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Post by Rosefriend on Sept 21, 2007 13:11:42 GMT
My banana plant is staying outside - I haven't anywhere else to put it and it is supposed to be ok to minus 20 at least. I will pack it with fleece as well though.
RF
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Post by andy on Sept 21, 2007 13:23:57 GMT
My basjoo's are staying out too....i might even leave my musa lasiocarpa out as i'm going to be very pushed for space this year especially as i'm bring in that huge triffid, my red banana !!! I honestly think i will have to cut most of the leaves off the red banana as it's so big and just bring it indoors when it's going to be cold.
Foliage plants....bananas, gunnera, tree fern, fatsia, catalpa and bamboos have all looked superb this year but the cannas have been very poor.....probably due to lack of sun. I've had not a single flower off my plumbego this year and the tuberous begonias have just about scraped through.
I'm probably going to cut down on the cannas next year....just keep the really showy ones and go for some nice tall grasses such as miscanthus zebrinus and arundo donnax versicolor.
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Post by Cheerypeabrain on Sept 21, 2007 18:20:47 GMT
ooh those grasses sound lovely Andy...remember it's been a 'very unusually wet and dark' summer...my sister's cannas were pretty poor....and my calla wasn't as good as previous years. I have loads of good foliage on it tho so I'm hoping that it's just bulking up to give us a good show next year (pleasepleasepleaseplease!) so maybe your cannas will be better next year? I have a musa sikkimensis that's sposed to be very hardy...so Im leaving it in the border...and the basjoo has formed a little 'grove' so altho I will protect it with straw and fleece it's staying outside. My red banana has been repotted and I've cut off a lot of the leaves (some were astonishingly large) to bring the plant indoors...couldn't hav got it through the door otherwise!
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Post by Cheerypeabrain on Sept 28, 2007 20:16:25 GMT
We went to Heligan (againigan) whilst in Cornwall....eeeeh it were grand ;D I've only been in Springtime before..and to see the exotics (amongst many other plants) growing so beautifully was soooo inspiring. Last time I went I'd never thought of growing any thing slightly out of the ordinary, but looking around my garden, GH and conservatory now, they're crammed full of plants I saw for the first time whilst visiting Heligan !....tree ferns, bananas, many other types of fern, primula viallii (sp?)...echiums (NOT pininana...ent got the space...altho I do have seed in the CF...) elephants' ears...ginko biloba...it was a real eye opener for OH...as he realised where I'd got my ideas from!
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Post by jean on Sept 28, 2007 21:15:00 GMT
Glad you got there again CPB, its not a once in a life time visit, different times of year just show the diversity of the planting - brilliant place - wonder how Pam got on yesterday, at least the sun was shining
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Post by Cheerypeabrain on Nov 25, 2007 13:47:18 GMT
ANDY...COOEEE.....! Just picking your brains....do you know if it's normal for papyrus to die back in the winter ( ) I've oiked it into the conservatory but it doesn't look v happy....and if it DOES die back...should I let the big water tray go dry until the spring to prevent rotting ?. Also...elephant's ears...would you let the tuber dry out over winter? or keep it in a pot? (it's on the GH staging atm) I would be grateful of any advice.
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Post by andy on Nov 26, 2007 16:31:48 GMT
Hiya CPB. I have a cyperus alternafolius in the pond at work and the foliage dies down every winter. I'd cut back all the dead and dying growth and just keep it ticking over....i wouldn't "dry it out" completely but just keep it on the sry side of moist....if that makes sense I've never kept elephants ears before (i presume you mean Alocacia rather than Bergenia). I think there's a few on here that do so hopefully they'd be in a better position to answer. Personally, i'd treat them the same as a canna or Dahlia....in other words you can do either but what ever you do, they would need to be frost free and dry !!! Hope this helps
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Post by Rosefriend on Nov 26, 2007 17:01:17 GMT
Also...elephant's ears...would you let the tuber dry out over winter? or keep it in a pot? (it's on the GH staging atm) I would be grateful of any advice. Hi CPB - I didn't know what to do with my Elephants Ears either so I rang up the GC and they said to take it out of the soil and treat it like a dahlia etc. I have bunged it in the cellar with the other things. It is enormous now - I know that it will get smaller as it dries out but I am still amazed at the size. I have read on the web that you can also keep Elephant's Ears in a conservatory over the winter months. I suppose it depends on how much room you have. RF
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Post by Cheerypeabrain on Nov 26, 2007 19:55:21 GMT
Thank you very much RF and Andy
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Post by Cheerypeabrain on Jan 26, 2008 21:43:45 GMT
oooh...I bought OH a baby gunera manicata at a GC today who's a naughty cheery then? ;D
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Post by andy on Jan 27, 2008 8:03:53 GMT
Keep that crown well covered CPB....we've got a lot of cold and wet to come yet. I have my two large musa basjoo that i left out all winter. One got knocked down when the pergola blew over but the other one is standing firm.....and starting to produce a new leaf out of the top
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Post by Cheerypeabrain on Jan 27, 2008 19:48:19 GMT
My gunnera is in a pot in the GH at the moment Andy....I have the perfect spot for it in boggy ground in the front garden..but I shan't plant it until after the frosts as it's only a baby. If it survives I'll mulch the crown in the winter. ;D
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Post by Rosefriend on Jan 28, 2008 11:34:08 GMT
My basjoo is ok at the back of the garden covered in fleece - the leaves has died a death of course - do I just carefully take the old leaves off in the Spring or do they fall off or what exactly happens?
RF
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Post by Cheerypeabrain on Jan 31, 2008 20:45:22 GMT
I have another alacosia tuber as well...just in case the other one doesn't survive the winter.... ;D
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Post by andy on Feb 1, 2008 6:27:22 GMT
I have another alacosia tuber as well...just in case the other one doesn't survive the winter.... ;D Where do you get them from CPB ?
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Post by Cheerypeabrain on Feb 3, 2008 16:11:36 GMT
I have another alacosia tuber as well...just in case the other one doesn't survive the winter.... ;D Where do you get them from CPB ? Good old Wilkinsons ;D £3 each
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Post by andy on Feb 5, 2008 11:25:48 GMT
Off to Wilkinsone i go...trouble is, the nearest one to me is about 15 miles away.
Just cut back and brought in all my baby musa basjoo's (when i say babies, i mean they are in 10 litre pots).
Hopefully they will be a good size when i come to plant the bedding out. I'm aiming for multi-stemmed basjoos this year around 6 - 8' high in tubs on the patio. ;D
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Post by Rosefriend on Feb 5, 2008 13:16:59 GMT
I have just re-potted my Elephants Ears (Colocasia Esculenta) and put it the mini GH covered with fleece. I had a few babies which have been promised to a good home. My basjoo is ok at the back of the garden covered in fleece - the leaves has died a death of course - do I just carefully take the old leaves off in the Spring or do they fall off or what exactly happens? RF Can anyone help me with this one ... if I cut it won't I damage it? RF
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Post by andy on Feb 5, 2008 13:48:58 GMT
I just cut the old dead stem right down to the ground and allow the side shoots to develop....i'll get a photo for you.
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Post by Rosefriend on Feb 5, 2008 13:51:05 GMT
Ooo yes please Andy - a pic would be great - mine is in a big pot.
RF
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Post by andy on Feb 5, 2008 14:00:28 GMT
These are the ones in 10 L pots....i just cut everything off them.
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Post by Rosefriend on Feb 5, 2008 14:04:22 GMT
Thanks for that - I can see from the pot on the left that they then grow from the side more don't they - so bushy instead of being so high....
I have mine in a 50 litre pot - how long can it stay there for - it is only there since May last year.
RF
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Post by andy on Feb 5, 2008 14:11:57 GMT
Blimey...i'd keep it in there all summer. Bananas do like a good feed to a handful of chicken manure (or similar) followed by a weekly liquid feed. I'm going to try to get 3 shoots to grow from each of the above. The more shoots you have grow, the smaller the overall plant will be so if you want a really tall plant, just let one shoot grow and nip the rest off. I hope that by growing the 3 shoots, it should reach a good 6 feet and i'll be able to sit under them on the patio
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Post by Rosefriend on Feb 5, 2008 14:57:18 GMT
3 shoots - 6feet........good God........now if mine manages that I will be over the moon!!
RF
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Post by Cheerypeabrain on Feb 5, 2008 16:06:05 GMT
When I bought my first musa basjoo I got it for £2.99....it was in a 3" pot...the ones I've seen since at GCs and shows are horrendously expensive..altho I love my red banana and the ensete ventricosum...I think that the basjoo is my favourite... ...but I can't afford £30 a plant
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Post by madonplants on Feb 5, 2008 18:32:54 GMT
Blimey...i'd keep it in there all summer. Bananas do like a good feed to a handful of chicken manure (or similar) followed by a weekly liquid feed. I'm going to try to get 3 shoots to grow from each of the above. The more shoots you have grow, the smaller the overall plant will be so if you want a really tall plant, just let one shoot grow and nip the rest off. I hope that by growing the 3 shoots, it should reach a good 6 feet and i'll be able to sit under them on the patio What liquid feed do you suggest, Andy? I have a Sikkimensis, fleeced and in the ground. It got chicken pellets last year and it is only a baby. Are you not going to run out of space in your garden! ;D Keith
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Post by Cheerypeabrain on Feb 11, 2008 18:32:00 GMT
I'm going to get some fresh compy for my alocasia this week so that I can repot it...and the new one can go in a pot as well....goody.
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Post by Rosefriend on Feb 11, 2008 19:02:11 GMT
Good luck - I was amazed that my Alocasia had so many babies in just one year.....
I have planted it in a pot - not the right one unfortunately as that has got something in which I can't take out until another pot is empty.....know what I mean...
RF
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Post by andy on Feb 20, 2008 18:20:53 GMT
How's the Fatsia bearing up in the arctic conditions Sue ? ;D
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Post by Rosefriend on Feb 20, 2008 18:59:07 GMT
I am being a total wimp and I haven't dared leave it outside yet - the weather boffins have said that we are getting +10 on Friday and I thought that I would give it it's first breath of air then - what do you think?
I will probably have to bring it back in in the evening though - they are saying +3 degrees.!!?
RF
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