Success with Gloriosa superba in Seattle anyone ?

Has anyone been able to grow climbing lily in and around Seattle area ?

I found it in the plant files. The ones I looked at were in Italy and Florida. Sounds like something to grow in a container and bring in for the winter.

Growing for the season in a container. Depending on the growth rate & how the weather trends this summer, I may overwinter inside.
It is not hardy here from what I have been told by others that have grown it.

I'm trying it this year for the first time-in a container... Hope we have a nice summer and it grows well, but I'm planning on needing to overwinter it.

Mine sproutes yesterday & is taking off like a rocket. Still inside - I will not gamble with the current weather forecast being what it is.
I am quite anxious to see how it performs in our cool summer climate.

Thanks everyone

It says Zone 8 on the label, do i still need to overwinter it in woodinville ?
Its only a few dollars, if it can bloom the same year why not buy a new one every year instead wintering it inside,
Unless it needs several years to bloom.

Looks like its a first year for everyone with this plant.

I wanted to overwinter to see how it, well, overwinters!
I may start another, to see how it does outdoors. But I am not reliable zone 8: more like the ever fickle zone 7...aaarrghh.

Just went to check mine - it is now almost 8" long. it is being exuberant.

This message was edited Apr 18, 2008 5:39 PM

Katye, could you post a picture of yours? I've never seen the vine, just the flowers in pics. How much like a lily does the stem look?

I'll go try - BRB.



This message was edited Apr 18, 2008 11:19 PM

Like this, but not the best pic:

This message was edited Apr 18, 2008 11:20 PM

Oh, very helpful! Thank you! (I stuck a lily and some bulblets in with my gloriosa that hadn't sprouted yet a week or so ago when I discovered they were becoming squirrel snacks, and now that there's sprouts, I wasn't sure what was what...)

Hi All
You are gonna love this plant!
I have been growing them for the past 3 years and they are attractive as well as
eye pleaser's. Even the hummers love to hang out around them.

They are not hardy here so don't leave them outdoors during the winter, they will rot.
I grow mine in containers and in October I cut them back and simply place them in the basement or a cool area and forget them until this time of the year.
I won't place them outdoors until end of May or until I'm pretty sure the nights wont get below 50 degrees.
Once they take off they grow quickly and need support. I place Alaska all purpose plant food (pellets/granular) in the soil mixture and they love it!

I hope some of this helps you all. If there are more questions I sure hope I can help out. I have a few photos posted in the Plantfiles
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/149120/

Great photos, and of the roots, too. I don't know why I didn't go look in PF just in case there were pix of the shoots.

How many years until it bloomed for you? How tall (high?) does it get here for you?

Hi Susybell
They will bloom the first year. Mine get anywhere from 3-5 feet tall. Make sure you give them something to climb on they have leaf tip tendrils. Here is a photo you can see the tips of the leaves that are curled. This is what they use for support and are very sturdy and durable. You don't need anything fancy a simple stick tepee will be sufficient for them.

I place mine where they get full sun with late afternoon shade. Good thing about them being in containers you can move them around.

Okay you guys sign me up for one, it would look wonderful with the banana cannas and tropicals I am growing this year! Where do I go to get in line? You are all such fun enablers...LOL

Gardenguy....Is that a Musa in the back there...Is it in the ground or a pot?

LOL
Glad to hear I'm not alone ...cocoajuno!!
I have bought mine at HomeDepot and also at Walmart.
PS they do multiply also.

I can't remember which one that is at the moment. I have to bring them in each winter. I do have Basjoo and Sikkimensis Just love them.
Some are planted in the ground and some are in Whiskey barrels

I think we cross posted....Is that a Musa....I am looking for one now...I wondered if I would need to get it mail order or if the nurseries around here will carry it once it gets warmer? If you know of a palm I could plant in the ground I am up for that too...LOL
I can't go to the tropics, but I can fill like I am there...can't wait to have drinks with little umbrella's in them instead of wondering if I need one to walk outside....

LOL we did it again!

You should be able to find them in the Nurseries here. I have seen them out already at my local shops.
The two I mentioned above are great here.
I love a bit of the tropics for rest and relaxation! LOL
Here is a pic of my driveway last summer.
http://davesgarden.com/contest/2007/image.php?rid=9928&catid=283

Oh my that is beautiful! I grew up in AZ. so I am used to a lot different plants than grow here...WA is beautiful and there is a lot to grow here but I decided I want some warmer looking plants too! I see Coleus too! Just absolutely gorgeous!
I am changing an area in the back, I am amending the soil with poo and compost and hoping to push the zone...I have been reading the articles by Brian in KY to see about things here. I have 10 Banana Canna's potted, I potted up some Wyoming and Yellow Humbert Canna's I got them at Lowes. A gardener friend traded a City of Portland Canna, I have Tropicanna and Tropicanna Gold from last year...end of the year sale at Lowes....lol They are up and doing wonderful in my small unheated greenhouse!
I am just waiting for the cold weather to go away so I can start the process of adding to my sandy soil and building up the soil to a warmer blend...
You are enabling me further, seeing your wonderful pictures is so much fun...send more they are so inspiring!

Oh, nice photo!! Even with an "official" endorsement from one of my very favorite creatures...you can just about sell me anything if you tell me hummers like it, lol!

Carla, I got my tubers from someone at the Flower & Garden show, I think it was Naylor Creek, but it seems lots of bulb vendors carry them.

You might check Easy to Grow Bulbs : http://www.easytogrowbulbs.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=156

edit-typo...






This message was edited Apr 19, 2008 11:08 AM

Beautiful! Gardenguy that is what I call picture perfect. Congratulation on your great tropical garden.

GGK: That is outrageous. Where are you in the Willamette Valley. I'll be down in Corvallis a few times this summer and I wonder if you're close enough that I can at least drive by . . .

ggk - how large of a container do you grow the Gloriosa's in?
Have you ever planted in the ground & dug up? If so, what would be a reasonably sized root mass?
Thx!!! K

cocoajuno, sounds like you have quite the project going on! I sure hope the weather warms some also...
I love canna and you seem to have some beauties for your place. Good luck with your new plot and looking
forward to pics of the area this summer.

I live in Salem and if you are going to be in the area this summer your welcome to drive by. I'm not certain how well the garden will look this summer due to a knee injury. It's getting better but I'm not getting around as well as I could so taking it easy.

I did plant some in the ground the first year and left them there and they rotted. Just to cold and wet for them. I have put them into the black plastic containers then bury them so they can easily be dug up for winter storage. I forgot to mention that when I cut them back in the container I don't remove them and just store the entire container in the basement for the winter.

I use a clay pot about 4-5 gal. size for 3 good sized tubers. I used the 1 gal. sized plastic for 1 tuber then buried the pot in the ground and it worked quite well. Hope this helps.

I think I will go check on one of the pots I stored for winter and take some pics. for you to give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

Gosh ... I just looked outside a bit ago and there is some snow!!! EEeekkk gads snow in April!

Here is one of the clay pots I was talking about, stored in my basement.
It's an unfinished basement concrete floors

I just removed the soil from the pot

Here are the tubers.
I will now just repot them with new soil and wait for signs of growth.
Gosh, I can't wait for that nice warm soil and the sun on my back!
:)

Good morning GardenGuyKin,

Great pictures, thanks for sharing, keep showing me more. Your pictures are so great and they are not from Florida...lol You would expect to see pictures like yours from that area....I have many of the black tree size pots, maybe I should pot some in those for good measure and some in the ground and see how they do... I would hate to lose them to mush. I have received info from Brian about soil additives...Do you grow any Dahlias? and if you do...do you leave them in the ground? I do and have not lost a dahlia yet, unless I dig it out and give it away...lol
I am in an old strawberry field and have tons of sand in this yard so I have great drainage just no nourishment for the plants...so in go amendments.
You have convinced me..half will be in the ground and half will go into large pots and I will just stage them where I want them! I would hate to not have any tropicals left in 2009.
I went to Lowes yesterday and did not find a Musa yet, I think I am wanting one a little early...lol I will look at Walmart next time I am there. I bought 6 tubers of Red Futurity Canna, 4 more City of Portland Canna, 10 mixed Caladium, 3 green Elephant Ears, 1 Black Magic EE, 1 Black Stem EE, 1 Daylily Rosie Meyer, 4 Calla Lily, 3 Tuberose, and 14 new dahlias from the Skagit Valley Dahlia Society...lol they were selling them at a nursery for a fund raiser and I couldn't pass them up for $3 per tuber...I figure some of the yellow and orange can go in the tropical zone...lol Oh I almost forgot I got a Trumpet Vine too...I was up until 1:00 am planting tubers, roots, corms, etc I ended up with 54 pots...using 3 cubic feet of soil...I am pleased, but you should see my dining room table, one bathroom and the garage...lol but I am getting ready for my big project even as it is snowing...lol
Keep your pictures coming, it is such an inspiration to see those plants in the PNW

Okay Sue...I ordered them...lol enabler...My name is Carla and I am addicted to flowers/shrubs, anything that grows...lol
Here is my kitchen table after last nights potting adventure! Some of the not so tender ones are in the garage!

Carla,
Yes, thank you, I am indeed an enabler-need to spread the addictions and all.... ;)

Rofl, So nice to know I'm not the only one who does this inside! My kitchen floor has been quite the mess lately as I've been using the kitchen island. I try to stick to the garage, but it's been so cold the last few days I just don't want to be out there. Plus, with DH watching TV we're sort of doing something together if I'm planting while he's watching..

So let's see-how many Gloriosa's are there around here now- We've got GGkin, me, Katye, Cocoa, iQbalHB, and Outta... That's a good range of geography to watch how they do in this area. I'll bet some of our southern Oregon folks have them too.

GgKin, will you be entering the photo of the vine with the hummer in this year's contest, or was it in last year and I missed it ?

LOL Sue,
I can't put them on the floor, I am afraid the Rott might decide to mark them...lol He doesn't do that inside, but I noticed him doing it outside to pots when they are new in his yard, just afraid to chance that it might happen inside...lol, you can't always be watching them.

I too pot things and plant things inside while DH is watching his shows, we are still doing something close/together and can converse during commercials or breaks.

Yes, I was amazed that you got the hummer in that picture, GGKin. That was fantastic.

Carla - you've got Rott pots??? LOL - that's what my cats used to do. My dogs will only invade a container if it sells like food. Good thing the gloriosas don't smell like BBQ chicken. Well, that's a story for another time...

GGK - thanks for the info. If they do well planted in a plunged pot, that saves a lot of work in the long run. Very do-able. i can't use my garage - it freezes. But if they were to be kept above, say 35°F, do you think they'd be ok? I would suspect the soil would provide insulation, but I am short on space inside the house. (Mudroom has no heater, but stays above freezing.) Thanks for any insights.

Katye...Yes indeed I do, Rott pots are not a problem if they are outside...lol I think the smell of the soil and it also being new in his yard/territory are the reason...I can have all kinds of Rott stuff... But it is okay he is my gentle giant..

Carla,
I wondered if by marking them, he was giving his blessing, or, giving you his opinion!!!

LOL
I hope it was his blessing as the most recent were a Skimmia and a Rhodie for placement at the shed. I have not decided if I want a male Skimmia to go with the Female yet, I am not sure I want the berries in the dog area.