find some Cacti and Succulents that would withstand our cold, other than just the hens and chicks. Also something that isn't dangerous when you reach in to do something in your garden! HA HA HA
you gotta get some yuccas misty (lol..ouch!), I love them, the flowers are awesome
I have a Yucca Palm and it is staying in its pot! HA HA HA
Thank you Kara.
I just got Plants Delight catalog and I must say WOW!
Yuccas are great and they don't hurt too bad if you reach in the right way.
This think is dangerous if you aren't careful!
So Brian do your Crinum Moorei bloom consistently?
alright, gotta go....lol
If I were in Canada I would probably be trying to create a more prehistoric type effect with the following plants. The guys from the creationism museum visited here looking for a list of plants to do a prehistoric garden. It would be interesting to see how their garden came out I may go visit this season to and see how they did.
I added links to some of the plants to show what they look like most are large foliage plants.
Skunk cabbage which can get around 3 to 4 feet tall. probably found native in most parts. Their are 3 forms one form is a bit smaller grower.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adlesparrow/992537233/in/photostream/
Another would be Bracken ferns they spread but get around 6 feet tall and look tropical.
http://www.missouriplants.com/Ferns/Pteridium_aquilinum_page.html
Another fern would be the ostridge fern which I have heard of reports of it growing over 6 foot. Aparently their is a larger form possibly a tetraploid form that can get huge.
http://www.saxifraga.de/foto_bot/matteuccia_struthiopteris.jpg
One of my personal favorites which I have been collecting forms of is petasites.
http://www.bellewood-gardens.com/Hortulus%20Farms_Judy.jpg
One of the more invasive but prehistoric plants would be horses tail - equisetum their are a lot of different forms from minitures to 9 footers a lot are hardy in cool climates. This form shown is very interesting.
http://www.ualberta.ca/~mjs14/vascpics/images/Equisetum%20sylvaticum%20(2).jpg
Other plants I would suggest are ligularias , rhubarb, gunnera, true calla, peltendra, Their are tons but some need certain conditions usually were it stays cool and damp. Others I can grow here year rounds. Oh and hardy hibiscus their are some nice new forms.
Hi Brian,
That last link didn't work, but the rest of them make my mouth water!!!
The cirnum did not do much the first year possibly one bloom for me. The last few years it flowered just about all summer and usually was full of flowers. Here is a pic of it front and center.
Hey, does any body want some tropical milkweed seeds? Please d-mail me. Sorry about the post that isn't supposed to be here Tammy!
I followed you guys here, from somewhere.... It was a thread where a possibly new "hardy tropical" forum was being discussed... So here we are.... I'm a self-proclaimed zone pusher, nothing embarassing or shameful about it. Brian got me interested in growing things not "ethical" to my zone. I've tested banana's in my zone.... I'd never grown banana's, so some of my failure could have came from inexperience, but I kept one in the ground all winter and it came back, not as prolific growing as the summer before, but it came back... I hope to get re-interested in nanners, and continue my trials. If you can find a micro environment next to a foundation or building, you can push 1 or 2 zones higher for that area. I have cannas, that have come back for 4 or 5 years - no digging in fall. I am testing a method on a brugmansia I'd planted in the ground last spring, chopped of at ground level and covered with mulch and plastic bags of mulch; Mulch itself for protection from cold and the plastic bags keep moisture away from the dormant rootball. I anxiously await warmer weather to see if there is anything to see. Next winter, I'll be testing Brian's Pink China in my zone, and a few other ee's as well. At the moment, I can't think of new to add to the list. There is a purple passionvine that is hardy here, I can't remember the name and I don't have one, yet. Thanks Everyone! I didn't realize SO many people in the norther states were interested in the tropicals. Since we have people like Brian, out there inventing tropicals for the not-so-tropical garden and everyone else here at DG, sharing their experiences, it won't be long until we're all wearing grass skirts and coconut bras...er something like that!
Brian, whats the leafy plant in this picture? The one behind the cannas http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=4587628
It's quite nice!
Steven
Weedy, what are you talking about? I don't know of any post that isn't suppose to be here silly girl! 'smile'
Hey AuntB, you are my kind of girl! smile
Well in the pic is three of my hybrid cannas to the left is Banana itinerans and to the right is the plant I think your looking at called Amorphophallus paeonifolius. This is a small one here is a picture of a big one. It is a zone 8 plant and I have been able to over winter some smaller tubers if well mulched but the larger tubers I always dig up and store. The flowers are possibly one of the oddest in any garden.
Wow! Cool plant Brian. I'm really starting to like tropicls more and more. I need to start collecting.
AuntB, are you talking about Maypop, passion vine?
Yes, I think that's what they call it, Robyn. Do you have some? I mean, zone 6b isn't that much different than zone 5b, but wait, did someone change the zones recently...? I think I'm in zone 6 now... maybe I could snag a couple cuttings this spring? I just love the amorphs, I noticed one I have in a pot is going to bloom, in the basement....I hope it takes it's own sweet time, I might have to bag it.. Such foliage to lend a tropical look, and the bulbs store dry in winter. I have some laying in a flat on a shelf down there, too. Oh, I also have some volunteers I leave growing about 3-4 ft from the foundation of my house.. whatever zone it's in, they don't know, they just grow there. When they get big I'll probably dig them, too.
AUNTB!!!!! how are you???
I have ordered from PDN. I have several of their plants now, yucca rostrata and sabal minor mccurtain. They are a magnificent place.
-Joe
just had to quickly second joegee on PDN before I look up all that stuff. You should check out plant delights not just for the temptation factor, but mainly to give you more ideas on things to plant. They have been trialing plants here in NC for a long time, do TONS of research, and they also have hardiness notes..etc. Whatever their catalog says I can grow has worked out very well for me. If you're ever closeby, it is worth a scheduled visit....beautiful place.
bwilliams, nice blooms, hadn't thought of the garbage bag thing...would have been too easy this winter
OK, I guess I will go take a look at the thread then! HA HA HA
OK, back to shrubs..lol. :
aucuba :
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/130/
photinia:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/58261/
mahonia--really love this one
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1898/
camellia
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/710/
azalea
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/415/
rhododendrons (laurels also)
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/58228/
farfugiums are cool also, if you check some of the comments you'll see folks noting survival in upper zones:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/55089/
yep...you should have a ton of info by now...
Tropicanna, Tony Avent sells a farfugium as a ligularia japonicum that he says is hardy into zone five, so I'd say there are at least a few of these that are hardy into the northern states. :)
-Joe
Good morning everyone!♥
Thanks so much for posting the links, it is most helpful!!!!!
I first saw farfugiums at Plant Delights fall open house a couple of years back, they really are eye-catching (and so are asarums : http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=asarum&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bblank_cultivar%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search
and there should be a few of those as well that will be hardy for you. They really do sell a number of very versatile plants, and I'm not sure if there's a way to browse through the old catalogs of theirs, but over time they have just done so much in the way of trialing they are a huge resource.
..lol...which reminds be of the lespedeza they have by their waterfall, there's another one you could try: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/878/
Those are pretty neat plants I would kill for a Camelia. (not really kill) but you know what I mean.
AuntB, I may have some Maypop seeds, I will look.
HA HA HA Robin! I REALLY need a larger yard you know!!!!