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Early October 2011 pics of my yard!

tropicalzone7
12 years ago

I think most of the plants really do look their best this time of the year. I mean, unfortunately the plants dont grow as fast as they did a few weeks back, but most of them look their best this time of the year, and all of them look the most lush this time of the year. I also see a ton of surprises this time of the year which keeps me from thinking about winter (for a little while anyways)

Here are some pics!

My first suprise came from my spiral ginger. Its going to be blooming soon! Here are a few pics of it, the largest stem stands at about 6.5 feet tall!



My second surprise came from my butterfly ginger. I was hoping for blooms, but not expecting one, but it looks like I will have the scent of ginger blooms in the yard very soon!


Sabal minor seeds are slowly ripening! Im hoping they will be ripe by the end of the month!

Bougainvillea and solitary palm with the blue, October sky in the background.

The pool was closed up for the year yesterday, so unfortunately, the pool plants don't look as nice. But they are growing well and the black pool cover gives them some extra heat



Surprise number 3 came from my ice cream banana. Looks like its making a very healthy pup. Hopefully its a fast growing one, it looks like it is though since it was definitely not there a week ago!

Livistonia going into its seocnd winter!

My trachy is getting ready for its 3rd winter. It was a small 3 gallon palm back in 2009, and even though its growth rate hasnt been too jaw dropping, it is still growing well (I think 4 or 5 fronds this summer).

More of the pool plants including my foxtail palm and papaya

My last surprise (so far) is from my sky glory vine. It has a ton of blooms on it and if you dont know what these blooms look like, definitely google it. I first saw this vine back in April when I was in Orlando and I bought one online immediately. The growth rate is pretty fast, but the blooms are what makes it a very nice tropical vine!

Speaking of tropical vines, my mandevillas are going strong.

My coconut grew 3 fronds this summer and probably needs a bigger pot for next spring.


Finally some squash! Not expecting this to ripen though!



Pindo palm and frostproof gardenia. I planted some daffodills next to them. Even though Im not a fan of spring flowers, I want something to bloom early in the year so I got some!

Last week the brugmansia had a great flush of blooms, unfortunately its in between flushes right now, but there are TONS more blooms on the way!



Camellia "Kramer's Supreme". I have a bad feeling this one is a winter bloomer. Wish I knew that before I bought it. Unlike my other camellia, this one will have protection because its one of the more tender camellias.

Trachycarpus in shade.

Some peace lily blooms

Livistonia under my fig

I hear figs sometimes overwinter on trees during the winter and I hope its true because one of my fig branches (the one damaged by the hurricane a month back), is making a good number of figs.

Bromelaids and Orchids.

Lantana seedpods

Thanksgiving cactus are getting the hint that winter is coming and is getting ready for some blooms!

My other orchid

I tried to get a pic of my blooming plumeria, but it was a bit too high up. The blooms arent too impressive right now because of the cooler weather.

I brought my desert rose indoors last night since it has a ton of buds and I want the buds to all develop and bloom normally (and after a chilly low of 49F and several days in the 60s, I think its better off indoors for now).

Thanks for looking! I hate to see the plants all have to go indoors for the winter soon, but at least there is always spring to look forward to.

-Alex

Comments (17)

  • chadec7a
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Really nice pics. You have alot of nice looking late bloomers. Seems like all of mine are on their last flush. Maybe this winter will be milder, but is looking like it might come in early.

  • tropicalzone7
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks Chadec! The late bloomers are nice to have since they make Fall a little nicer! Mine are probably also finishing up. The Sky Glory vine is more of a summer bloomer so it will be interesting to see if the cooler weather and shorter days have any effect on the blooms. But the gingers usually do bloom near this time of the year, so they are used to the shorter days!
    -Alex

  • ericthehurdler
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your pictures are always a joy to see! your yard looks great and is a major inspiration for how i set mine up.
    i would love to see how you manage to pack all of those plants indoors over winter.

  • tropicalzone7
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks eric! I will definitely post pics of them all going indoors. I never take them all in at the same time which probably helps make it a little easier to get them all inside. Some will probably begin to go inside in another 2 weeks (the most tender) and the last ones will go in around early December (livistonias, oleanders, etc)
    -Alex

  • jimhardy
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Everything looks great Alex.

    Don't worry about a slow growing Trachy,
    they usually end up being the most cold
    hardy in my experience.


  • wetsuiter
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What are your plans for the sabal minor seeds--cultivate in pots, spread them in your garden, share with friends or try to get them to naturalize in your area? Any estimate of about how many seeds you're going to get?

  • jacklord
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My late grandmother would be in awe.

    Where are you located? Jersey, Queens, Staten Island, Miami?

  • brooklyngreg
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks for the 3 hour tour.. lol. Lots of suprises and you have expanded your collection. I was surprised your butia wasn't larger. Are the gingers edible? If so, where do you buy them?

  • kaotickelly
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Nice pictures it defintaly looks like a jungle out there lol

  • tropicalzone7
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks Jim! The slow growing trachy has proven to be very cold tolerant. Its a small plant, but it survived 5F with no protection other than a flipped over garbage bin (no lights or frost cloth like all my other palms get). Its also in full shade so the sun doesnt warm it up much in the winter.

    Thanks wetsuiter! Not sure what I plan to do with the sabal minor seeds. I have at least 40 of them, so maybe I will give a few out and then I'll try a few myself and whatever is left I'll plant in my yard and see what happens. Im not sure If I will throw them in a forest or not, but if they prove to be great growers and I get some more seeds next year, then I definitely will give that a try (maybe not in a forest, but in a friend's yard).

    Thanks Jacklord! I wish I lived in Miami, that would be a great place for tropical plants! I live about 20-30 miles south of Manhattan so its much more suburban than a place like Queens.

    Thanks Greg! I know, I had a ton of pics, but usually there are even more than this! I have definitely expanded my collection a lot this past year! My pindo grew about 3 fronds (the newly planted one, the one in the ground for 3 years grew only 1/2 a frond this summer!). I think thats pretty good for the first year and Im hoping for even better growth next summer. I cant wait till Im walking underneath a canopy of palm fronds!
    The ginger isn't edible, well actually I think it is edible to a certain extent, but its not grown to be eaten. The flowers are extremely fragrant (probably one of the most fragrant flowers you can grow) and thats the main reason why people plant them. I never really thought much of them until I went to Hawaii and saw them planted by the 100s! I got my butterfly ginger as small bulbs from Hawaii (they grew VERY fast since they are only a little over a year old) and the spiral ginger I got from a trade (a nice sized bulb that is probably gigantic right now).

    Thanks kelly! Its getting more and more jungle like every year! Not sure where I will be putting the plants soon!

    Thanks for looking everyone! I'll post some bloom pics when some more of the plants go into bloom (like the gingers and sky glory vine).

    -Alex

  • wetsuiter
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Alex, I've had better luck this year with seedlings that were just scattered in my garden "raw", than those that were cleaned, soaked, planted in peat pots and germinated in seed starter trays in the warm water heater closet. The ones I tossed randomly in the garden are taller and happier than their pot raised sisters.

  • Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hello Everyone,

    Great looking pics Alex!!!

    Cant wait to see how u protect them this year!!! LOL!!! Your house is going to look like mine...but you always manage to make everything look nice...what happens to mine? LOL!!!

    You and I are going to have a challenge on our hands!!!

    Misery loves company... : )

    Your Plumeria look wonderful!!! I see those blooms!! Bravo!!!

    My seeds from my Sabal have not done much....

    Vince, The seeds from my tree has not been good producing tree this year. I do have few other large trees where my DH has his business, i will go there and look for you. So Sorry...

    The Oleanders are doing great, so at least you will have them!!! : )

    Take care everyone..

    Laura in VB

  • tropicalzone7
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    wetsuiter, I just saw your post now. I will definitely scatter a few seeds around the yard and see what happens! I have plenty of seeds so I can experiment with a few.

    Thanks Laura! Its going to be a challenge this year! I dug my papaya out of the ground, and it stands at 7 feet tall now that its potted up. Its taller than me! Im not sure if its going to live since I had to get rid of a huge amount of roots because it was difficult to dig it up without damaging the palm tree roots next to it (the palm roots were not damaged luckily, but the papaya roots really were.
    So thats my first challenge of many coming! This year is going to be really bad for bringing plants indoors. I might leave some of the common ones, like one or 2 of the hibiscus, outside this year. They take up so much space, didnt look that great this summer, and I can easily replace them and it might be worth it since they always carry so many bugs with them.
    -Alex

  • wetsuiter
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Laura, no problem about your trees. If you scout out some good producers in VA beach keep me in mind. I'm planning on doing a seed gathering trip before Xmas, so the seeds are ripe but haven't fallen off yes. My trip last March to Savannah, Charleston and the OBX had me mostly picking up seeds off the ground. Sabal Minors in SC and OBX were mostly bare of seeds by then. I'll be driving through VA Beach area on Sunday on my way back from Charlottesville and Williamsburg. I'll keep my eyes peeled for hotels, commercial spaces that have sabals and windmills producing seeds.

    Alex, I did very well with seeds tossed in my garden. I've been finding palmetto and windmill seedlings sprouting all over my planting beds. Found two more today. We'll see how many survive winter but they are already getting a natural blanket of falling leaves around them. Ever notice how happy volunteer plants look when they find a good place to grow, even if its not exactly where you would have planted it? From my experience, I'm not going to waste my time sprouting hardy palm seeds in my house when they seem happier outside! I'd bet your sabal minor seeds will do the same.

    The ones I carefully prepared and nurtured didn't do nearly as well. Lost many of them to being too dry, too wet or what ever. I still have many healthy looking ones in pots too.

  • tropicalzone7
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sabals are really particular about root space and things like that so I think they are best germinated in the ground. I will probably sew them in a nice, sunny spot around April and see what happens. I would hope that they would have at least 2 true fronds by frost and at then I would just protect them the first winter and let them fend for themselves once the adult fronds come in.
    My Sabal minor has proven to be a relatively fast grower, so hopefully the seedings will be too!
    -Alex

  • wetsuiter
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Well, my sabals (palmetto) were tossed into the garden in March. I didn't really notice them coming up til July. The biggest ones have one strap leaf that is about 8" tall and a second one coming up about 3". The ones that were nurtured indoors and are in pots have 2 straps and a third emerging. The potted ones are about half as tall. The lone sabal minor that survived has a third strap and smaller still than the potted s. palmettos. Not sure they ever get split fronds for another season or two.
    You've got a golden touch with all your plants, they'll all come up perfectly.

    Vince

  • tropicalzone7
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks for the info! And I appeciate the compliment! A major limiting factor for me though is that I have very very little soil in the ground to use (most of it is rocky and the amount isnt is already covered by my tropicals). And since you mention, Palmettos, I should mention that I will probably be trying S. Palmettos next year. S. Domingensis was too tender for me, but Palmettos might be the palm Im looking for!

    Speaking of my plants, Im going a completely different direction with the plants in the front yard next year. Many more tropical plants submerged in the ground with their pots and less bananas and cannas (I will move my Musa Saba to the backyard with the other pool plants so the bananas there will definitely be towering at 10 feet tall or more if all goes well indoors this winter for them). I will also be investing in some nice hibiscus and likely not brining in my double peach hibiscus because it never got full or beautiful looking at any point in the summer this year and I literally dont hae enough room indoors so some of the sickly plants are being left outside. Although I might try to save it by just cutting it all the way back and digging it up and putting it in a smaller pot. I guess it would be extreme pruning, but its better than getting rid of it totally.

    -Alex