Evergreen exotics for zone 7b (and surrounding)?

Hey everyone, I am trying to get as many ideas as possible for the garden I am working on. During the summer, the tropicals, perennials, and bulbs growing fill in everything nicely but I did a poor job of building year round interest in this area, as you can tell.

Where the new garden is, it gets full baking sun nearly all day except very late afternoon. The red clay here is very dense so I'm already working the soil some. I want to leave a spot for more arid plants and the rest a mix of exotic plants/tropicals that can handle full baking sun---hopefully without a ton of water, because we've had bad drought in NC.

suggestions?

by comparison this is what it looked like after last year (the first year I planted nearly everything)

Trop- that is awesome! It is so lush looking...could I please have a mai tai? And what you say is exactly what I was trying to get across in the other forum and failed miserably...I want the lush tropical look but I want year round interest - which is one of the reasons I put the Ilex family in there plus it also blooms near xmas with the most delightful scent and little white flowers..

So in lieu of going all evergreen bones I was curious if there was something else out there that might hold winter interest - hmmm guess I could put a huge fountain out there LOL JK

That is gorgeous Kara! Let me think about what I grow that might make it there. A lot of the shrubs and stuff I grow freezes down to ground level too--I also need some evergreen "bones" for my back fence construction/destruction project. So I am also actively researching this very subject too.

What elephant ear is that you've got on the far left called? I love the flagstone edging too--nicely done!

You also have the "Playhouse next door" like I have to deal with too. One thing that comes to mind that I like because it has beautiful winter berries is a Possum Haw Holly--but its definitely not tropical but is hardy and drought tolerant:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/58203/

Let me think on this--kinda tired tonight, I can't imagine why--LOL

That first shot looks rather COLD to me! The last time it snowed here I was in the hospital 50 miles to the east (only been in the hospital 3 times my entire life--once to have a baby and the other 2 times with a badly broken leg) and you'd know it--that's when it snowed and stuck to the ground. Had to listen to my daughter rub it in on the phone! Just my luck to miss it all...
Debbie
=)

I'd plant some different ornamental grasses there if it were mine - they turn brown, yes - but the add interest, structure, wildlife habitat and food - there isn't much that you can say about ornamental grasses buy 'YES'!

gosh y'all I was almost trying to steer away from hollies because we have some native here and I look at them all the time....but I do appreciate the use of natives in the landscape and those are both very nice

Hey Debbie--on the left you see xanthosoma sagittofolium :
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2218/

which I did leave out this year muched up waaaay high---fingers crossed. The edging is old decayed firewood that was here when we moved...trying to use it, although I love rock gardens. Is the Possum Haw Holly spineless?

And Kay, do you have any in mid that you would recommend for full sun, I have zebra grass and the variegated arundo already, and always up for new ideas, thanks so much everyone

Yes its spineless--I'm tired, it (the holly), came quickly to mind. Gotta admit its a slow grower for me though. I'll try to think a bit more exotic. ;)

Is it invasive? I see in Florida it can be--kind of a toss of the dice the way things freeze back to ground level here. The xanthosoma sagittofolium, that is.

I like maidenhair grass....oats also look pretty cool too with their tassles blowing in the breeze..

hhhhhhhmmmm, I don't know actually, but I'm sure someone on the aroids forum would be able to tell you or maybe someone knows here?

The Xanthosoma Sagittifolia is considered in parts of Florida as a weed usually in really wet boggy areas on the sides of roads or ditches. I have never really seen it out of control but I have seen clumps growing in areas were they were thrown out.
Tropicanna I hope it comes back but it is very easy to rot. I did have a friend in NC who over wintered his so you may be lucky. I am not sure if his was the same his may be robustum.

I hate to even guess Deb, but I'm thinking that if your summers are on the dry side it wouldn't be invasive, they like moisture a lot.

Brian, I mulched it heavily, but it's no microclimate, for sure. The trunk was still firm under the mulch until we got snow a couple of weeks back and I am seeing it get mushy now--not sure what to do there other than pile more leaves

The area I'm looking to fill is in the back corner in between the GH and the white poles (the BF grows hops). On either side the existing tropicals are going to need water and so are the hops, but in the middle is where I'd like omore arid plants. Our drainage is funky so I've been studying where the water goes..lol

a closer view...

there's also that lasagna bed started in the foreground, but I think I've pretty well got that one mapped out.

I love your country view! Can't wait to see what you do with it...it looks like a quiet peaceful area...until the bf starts brewing right LOL

I saw a shrub today, pieris japonica, that I had forgotten about and would like to put it in the super sunny spot, anyone have experience with that one?

Kara, could I just come and dig your garden up and replant it in my yard?! HA HA HA

well, sure, if you can replace everything with plants that are hardier..more evergreen, and harder to find around here...lol

rednyr...it is kind of funny, exotics in tobacco country

So what I'm going to try to focus on planning at this moment is the back of the dry part of the new bed. I'd like at least one tall tree or shrub that will stay mostly evergreen...the obvious response would be a trachy palm or something similar..but I don't want to have to wait forever to have a tall one

This message was edited Feb 29, 2008 12:28 AM

Well, once we get a good list up and running I will be right there! ☻

gosh, not picking on you misty, but so far not getting too many suggestions, I may have to spend some real time looking thru stuff tommorrow

I'm on a late night sowing spree

I thought there were quite a few suggestions on my thread.
Happy sowing!

gosh, I read and read, when I had the chance, I was hoping for the short version :)

Me too, which is why I started the new thread, but I think it is too much for people to repost what they already had. sigh

It'll pick up in a day or two, everyone got all excited...which can be tiring. ;) I know I'm beat

Oh yes, definitely a lot of excitement, and I am tired! ☻Ok, I won't crash your thread anymore! HA HA HA

Tropicanna,
Pieris can have quite a lot of sun. Just dig it up and replant it, should be fine! Just remember it likes a slightly acidic and loose soil!

Tropicanna,
How much has it been costing you to heat your GH and what temps have you kept it at day/night? I would like one that size but scared to heat it.

Tuink--sob! I looked today at pieris and they all said part sun....and I guess I never have seen one here in full sun (too hot probably?)---gonna keep at it though, and now I know I should put at least one in the beds that get more shade

shadow--we estimate it costs an extra 50-60 a month--hard to tell with our billing cycles versus last year, previous month, etc. Our weather is pretty erratic but during most sunny days I can cut the heat off and turn the the fan on...it can stay anywhere from the upper 60's (when I cut the heat off) to nearly 100 the other day. I'd like to keep it warmer, the temps range from 40-60 at night, the thermostat does not keep up well, and sometimes it's just too cold with the heat full blast. It would be too expensive for me to keep it at 70 or above, which is where the tropicals wanna be. Me too! I also insulated as much as I could...double.

A small GH (mine is 8x8) is harder to regulate than a bigger one. We're in the same zone, so your experiences might be similar or not depending upon how you heat it, etc... tons of info about this on the GH forum if you do a search and dig :) I'm debating heating it next year, because I have to focus more on hardiness and I probably could have kept a lot of thingsin the GH just as dormant as they are now without the heat and pass the non-hardy tropicals/exotics on

lol--hope I don't sound unenthused, the bills are kinda rough though

OK, I said I wouldn't crash, but here I am! HA HA HA
Just curious about what Tuink had mentioned-Would it be possible to under plant it with something to keep the roots cooler, kinda like a Clematis? Newbie here, so just a thought!

I bet Misty for your zone that would work great! no talk about crashing, Dave's is a community :)

Here I have to keep cypress mulch, gravel mulch, etc on my lonely clematis to keep the roots cool, it's done much better since I started that and it's in a kinda shady spot. I'm guessing the leaves probably burn from too much sun on the pieris here? I don't know that much about pieris but that's what happens with lots of plants in full sun here, including lots of tropicals, actually. But I do think they could handle more sun where you are, and what you suggested with the clematis would look great. So I might have to try that in a shadier spot, thanks

OK, about vines--anyone know of evergreen vines that look exotic?

Ok, no more chat about that then! :)
I am not good with clematis, but I didn't know how to care for them before. My favorite vines are Honeysuckle, and I do good with those! :)

Guess your full sun is a lot hotter than ours....

Here I see them growing in spaces that don't get any shade at all!

Underplanting may be a good idea.

Exotic looking evergreen vines? Try Passiflora caerulea. It's hardy in 8b.

misty--ahhh, honeysuckle, we have it wild (invasive, but I still like it ok), not on that side of the property. maybe some of the different kinds (I know there's a pink one I'd like to have), I hadn't thought about that!

Tuink--underplanting..always! I think you mean overplanting or crowding, and I'm gonna try over the next week or so to add more full garden pictures to my journal, but I'm so easily distracted by the next post on dave's! P. incarnata is a southeastern native that we have a lot of here, but it dies back, so I'll have to look into careulea

I think this is where the USDA zones get tricky for me because they are based on winter lows. It doesn't really consider summer heat or humidity year round which are also important. For instance shadow's 7b in Alabama is hotter in the summer and probably more humid (guessing, it was a long time ago since I've been there) than ours in North Carolina.

I started out with just the normal everyday yellow and white, but one of the Ladies in Waiting in our Princess game sent me the one that has the red flowers and I was so tickled!!!!

Good for you! you'll have to show pictures when they bloom

Thanks, I gotta figure out where to put it now! LOL

Osmanthus heterophylla, http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/56751/ , goshiki is really pretty. Aucuba japonica, http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/shrubs/aucuba_japonica.html , http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/122217/ is also nice. Other evergreens would include a clumping bamboo or two, or a low running bamboo with variegation, maybe a witch hazel for fragrant winter blooming http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/b/Hamamelidaceae/Hamamelis/none/cultivar/0/ , winter jasmine http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2346/ , or winter daphne http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/54758/ . There are rhododendrons, palmettos, and the needle palm, that would still provide color and texture in winter. Heck, you could try omeo gum, http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/41101/ , eucalyptus neglecta. Camellias are known for their winter blooms.

:)

-Joe

Trop- I am growing two types of passi's right now...let me check and see if they are what Tuink suggested... also...how about a chocolate vine...they are evergrn and I carry them at work...could always bring you one to try...I mean anything with chocolate in the name can't be half bad LOL

OHHHHHHHHHH a chocolate plant! LOL

joe--thanks for the great list!

I'm glad you said Needle Palm, I haven't tried one, and because it reminded me of butia capitata (sp??) which I desperately want to try here. People are growing them all over coastal NC where I'm from. I think both would look great there. Thanks so much
In shady areas camellia, winter daphe, aucubas and rhodos are doing well here.
I made the mistake of planting phyllostachys aurea in my yard when I did not know of such things as barriers--not a problem yet but I know it will be. Love Witch Hazel....and this is kinda rough to admit, but I've already killed three small eucalyptus trees :( Still I am tempted to try the one you linked to..nice.

rednyr--would love some of the chocolate vine, thanks! So many tropicals and exotic looking plants are not available near here.

Misty, there's a peanut butter bush also...a clerodendrum I can't think of the whole name but if you type in peanut butter in PF it will come up...lol...I might have to investigate the water needs of the Reese's cup combo for the BF, he loves them.

OHHHHHHH then we could have Reeses PB Cups!!! YIPPPPPPEEEEEE