Hey there --

Welcome to the forum! Check out the thread called "tropical plants in Tennessee" that you'll find about half way down this forum's first page. You'll get lots of ideas!

Thanks amazindirt,I'll check it out. Last year I had a tropical garden but had to bring in all the plants, which was a big hassle so I would like to avoid that if at all possible, but if I have to bring them in I can.

Oh and I was looking at that thread and was wondering if date palms are hardy enough to withstand our winters?

No you wouldn't be able to grow any dates without serious protection every winter. It get too cold and it's too wet for them here. You could however grow many other hardy tropicals like some of the more hardy Trachycarpus species or varieties ,"0 to -5f when established",or needle palms ,"Rhapidophyllum hystrix" some survived -20f in Knoxville in sheltered locations. Sable minor and Sable Louisiana also do well here and of course the legendary Sable Birmingham.
There are other non-palms as well that you could try with out much work like Musa basjoo and the golden lotus ,"Musella lasiocarpa" a number of hardy Camelias Akerman hybrids and some of the Japonica's. Hary Manihot is also very tropical in appearance as well.
For more information you can check out http://members3.boardhost.com/MIDWESTPALMS/index.html?1067866454 and http://members3.boardhost.com/HardyPalm/index.html
cut and paste 2nd url I can't figure out how to make 2 links

There are so

Here is a link that might be useful: hardy palms

Hey, I bought another new camellia at Stanley's yesterday. I can't help it, the things jump into my shopping cart. :-) This one is a conplex hybrid, but the most interesting thing is that it came from a nursery in Sevierville. I'm gonna have to drive over there one of these days and check em out!

I noticed that Stanley's has several palms right now. Trachycarpus? Anyway, they're looking quite happy out in the cold. Oh, and my European windmill is still doing great -- it sailed through that low-20's night with no problems. Let's hear it for zone denial!

too bad I never see bamboo for sale any where around here :-(

Where do you live mattjones? I have plenty of golden bamboo to anyone who wants a few clumps (I live in Knoxville). I can also recommend a nice old man in Oak Ridge that has about 20 types from dwarf to giant Mosa with 5" diameter trunks. His clumps are very reasonably priced.

Hey myrtleoak, I'm kind of interested in the bamboo source in Oak Ridge you mentioned. Does he have a website or anything?

Let me get the contact info from my friend. I know he has one or two dwarf types, at least one big-leaf species (nice), black bamboo (neat one), several large "forest" species, golden, yellow groove, etc. My friend should have a list as well as contact info. He has about 20 species, if my memory serves me correctly. Clumps were around 10 bucks a piece (last time we went).

I may want that info myself. I recently got a tiny baby piece of black bamboo, but if my bamboo bambino doesn't make it I'll be very interested in getting another one. :-)

I would like to know more about the man in Oak Ridge that sells bamboo too.

Ill try to get in touch with him tomorrow. Been busy (sorry).

If you will give any "out of zone"---or "tropical" a chance, you may be surprised at what can be grown here. I have grown so many zone 7 and 8 plants by siting them in the best place I have in my yard for their particular requirements, that I just assume they'll grow for me. The one thing that seems to get my palms is winter wetness. I think I can solve that problem by using an inch or so of rocks beneath the roots to improve drainage.

I think the problem people often make is trying to put something where they want it, but maybe not where the plant wants to be.

As for bamboos---if you can get black bamboo that cheaply, get 'em. My friend paid upwards of $100 per pot for 3 pots two years ago and they are just now starting to grow a little. There is a very extensive bamboo nursery in lower middle Tennessee whose name I can't recall, but you should be able to google bamboo and tennessee and find his website.

If you will search gardenweb, in the tennessee gardening section for "tropicals", you should find enough threads to keep you busy reading for awhile. You might also check states to the east, west and especially north. I recall thinking I had grown something "out of zone" only to find that somebody was growing it in Michigan without much protection.

...and if you can't find that someone else is growing it, give it a try anyway---you'll have a wonderful experience to tell about if it works.

Happy gardening!

Using a layer of rocks or course sand beneath plants actually decreases drainage! Except in the case of total saturation (swamp conditions), soil drains when water is wicked away by fine particles. The layer of rock or course sand becomes a barrier to this effect. While the water in the course layer will drain (if it has a place to go), moisture in the finer particles above the course layer becomes trapped and held in that upper layer.

Another thing to consider is that if the soil beneath the plant is very poor draining, the water won't have anywhere to go anyway. Best drainage, in poorly draining soil, is most easily achieved with raised beds. Locating beds on the side of a slope may also help.

I live in Morristown. I would love to have some bamboo and would drive to Knoxville to get it, but I'm only 13 so I don't think that will happen. there is a place near my grandmothers house that used to be a nursery and there is some bamboo there. also there is a house that is kinda close and they have bamboo.

There's always mail order, parent/guardian transportation, or finding someone that's coming your way. How'd you get the rest of your plants?

Matt, be cautious with bamboos some of them are real monsters if they escape containment! I'd really suggest that you set some sort of sturdy barrier for any but the non-clumping types. I've seen some push up through asphalt so....

That bamboo nursery in lower middle TN is Our Bamboo Nursery in Summertown, some miles southwest of Columbia. It's run by Adam & Sue Turtle. They don't have a website with all their stuff on it, but I think they're part of the Growit network. Or maybe they have a website now. It's worth a Google.

Adam is one of the world's top bamboo guys. Not the state's or the nation's, the planet's. He's tight with Chinese, SE Asian and Indian botanists, and if it's been collected, he probably has it. He has an unbelievable collection of bamboo, from which he sells mostly wholesale. If you're into bamboo, he's the guy.

Marty

well, I got some of my plants from my neighbor who is an avid gardener. I got some of them from lowes and home depot. I got some from people my mom works with. Some were gifts. Some came from my grand mothers.
I was going to put the bamboo in an empty pre-formed pond that has several cracks in it. I want some so badly!

The plants that I have include:
Elephant ear
Several types of Caladium
Sansavaria(variagated and plain)
Date palm
Draceniaa(sp)
Curly fig creeping ficus
Millennium ivy
Pothos
Philidendron(sp)
Creeping jeeny
Fittona(sp)
Several differant yuccas
Cannas
Different succulents
Cat tails
Croton
Strawberry Begonias
purple heart
And a few more I can't I.D.One of which has heart-shaped leaves, and the other is a Trailing plant with small leaves and a watery like stem. Both grow EXTREMLY well for me.
Oh and I have LOT'S AND LOT'S OF WEEDS
All of mt plants except the cannas came in for winter.

Matt --

You definitely need to come to the Knoxville/ET plant swap in the spring. Get your mom to bring you! :-)

I would love to come, it sounds like lots of fun. I guess I could bring some of my weeds:-)lol

And I forgot some of my plants,I also have:
Diffebenchia(sp)
Sedums
Red hot pocker
and lots of seed, especially yucca.

Oh, when is it, and where? You should have one that's close so maybe I could come!

Matt, here's a link to our website. When we decide on the date for the Spring Swap, you'll see it posted here on Gardenweb's Tennessee Forum, on the EastTnPlantSwap website (link below), and on email sent out to people signed up to get the notices. You can sign up to receive email about the swap on the EastTnPlantSwap website. Although the site could change, the last few swaps have been at Admiral Farragut Park in West Knoxville.

Here is a link that might be useful: Knoxville/East Tennessee Plant Swap Website

Thanks, I checked it out,looks like fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What plants on my list can stay outside during winter?

Thanks, I checked it out,looks like fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What plants on my list can stay outside during winter?

Your plants that can stay outside --

Elephant ear (Alocasias and Colocasias) -- depending on which precise species you have. Some are hardy, some are not.

Millennium ivy -- I'm not familiar with this one -- do you know the scientific name?

Creeping jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) -- perfectly hardy in this area

Several differant yuccas -- probably hardy, but check the specific species to be sure

Cannas -- most get by, but kinda borderline for a tough winter

Cat tails (various Typha spp) -- perfectly hardy

Strawberry Begonias (Saxifraga stolonifera) -- officially hardy in this area, but usually kept as a houseplant

purple heart (Tradescantia pallida) -- borderline hardy, safer indoors

Sedums -- may be hardy, depending on which species you have

Red hot pocker (Knophofia uvaria) -- hardy

amazin dirt, the scientific name is "Hedera helix".

Okay -- then it's one of the many English ivy cultivars. This will probably be hardy, but it's possible that some of the fancy new cultivars are less hardy than the straight species, so to be safe I'd probably keep a piece inside as well as outside.

Oh, also -- you might want to post a pic of it. If it's one of the "Exotic Angel" plants, it may well be mislabeled. I've seen EA plants labeled as Hedera helix that are most definitely NOT. It pays to be careful!

Woops, I just noticed that I wrote "Knophofia" on the red hot poker. That should be "Kniphofia", of course. Sorry for the typo!

Yes it is an ea plant I don't have a camera so I can't post a pic, sorry. And it's ok amazindirt, dont shoot yourself over it!

Matt, you need some brugmansias and some passifloras! Most brug cultivars, especially the 'older' ones, should be perfectly hardy for you IF you site them where they'll have good drainage in winter. They're die back to the soil line, but they grow FAST. Same with the passifloras---P. caerulea, P. incarnata, and P. 'Amethyst' should be hardy for you.

Have you seen this website? Has links and tons of info on hardy palms, gingers, bananas that will live in zone 7.

http://www.sepalms.org/

Check out the links for nurseries:

http://www.sepalms.org/SPS_Links.htm

I'm posting an update. I will post some pics If I can figure out how. Hey myrtle oak, would tou be willing to ship? I can get passion flowers here( they grow wild) so thats no problem. Please use common names as I don't understand that scientific mumbo jumbo.

Matt, you really need to learn about using the correct botanical names for plants. Without using this "scientific mumbo jumbo", you'll never really know what you are getting. "Common names" are so mixed up, that in many cases they are just plain useless. What someone calls something in one part of the country may mean an entirely different plant in another part of the country. In some cases, multiple plants may have the same common name but be unrelated. In other cases, plants may have 10 or 15 common names, and you may not be used to the one that someone picks to refer to that plant. If you need help with understanding the "scientific mumbo jumbo", just ask questions. I will be thrilled to help in any way possible.

Matt, I just added another thread in the Tennessee Forum that covers some of the "scientific mumbo jumbo". Maybe it will help. Feel free to email me OR post to that thread with any questions. I will do my best to answer anything I can.

One good way to start learning your way around the "scientific mumbo jumbo" is to use Google. Do an image search on the common name, locate a pic that matches YOUR plant, and it will usually give you the proper name. Then you can do a web search using the proper name and find a wealth of info!

I thought I had posted here before, but I guess not.

I live in extreme northeast Tennessee (zone 6b-7a border) and have had success with some hardy tropicals. I have had a Windmill palm that I had had for about 4 years and it has thrived. I have never gave it protection, but then we have not dropped below 8° during the time I have had it. I also have a surviving Sabal Birmingham as well. Some other non-natives I have planted here (not tropicals) that have thrived are Longleaf pines (which I love), Southern Live Oaks, Slash pines, all have done wonderful.

Next on my list is planting Sabal Minors, Needle palm as well as taking a chance and planting a Cabbage palm, which is risky. :O

Good luck!

Good luck!

This is an excellent example of why Latin names are so useful. I read the above post and realized that almost every plant listed could be a number of totally different plants.

One example is the Cabbage Palm. It could be the Sabal x "Birmingham", that was already mentioned, or it could be Serenoa repens, Sabal palmetto, Livistona australis, Sabal x "Riverside", Cordyline australis (not even a member of the Arecaceae family but still often called a palm), or a number of other plants.

I was assuming that he meant Sabal palmetto.

That's my point! You have to assume something or just make a random guess. Who's guess is better?

Sorry, I was not sure of the scientific names right off...

I have a Windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei)
I have a Sabal Birmingham (the site I use shows no other name for this)

planting a Needle Palm (Rhapidophyllum hystrix)
planting a Cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto)
planting a Dwarf palmetto (Sabal minor)

Not sure if these are correct, but the site I use shows these as the scientific names... ?

Sabal Birmingham is technically Sabal x "Birmingham", but is frequently shortened to Sabal "Birmingham". This is actually the one case from the above list that the common name you gave would be just as good (at least for English speaking people) as the scientific name, because it's the same.

Sometimes you can get by with the common names, but sometimes it does lead to problems. One of the best examples of this is Dave's Garden. I frequently find pictures of plants on that site that are not correct. The pictures people send in are frequently not the plant in the entry at all, but a plant with the same or a similar common name. I now take the pictures I find on Dave's Garden with a huge grain of salt because they may be wrong. The people at Dave's don't really seem to care, so misinformation is multiplied and sent back out to the world.