Every year I get people who come to my place and ask how do I grow my plants so large and so fast. They also seem very shocked to find out that a lot of them survive all winter. So forget getting a greenhouse and forget the way you use to garden.
Lets begin with some of the most common misunderstandings for tropical gardening.
First off their are always people who tell me (You can't). The most common garden quote form these people are ( You can't grow that here!). This quote is common sense I am in the south. I find that these people are very set in their thinking, that sense they have not seen it growing around before or if it's written in a book for a certain zone that it cannot be possible to grow here. Yet every year here I am growing these plants in the ground and proving them wrong. Growing and over wintering tropical plants in a northern climate is fairly new to people and to some it is still hard to believe. Though many of these plants can not only survive but flourish year after year. So here is the best ways to go about gardening the way I do.
You need to first pick out a good sunny spot in the yard. It needs to be a good spot for a tropical display were it will get seen and enjoyed, wind protected areas also help. So once you get your area picked out and you have it squared off. I usually tell people to make sure you have this area in a spot were you can expand. I find year after year my beds and landscape areas expand and it's best to have the space to keep them moving.
This next step is very important. Most people run out after the first step and dig holes and throw plants into the ground. This can work, but here we are looking for the best. The best thing to do is get a few large loads of compost and manure. Don't mix it with your soil just add it to the top. In most cases 1 to 2 feet deep of compost is what I use on my new beds. The idea here is the bed is rich organically it also holds a ton of water for the hot summer months. It also produces heat from breaking down and rotting of the organic material which helps root system in early spring and also helps over winter the plants. From this moment on no longer look at your landscape area as a regular garden bed but as a ever expanding compost pile. For the most part your plants should be growing in a compost pile bed. This is the key to great plants that return year after year. I find that growing plants in this way can increase the hardiness of the plants by two to three zones. Meaning if a plant is planted in this bed and mulched for protection I can get some zone 8 plants to survive my zone 6 winters.
Now that the bed is done. I would suggest finding the right plants. With this type of bed your looking to grow more water loving plants such as Bananas cannas and Colocasias. Their are a lot that will survive and the better you protect them each year the larger number of variety you can grow out. I find it hard to believe some people spend a small fortune on greenhouses to over winter the very same plants that can survive in the ground if they just changed their garden areas to fit the plants it would be much easier on them physically and financially. The biggest complaint that I hear is that it is to hard to mulch and cover the plants in fall. Yet these are the same people who work on their huge compost piles and heat their greenhouses and water their greenhouses all winter. I could list the plants that survive for me but the list is extremely large and many of them are well known. Some that I think raises some eyebrows are the fact that I can over winter the following here all winter. Alocasia Macrorrhiza , Alocasia Macrorrhiza variegata, Crinum lilies, Brugmansias and many others as the list goes on and on. Their are enough plants to produce a very tropical feel to the garden. The key to getting the extremely tender plants to over winter is the amount of protection I am willing to put on the plant for winter.
I suggest growing the plants in large clumped sections which gives a better feel than a cluttered mixed area. I also suggest planting the plants in a stadium like effect with largest plants in the back working your way down to the ground covers. I personally do not plant in large clumps. This is mainly due to my garden is used for breeding and the more I can get into a small area the more I have to work with. So the visual effect is somewhat important to me the breeding aspect of it take higher priority.
The downside to this type of landscaping is the fact that is can look rather bad in the winter months. If your like me I don't get out much or do any gardening in winter and I don't mind the eye sore as much. If this does bother you planting some ever greens in the back drop can help ease the effect.
In spring I go out rake the leaves and spread them out to a even layer the gas powered blower helps out a lot with this. The leaves will get wet and produce a mat like effect over the soil. This is great for helping to keep weeds at bay and it also holds the moisture in. By this time plants are starting to pop up form under the leaves and a nice spray of preen can help keep other weeds from sprouting. Once this is done a light layer of hardwood mulch is applied to give it a clean good look. The mulch also breaks down year after year.
The rest is watering and fertilizing and watching the plants grow.
This may not be new to everyone but this type of landscaping is the best I have found for producing the tropical effect I have grown to love. I would suggest not letting your cold winters hold you back or the lack of funds. This is easy fun and less expensive than most landscape project.
The following photos will show you pics of my place at the end of summer and photos of the place in winter. Good growing.
