musella lasiocarpa in south Florida?

I've had lots of problems growing m. lasiocarpa in south Florida. they tend to do ok,then quickly decline and die.

due to this plant being reportedly very cold tolerant, is it really just a highland/temperate plant that can't handle true tropic conditions?

thoughts?

Maybe it needs a longer dormant period than your warm climate offers. Do you have a little micro-climate you could try it in?

Things like daylilies do better for me on the north side of the house, where the ground cools off more in the winter, and they get a better rest. The shade from the house stays all winter and allows the ground to cool off much more. Once the sun gets over the house in spring they jump right up and bloom again.

Even if you can just keep it in the shade all winter, that will slow it down some, and give it a rest.

Hi Elaine :-)

The m. lasiocarpas I have seen around here all look pretty ratty. They live but perhaps it is too cold here for them to do well.

I cover mine when the temps go below 50 and so far, it's doing well. I have a friend who has a large plant and his blooms beautifully - his in the ground - mine is in a 25-gallon pot.

i had one for several years here but as ardesia said, they end up looking pretty ratty. they can take quite a bit of cold....certainly down into the low teens, tennessee, southern missouri and the virginias even (with a little mulch at the base), rated for middle south in my SLG book. if and when they flower, the flower can last all summer but then it dies. hopefully pups come up to take its place.
it may be the salt air or salt in the ground that is keeping yours from doing well. they do need regular water and a little shade in the afternoon if its in the hottest zones.

Hmmmm notice something here... the folks responding all live in central and north Florida. I am in extreme south Florida and I've yet to see anyone growing m. lasiocarpa in south Florida (not saying they don't, I just haven't seen it). I wonder if this plant just can't take zone 10+ conditions???

does anyone know anyone growing this plant in south Florida??

i don't know of anyone personally but according to the main book i go by, it can be grown from the northernmost reaches that i mentioned, down to the tropics.

what kind of growing conditions do you have the plants in? do they ever put out any pups? are they in fertile soil or rock? what about watering?

as i mentioned above, i would have trouble once in a while with plants that normally liked tropical conditions but the salt air and/or salt in the soil would do them in.

@track

thanks for the input. they are in standard type gardening conditions. I have one larger plant and I had some young ones. all new to me.. I am wondering if it is too wet for them.. I am a pretty serious irrigator so maybe that s it. the larger plant is doing ok but the young ones are crapping out slowly but surely.

I am west of the ocean so there is no salt air here per se.. ground is out standard sandy Florida ground that I always add organic matter to when planting anything out...

I am wondering though. sometimes the books will list stuff as zone ten or zone 11 but they really mean zone 10 highland which gets chilly.

???

i hear ya on that one. i've purchased plants online that are rated for my zone 9a but in reality, it is 9a in california, not florida.
yeah, maybe ease up on the water. it may be that the little ones are rotting. i think once a plant is established, like your big one, they really don't need too much extra irrigation even in the heat of summer. i didn't do a whole lot to mine once it got going good. i ended up digging it out because i had it in a stupid place. we had just moved here from the keys and i didn't have a clear picture of how i wanted the garden. i've often thought of trying another one in a better place (now that i have my act together). lol
one interesting thing about them when they flower is that it may lose all of its leaves and the flower just sits there on top for the remainder of its lifespan, which could be several months more.
i'd say don't give up on them until the bitter end. let those pups dry out, especially since it's winter. i don't water much of anything in the winter unless it's something i just put in.
good luck and let us know what happens!

Try the bananas.org forum. Members there claim to be growing it in Fort Lauderdale.