where are ya, jax?

i have been going crazy trying to plan out my new full sun garden in the front. i wanted a real focal point plant in front of this one spot and have been researching ornamental grasses, etc. i came across this banana in one of my catalogs and then read what you said about it in daves-so, dont you know that puppy is on the way now-cant back out! i would like more info on it in the mean time. can ya help me? musella lasiocarpa (almost forgot to tell you what i was talking about)!!!

I'm here, still recovering from all the effort that went into the art show Aug 7. My garden went totally to weeds from lack of attention and frequent rains, but the hummingbirds seem to appreciate all of the Ipomoea coccinea that sprang up and covered everything. I have hummers visiting everyday now! It is the first time I've noticed them in my yard in the 3 years I've been here.

I would recommend giving the Musella lasiocarpa (Golden Lotus Banana) about the same care as you would provide any banana --lots of water and plenty of fertilizer. Mine are in full sun and seem to enjoy it greatly. I'll try to post a pix of the larger one if I can get my digital camera fired up with fresh batteries and out to the garden.

I think these bananas tend to stay fairly dwarf in size as compared to most bananas. I don't expect mine to get more than about 3 ft high.

I don't think you will need to concern yourself with any winter protection for your M. lasiocarpa in Umatilla. They are supposedly very winter hardy in our Zones. I will probably give mine a good heavy mulch of hay before the frosts come this winter.

One of my M. lasiocarpa started out severely stunted. I bought it on eBay from Hirt's Greenhouses and they sent me the remnants of a banana that had been entirely blackened by freeze damage (bad experience!). The freeze damage didn't happen in transit because other plants in the same shipment where fine. Anyway, I didn't want to go through the bother of trying to get a refund so I coaxed the blackened banana along and it finally did emerge from the roots a few months ago and is now about 1 ft high. That should give a good indication of their ability to withstand freezes, even as an infant in a 4 " pot where the freeze damage can be more severe than if the plant is in the ground.

When I first moved into my house, I began searching for a finial to put on my staircase newel post to replace whatever had been there originally but had been lost sometime within the 65 years of my house's existence. I bought several finials on eBay at fairly cheap prices, but wasn't happy with any of them until I ended up with a nice metal one about 9 inches high. I hadn't thought about its shape until today. I had assumed it was the traditional pineapple shape used for "welcome." But, LO!, on closer examination today -- it is the image of the Golden Lotus Banana so prevalent in Buddhist art! I like the finial even more now. The finial still hasn't been attached permanently to the staircase. Someday, I'll get around to refinishing the wood and then it will get bolted down (someday after about 1,000 other more critical projects are done!)

Jeremy

This message was edited Aug 16, 2005 10:31 PM

This message was edited Aug 16, 2005 10:36 PM

oooooooooo nice finial-i love objects like that! and i love ebay too. ive been getting a few plants on line lately from ecolage. found them thru daves. so far so good. i would imagine im paying top dollar versus ebay, but they give great service and are extremely personable. i got an acca sellowiana and 2 stromanthe sanguina and now the nana is on the way. it will be here friday. i just ordered it this afternoon. i knew it wasnt going to get very big, but if its pretty dramatic looking that will be good enough. i can always move it. i just ordered ornamental grasses for the southeast used on amazon to help me decide if i want grasses and where to put them. this house doesnt call for any kind of english cottage garden or really tropical garden either in my mind. its kind of a sparse looking house (all the drama is on the other side and inside) and since i dont have any shade trees im going to have to be esp. careful what i put out here. heres a picture and you will see what i mean. i would appreciate a pic of your nana when you have time. my plants are all spending time in pots in the courtyard for now. i have to prepare the whole site in front of the house. thanks, debi

debi,
If you are among those of us that can still buy gas and have this saturday free, please join us at Maggies. http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/526702/
I want to offer you some Live Oak seedlings. Being from the flat panhandle of Texas where we had almost NO trees, it pains me to see a house lacking at least one good shade tree. I have 3 across the front of my home that are 60+ years, very sturdy, and could be planted some distance from your home. They are the only oak that is not deciduous and I have many seedlings for you or any one wanting one.
sidney

thanks so much for the invite, sidney. i wont be able to come, but i do appreciate the offer of oaks. it pains me more than you know not to have shade here. we do have two magnifisent stands of cedars on either end, but that doesnt help the front yard. i have been researching fast growing trees for this area and truthfully havent completely decided on what i want. once again thanks, and i hope to one day join you all in jacksonville. debi

Well, I let a volunteer Mimosa grow and it was 35' in 3 - 4 years.
I choped all it's branches back last year to become a table base and plant stands.
This is a jungle here in Jax., let me know if you want a "Live" one.
;)

i would dearly love a mimosa. i had one in the keys and it shaded my whole front yard. i know a lot of people dont like them-im on the other side of the fence-i love them! how can i get it? thanks, debi

I'll watch for a good one and bring or send it to the round-up.
sidney

Debi,

My goodness you have a blank canvas there waiting for the art to come out!!!!!

Man the things I could do to totally mess up that smooth as silk landscape you have going there.

:^)))

o believe me molly, im going to do some messing up. all that grass directly in front of the house is going to be annilated soon. im bringing in a load of sand/soil and then weed mat and then pine bark and then THE PLANTS!!! i have changed my mind so many times since ive been here. its a good thing i didnt plant right away. i would have ripped them all out by now LOL. thats how i am. debi

Hey, Debi.

If I had it all to do over again (and if I could have possibly curtailed my urge to plant, plant, plant...), I would have waited about 3 years before planting anything. I could have spent that amount of time (and far less money!) on soil conditioning and preparation and deciding on a plan for my yard rather than the sort of willy-nilly sticking plants in the ground whenever I found them on sale or on a gottahaveit whim, that I've done. But then again, it has been interesting to let the garden plan evolve as I became more familiar with the property. It would have just been very helpful if I had gotten the soil past the point of being mostly sand before doing so much planting.

I, for one, would not trade full sun for shade. A good collection of tall bananas and maybe some dwarf fruit trees would be about all that I would do for shade in your expanse of lawn that seems to be begging for flowerbeds. There is just so much more that can be done with a sunny spot than with a shady one, I think,

Jeremy

Jeremy,

I shall preface the following with this. You are by far a much better and more experienced gardener than myself.

And yet your method, plans or lack thereof of each bed is much like my own.

Could you really see yourself putting in a fully organized fussy type of garden? I don't think that it's "You".

No more than it's me. I tried to do that organized layered planned thing. The bulbs never came up right nor produced any flowers and my conclusion, it just wasn't me, nor meant to be.

I love your gardens just the way they are. It's YOU.

Molly
:^)))

Me too, and Molly it's really showing out at this time of year.
I love to walk around over there.
I need help here http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/538461/
sidney

you know jeremy, you may have hit on something there. the very thought crossed my mind a couple of days ago. (hence the interest in odd bananas). i think some different kinds would be nice and cannas, the big ones. and im looking into evergreen sumac, rhus virens. i cant come up with a seller yet, but i will. i want some unusual form up by the house, at least enough to hide that gdawful lamp post the BF/not real DH put up. i have the strangest urge to paint a face on it and top it with a mophead. it will be an interesting journey at any rate.

You're right, Molly. I am content with my jumble of plants. If nothing else, it is a celebration of diversity! LOL I'm beginning to move toward some sense of garden landscaping design now that I've been here a few years, but for the most part, one of everything that can possibly grow in our climate arranged only by various needs for sunlight & water and with some staggering of height from tallest to smallest works fine for me for "design."

As a result of neglect of the garden while I slaved away at the easel for a few weeks, the "back 40" is now almost inaccessible with weeds -- most of the weeds are Clematis virginiana which is just now coming into bloom and scenting the air with a delicate honeysuckle like fragrance. Combined with the Hedychium coronarium ginger aroma, it is heavenly. You gotta love "weeds" like that! I may end up leaving that part of the garden to nature's own wild design.

At times, I just feel overwhelmed by it all, but I'm sure that is a familiar feeling for many of us with raw garden space to tame. Gardening is sure to teach me patience. It doesn't all happen overnight, more like one weed replaced with good soil and a plant of choice over the years seems to be the way I will go at it from now on.

I think you will really enjoy your Golden Lotus Banana, Debi. I haven't had a chance to wade out through the waist high Bidens alba 'radiata' for the past few days to see if I have any sign of a flower on my banana yet, but the banana leaves are forming a nice round circle reaching skyward, unlike the drooping characteristic of larger bananas. I spent today having lunch at Cheesecake Factory (MysteryGuest.com paid for it, I signed up from a suggestion by a DGer in the Dirt Cheap Forum and another friend signed up and I went along on her tab today), shopping, errands, and Hooty & Blowfish concert tonight (Christina's choice of music, not mine, but I actually had a great time!) Tomorrow should have enough free time available to get a photo of my G L Banana. It would be nice to document the process of its flowering once I see it showing signs of a bloom.

Jeremy

thanks jeremy-will appreciate it at your convenience. am excited because mine is coming today!!! debi

Hey Guys (and gals)...

Well here are a few results of my new tissue culture lab here at the house..
I guess I am one the few up in North Florida that is playing with this.. hope to get
some of you addicted as well..

a lilly of some sort

Califlour with green growth (got the sample from the salad bar, brought it home.. cleaned it and it grew after some coaxing chemically)....

hi! Botonyguy, this is so interesting that i think you should start a thread with it. i'm afraid not many people will see it in this old thread of mine. i also think you might not want to limit yourself to the florida forum, but put it in one of the general forums, maybe Garden Talk, i don't know, there might be a better one, but at least start your own thread in florida forum. that way you will have greater exposure! debi

Really interesting photos and process, Chris. I hope to learn more about tissue culture. Are you planning to come to the Live Oak round up next month? Would be great if you can provide some info there about the process.

Tracks, did your Golden Lotus Banana arrive o.k.? I did finally get a photo of mine a few weeks back, but I didn't find the moment needed to post the pix, and now I can't find it in my files! My Golden Lotus is growing well, now about 3 ft tall, but no sign of a bloom yet. However, when I pulled the plentiful weeds away from the trunk to get a photo of the banana, I found it had made about 3 - 4 small "pups!" I should be able to bring some pups from the banana to share at the Live Oak round up next month.

Jeremy

yes, jeremy, it arrived in perfect shape and really nice and big with 2 small pups. it has been transferred to a large pot until i can finally put it in the ground. so far so good. i really like that company-i don't know if they are still in business tho- (katrina). i got some other things from them, a purple cabbage palm cordyline australis purpurea) that i think is going to be spectacular. i also got 3 different cultivars of phormium tenax. i always wanted some of that. good talking to you! how is your artwork coming along? debi

This message was edited Sep 13, 2005 7:19 PM

I dont want a new thread.. then everyone would know! :)

Chris

Hey, debi. I was moving comfortably toward a deadline of Nov. 10 to deliver a painting to a local childrens' hospital as a donation for a fund raiser to have funds to bring in kids from international locations for special medical treatments, but just found out yesterday the deadline is Oct. 10, not Nov. 10! So, I'm back into a mode of dropping everything else, letting the neck high Bidens alba 'radiata' (Spanish Needles) continue to take over the entire yard, and chaining myself to the easel for another month or so. I want to come up with some good artwork and for the paint to be DRY (an unusual situation because I'm often working on a painting up until the last few minutes before I have to deliver it). The fundraiser is being coordinated by one of our best local galleries and I'm hoping to get a toe in the door and be able to sell things there concurrent with the donated painting. Sometimes I wish I didn't have a "career" and could just spend all my time in idyllic gardening, but unfortunately I haven't yet found a way to pay my mortgage by my devotion to plants. Maybe if I start selling all my weeds on eBay.......???!!

Jeremy

Hey Jeremy,

You might try it, there are some people who will buy weeds on Ebay, uhhhhhh........I did.

:^)))

oh molly, no, what kind? LOL i'm sure that they were beautiful! debi

Debi,

It was about 3 years ago so I don't remember the name of the plant. They have green leaves and bloom yellow flowers. I bought them as ground cover for under my oak trees that wouldn't let anything else grow. It took a year for them to finally kick in and do their thing, then I had to move. But they were doing well.

Molly

molly, sounds like oxalis. i love that little weed, until it gets near my beds! LOL debi

Nope Debi, it wasn't Oxalis. I have some of that now, two kinds. This plant had leaves that were shaped like a small jagged edged maple shaped leaf.

Actually any other details escape me about that plant.

Many people see oxalis as a weed, especially when it pops up in their neatly manicured lawns. I think they are lovely.

Molly
:^)))

me too! it can be like a carpet of yellow. nobody i know in florida has real grass anyway LOL, why not let it be pretty. debi

Hey, Molly. sounds like your eBay purchase may have been wedelia? I have lots of it to share if anyone wants some. It does spread easily in sun or shade and provides nice, little yellow "daisy" like flowers. http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/106564/index.html
All that is needed to propogate it is to break it off, stick it in the ground, and keep it moist for a few days.

I, too, have bought weeds on eBay. I have Tradescantia ohiensis (Spiderwort) springing up in every bare spot of soil in my garden, but I couldn't resist collecting some of the other colors and varieties. I bought one double flowering variety, T. virginiana 'Plenum.' It bloomed once last year, but didn't do well this year.

I've learned to be careful on eBay when the seller doesn't offer a botanical (Latin) name for a plant they are offering. I've been taken in by elaborate descriptions and poetic names for plants and then the plant I received turned out to be not much more than dog fennel.

I pulled up two wheelbarrow loads of Ageratum houstonianum (Blue Floss Flower) a few weeks ago and thought that maybe I should have offered some of it for sale on eBay. I checked to see if anyone else was selling it and, sure enough, a seller was offering three A. houstonianum seedlings for about $3 -- but no one was bidding on the offer. I think I would have offered something more like a generous count of a dozen blooming size for $.99 and still come out of it with a good profit. I manage to handle a few postal trades with other DGers, but I can't imagine finding the time to handle eBay sales. The additional income would sure be welcome though. Maybe someday in my old age I'll get around to it. LOL

Jeremy

jeremy, i never thought of wedelia-a popular weed in the keys, used to cover septic systems. i just got a johnny's seed catalog and they have stinging nettle seeds for sale. i hate that stuff. people can have it for free out of my yard any day of the week! debi