Well I have one tip,bigger pot,composted cow manure,morning to early afternoon sun.
Or you could always ship it to me to !!!LOL
Were not in Kansas anymore!!!! Toto!
Okay..thanks..I did put some cow manure on it when I planted it in the ground..I sooo wanted to plant it in the front garden next to the Zebrina nana...I just didn't want to go through that feeling like when you park your car in a multi level garage..and you go to the level you think it is ...and it's OMG! it's gone...(wrong floor) but...I bet the banana wouldn't last long in the front with public access.
I agree with you on that, Randy. That's why my front is so bare in comparison to the back. Now, back to the bananas, currently mine are all in the ground and I don't usually pot them as they are root hardy. Because they die down to the ground they don't have a chance of producing fruit. After having the fresh fruit at Jenny's I am more determined than ever to push the zone. Where do you guys get the cow manure? HD has it in 40# bags but I'm never sure if that is just what you are talking about. If I were to wrap these all the way to the top and mulch about 2-3 feet think they would last the winter? We seldom have prolonged times under freezing. More like sporadic in January and February and usually only a day or two at a time. Sometimes only a few hours at night. Same reason that keeps the peonys from doing any good because it doesn't get cold enough, long enough.
LouC
I'm thinking Tropicmans get to spend the winter in the greenhouse?
I can get any manure I use fresh from the farmers. lol. The advantage of living in a farming community and knowing some farmers.
I wouldn't want a greenhouse unless I had someone there to keep the bugs under control for me and to make sure I don't kill my plants. A soon to be former coworker calls me the plant killer. LOL. But it would be nice to have Tman's greenhouse to sneak into when it gets too cold.
Hey Don, did you get hit by the storms last night?
For those of you who hasn't heard, we got hit by some really, really strong storms last night. We had winds so strong with rain that we couldn't see more than a couple feet out the windows at one point. Lots of lightning and lots of flash flooding. Several trees are down including at least 2 on my road. One is on top of my neighbor's trailer and another tree just up the road got hit by lightning. Gravel roads are a mess too.
Christi,
Put a fence cage around the trunk and fill with dried fallen leaves this fall,will give good protection from the cold.
Pepper,
I saw the radar with the storms heading your way,we missed all the wind and rain this time.
Randy,having 3 vehicles,and when you go to a big shopping mall for a couple hours,and when you go to leave,you walk around looking for the van,forgetting you drove the truck instead Duh! Done that a time or two!!!LOL
hahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahaha! oh boy that made feel good to know I'm not the only one
You're ok until....you ride around with the security officer in his little golf cart looking for your car. Once is all it takes to develop your own little method of remembering which car and where it is.
(that was sooooo embarrassing)
A true LouC trip.
LOL. That happens all the time with us. We have 4 vehicles that are road worthy and get used all the time. 2 others are dead and one of those is in pieces awaiting the parts needed to restore it.
We only have one running right now, and I can still lose it in Wally World's parking lot! LOL!
Haaaa Haaah!
All of those are killers,thanks for making me feel a lot better!!!!LOL
Tropicman- Love your backyard! I am just beginning my jungle. I decided this spring I wanted tropical plants for my backyard. You live in the same zone as I, so you got any plant tips? I have planted 4 musa basjoo's, 52 elephant ears (one variety I don't have to dig up), lots of cannas most of which are supposed to be cold hardy, hardy hibiscus, I even bought a stuttgart canna and a petasite. Can you recommend any other cold hardy tropical plants? I seem to be in love with the foliage of the cannas and the banana plants. (I am currently trying to get seeds from three other varieties of banana that are supposed to be hardy to zone 6) I notice you have a palm. What is it?
There is several palms hardy to zone 6 with a little protection over it.
Trachycarpus Fortunei and Trachycarpus Waggie,needle palm,sabal minor,the best and the easiest way to protect them for the first couple years is to surround the palm with square bales of straw,with a plywood top that can be removed very easy on nice days.
Criniums arer very tropical looking and very hardy,I have one just starting to bloom,hope to get a picture before it's too late!!!
There is hardy bamboo,that really adds a tropical look,make sure you get the clumpers and not the runners.
If you ever come to Wichita,give me a shout to tour the gardens,By the way,my family is from the Moreland and Woodward area,homesteaders from 1900 to the 1940's before the ww2,when they moved to Wichita.
We moved here in about 1963, when I was only 3 years old. My mom married my stepdad then, who worked for Western Company. It is a very small world though, isn't it? I met a lady online recently who sent me two rice paper plants (forgot to tell you I have those, and lots of castor beans). She lives in Georgia, but when I was describing to her what the weather was like here she told me she knew because she and her husband lived in Enid briefly while he was working there. Wow! I do have nandinas which they call heavenly bamboo. My grandmother planted them over 40 years ago. I was considering sticking one or two palms, not too big, in between the foliage of my cannas and elephant ears for a little different texture. By the way, your flower is definetly a tall phlox. I have lots of them. Have you smelled it? They are wonderful! I also have 4 o'clocks back there. They smell wonderful, but I also think they look kinda tropical don't you? Definitely post a pic of your crinium. I don't know what a crinium is.
I was too late the flowers are spent by the time I got home from work.
Here are some of the hardy varieties,these are between 2 and 3 ft tall.
And here are a couple tropical ones.
About 4 to 5 ft tall.
I see. How tall does the foliage get? That might look interesting tucked in between something. Will it take shade? Forgot to tell you. Do you like castor bean plants? I have lots of them planted. LOVE the foliage! But as you know they are not winter hardy here. I found a plant on ebay called kalopanex, looks just like a castor bean plant but is not related. Bought some seed and planted. Hasn't come up yet, but it hasn't been a week yet. (I watch the pot) I also bought some spiral ginger seed, fatsia japonica (beautiful leaves) and gopher purge. None of it has come up yet, but again, only a few days. I am excited. I also bought 3 different kinds of banana that should make it through the winter with mulching. I just bought some more castor bean seeds last night. One is supposed to look palm like, the other is a new variety. The leaves are supposed to get up to 3 ft. across!
Bubba, you have come to the Master of Zone Denial by visiting Don's garden. It always amazes me what Don can grow in Kansas! It's beautiful, as always Don!
Yes, he is master, but I am grasshopper! Hey Don. I have a question. Looking at your pictures I notice you have LOTS of plants a narrow pathways to walk through. Don't you have trouble with spiders? Every summer I fight the spiders around my house. They are chubby fat ones. They make webs between the eaves of my house and the tops of my shrubs. The first thing one of my sons said when I showed him the two musa basjoos I planted next to the sidewalk going around my house was, "What about the spiders?" I do not walk around my house at night in the dark.
Yes!!!!! Watch for the huge Orb Weavers! Last summer I went to sit in my favorite chair out under my banana trees, and Whoa! Glanced up and there was this humongous spider with very LONG legs! And a HUGE HUGE web! Chills just went down my whole back! (I hate spiders!) Fortunatelly I haven't seen another one since; But I do look before I get ready to sit down! HAHA!
To me that is the only drawback to having plants. I have neighbors on both sides of me and one across the street who do not have a stitch of anything in their yard but grass. To me it looks so sterile and unfriendly. But they probably don't have the problem with spiders and ants I have. I did order some pitcher plant seeds the other night. I know it won't get rid of the problem, but if it eats the ant and mosquitos that will be great. I don't know what an orb spider looks like. I can tell you a couple of summers ago I was frightened out of my skull. Makes my hair crawl just remembering it. My youngest son was a senior in high school. He had a very bad habit of not locking the storm door when he came home at night. So I always had a habit of opening the door and checking the storm door to see if it was locked before I went to bed at night. On this particular night, was just before 10:00 p.m. Jordan was in his room talking on his cell phone, I opened the front door to check to see if storm door was locked. I happened to look down and saw the biggest ____ spider I had ever seen! I froze. My loveseat was just to the right, and all I could think about was "if he goes right, I will never sleep again!" I slammed the door but he was quicker that I was. I ran through the house screaming "SPIDER!! SPIDER!!" Was all I could say. Jordan hung up on his girlfriend. He came in a looked and "WHOAH! THAT IS A BIG SPIDER!" I tried to hand him the flyswatter to swat it with while I went for the bug-be-gone max. He stated he couldn't kill the spider because he didn't have a shirt on. (?)(!)(!) I sprayed it and sprayed it and sprayed it. Didn't seem to have any affect on it. He ran left though, into my folded up total gym. I kept spraying him 'til he came out. By this time he was just stunned enough to swat. I am telling you, he was so big you could see his feet! Needless to say, I have a phobia. Have had it since I was a child and accidentally walked into a web with large spider still in it.
I understand, TOTALLY! Spiders and snakes! No thankyou!
I don't see any snakes, but I do seem to have a pet frog this year I have never had before. I never know he's there until I nearly grab him while I am pulling weeds. Scream every time. But I know he is eating bugs so he is welcome to stay. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him in a while. I hope he hasn't moved on.
Spiders!!!
Every morning at 5am,I go out to get the paper,and tour the garden under the lights,tiki torches!!! I grab a bamboo cane and swing it back it fourth in,to take out the spiderwebs
and there are plenty,in fact I got a bite right next to my billy button from one,I guess you can't get them all!!!LOL
Yes I have lots of castor beans,and they usually get 20 ft tall .
Is that a purple variety or do you have a lot of shade in your backyard? I have a couple that are just starting to get about 3ft. tall. How tall are yours right now? Do you think you plywood board and hay bale method would work on castor beans? I guess they would get too tall for that, huh? You are funny. When I see pics of peoples backyards that have lots of foiliage and small walkways, that is the first thing I think of is spiders. I wish there was something we could put out there to kill them. I don't guess there's anything that is their predator. Have you tried growing pitcher plants? I have just ordered some seeds. I am hoping they will eat the ants and mosquitos. I assume you have lots of mosquitos? I have them in the soil in my flowerbeds.
99 out of 100 spiders are our friends. They eat what we try to kill in other ways.
Don't want one for a pet though.
I don't care what they eat, they are creapy. I don't want them anywhere near me. We have fiddlebacks here. I was bit in bed just a couple of weeks ago. Was bit just a couple of days ago while putting potting soil in a small pot. Had to sleep with a baking soda paste strapped to my finger. Wore it for two days. My finger was very dark for a while. Strapping the baking soda paste to the back of my knee (that's where I was bit in bed) was a little tricky.
I keep my gardening gloves on when I'm dipping into any plantings because I have a "friend" black widow out there that I've seen. I didn't kill it because they have work to do. I find them creepy too, but try to submerge those thoughts and keep them around to help me with the bugs.
Mary
No the castor wouldn't survive at all,light frost and there gonners anyway.
All this is my frontyard,don't really have a backyard,very small.
I don't kill the spiders,but I will there web,if it's my path of walking .
Spider lillies blooming today!
Another fragrant plumie in bloom today
Setting sun,northwest of my house,about 8:45 pm
9pm sun's gone,but enough light to still snap a pic.
This is a new variety,called black death,don't think it is available yet on the market,if you want some seeds let me know,and I'll save some for you,for next spring.
I have some red carnacita castor beans if you'd like some of these.
I can't believe that is the front of your house. Can you see your house from the street? Your house must be set farther away from the street than mine. My neighbors would croak if I set up my front yard like that. Especially the neighbor next door just to the east of me. He doesn't have a thing in his yard but grass. Last year he mowed it everyday! He keeps it so low it is even with the curb. I swear. One day he's going to step out on his porch and find he has no grass because it all died from being too short. I used to have shrub roses planted on my property line between our houses. He would set his water sprinkler right up against them until they got black spot and dropped their leaves. Last spring, I caught him on his hands and knees up in my shrub roses. I think he was cutting. When I caught him he looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He was very nervous. I have had to have the police come out twice because he was weedeating the flowers I had planted along my sidewalk. This spring, one rainy evening, I saw him drive slowly past my house pointing at my house and yard talking to someone riding with him. Can you imagine what he would do if I planted tropical all over my FRONT yard? It is kinda tempting. I bet he would begin to twitch and have seizures.
This is my hobby,and my life,I go to work and grow tropical plants,and this is my frontyard,and I'll do as I please,I don't bother my neighbors and they don't bother me,fact everyones retired but me!!!!
Off for the day.bye
new cone flower
I have planted green castor bean and red castor bean, but so far all the leaves are the same color. I was beginning to think the "red" and "green" only referred to the color of the seed pods until I saw the picture of the purple leaved one. Will my red one's leaves start to turn red? I have seen a picture of a "yellow" one too. The pods were yellow. All this is confusing to a newcomer. Yes. Please do save me some seeds. That first picture you posted at the top of this thread, what is that palm at the foreground of the picture? I do LOVE the castor beans though. Yours looks very pretty. I bought two new varieties a couple of days ago. Can't wait to plant them. One is called giant zanzibar. The leaves are supposed to get up to 3 ft. across. The other is called zanzi palm. It is supposed to look like a palm tree! I know it is late in the season but I am going to try soaking some of the seeds and planting them. I am hoping they will grow fast enough to make pods and yield me more seeds for next year! And I am still considering buying the purple one.
That palm is a majesty.and it is in a container.
Don't think you'll have enough time to get seeds this late in the came,remember they must be ripen before they will be mature enough to grow next year.
I haven't seen a yellow one as of yet,but have grown the pink one,but traded all my seeds and forgot to save some for me.
I have the giant and grow one every year.
Word of thought,the root system of the giant castor bean,is very difficult to dig up,and may be best just to leave in ground and rot,I've had to hook a chain and use my truck to pull them out of the ground.
Will save seeds for you,the red should already be red by now,if not then you must have the wrong seed .
My Mexican Paradise which has survived 2 days down to 0* this winter has returned and just now started blooming,so I would say this is zone hardy to zone 6.
What is a mexican paradise? I am beginning to wonder about the reds. I ordered them from Henry Fields. Also got some from a fellow dgardener. None of the leaves really look red. The veins look red, but not the leaves. But then they all look like that. A couple have small leaves that look a tinge red but they seem to grow out of it. Wow. A truck and a chain. I had never thought about digging them up. I just assume I will look out the window one day and see them laying on the ground like my canna foliage. Of course, the cannas I don't dig up. I just throw the foliage away and they come back next year. I guess I have decided to just be happly with my castor bean palm for a palm. I looked on ebay, and I don't really like anything. The kind of palm I would like would not survive our cold. Come to think of it, I was never very good at growing palms anyway. Couldn't get that "keep moist but not wet and don't let it dry out" thing. And I am definetly not into misting daily. I was excited to see the ruffled fan palms I have been trying to germinate since May have a root on them. I know I will have to bring that in the house this fall, but it will be worth it if I can get it to grow!