Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Tropical Gardens and Plants #106, 1 by dyzzypyxxy

dyzzypyxxy wrote:
Thanks, folks! We do love our pool - lived in FL 5 years in a house with no pool. I get a LOT more gardening done through summer now that I have this little lap pool to cool off in. Mind you, this house has a LOT more garden than the other one, too. At the moment the pool doesn't even have any heater - just the dark finish to absorb sunlight. Stays the right temp all summer, then cools off as the weather does.

But my daughter complains that it's too cold to swim when she visits in the spring so we're looking at putting some solar panels up to keep it warmer through the winter. Just think, it will create a nice 'micro-climate' for the plants around it . .. so maybe I won't have to use quite so many frost covers this winter. Plus the cage along the east side has a flower bed right next to the pool, so I could keep some tender plants blooming along there all winter, too.

Yippee, another garden project for me!

Debra, Queen palms should do fine in the heat - I'm pretty sure they grow in AZ and the hot deserts in CA (with irrigation) too. BUT they also get huge! How about a picture to show us how big they are now? Maybe they were "sent" to you for the purpose of supplying some of your lost shade along the fence line? Then just pull the pots in against the south wall of the house for winter and they might survive. If not, they'll have served their purpose anyway.

I'm using Monster White brug to shade my clivias, and would you believe Cherub has a sucker coming up from the base, a 3-branched Y and a dozen buds?? They'll all be in bloom next week when I'm away, but I have my neighbor coming over to take pictures so I won't miss them. (except the perfume)

My variegated Dr. Moy bud is coming along - wonder if the flowers will have streaks??