What's looking exotic in August 2012

John I think , there is something else with the dicksonia , seen so many in the same situation , mine has been wet for the last 3 months but didn`t grown at all .
maybe the cold summer , maybe not

 

In the winter, is it best not to water the DA's at all?

I'm thinking of wrapping mine before (I hope) the frosts hit, and stuffing the crowns with either fleece or straw. Obviously, if they are wrapped, then you can't water, but whatif we get a mild spell like early this year? Unwrap and water?

 

How will you water the trunk John? (I can't visualise the "device" to achieve that effect)

 

All the Yellows
Passiflora Citrina


And Calcoleria integrifolia a tender shrubby plant

 

This, to me, sums up tree ferns, and the reason I've never bothered with them.
The ones overwintered in the greenhouse are how they should grow, if the plant loses all its fronds every year, and then grows a new set, to me, its merely surviving, and not flourishing.
I dont put them in the same category as say nanas which are fast growing and can overcome leaf loss very quickly once things warm up.

Add to that the fact that most are bought as mature specimens, dug up, shipped halfway round the world and rammed in a pot, if they are lucky and then frosted.

Some parts of the country you can get away with it, West coast perhaps, but its too dry, too cold, where I live and I'm sure they hate hard tap water.

But that's just my opinion.

 

Amulree Exotics has a 50% off sale turn-it-tropical.co.uk - they are based just South West of Norwich (as are Urban Jungle if you happen to be going that way ... and Will Giles exotic town-house garden, in Norwich, is open on Sunday afternoons ... make a day of it?!)

 

Still coming on nicely, here's my cannas and bananas ;



The red banana;


A lovely canna this, I picked up a few weeks back, no idea on the variety - anyone?, the flowers were almost a luminous orange/red;

 

I can see my Thai cannas ....they are small but look healty
Btw once again with a different red banana , mine in pot have never looked like yours (I would love to look like that) , but went straight to big leaves and no more then 3 and bottom leaves was going yellow.

 

Mine too, in fact I think they still have all their leaves (came in a 1L pot at end of May I think)

I reckon that Banana needs potting on - that's quite a small pot, and may be starting to hinder its growth perhaps??

 

Thanks for the tip Kristen , it is actually growing quite quickly but I will pop it in to a bigger pot tomorrow if it'll let it get bigger before the winter. I'm hoping it'll still get another good month of growth before we get in to autumn proper??? I know in the past I've had Musa Basjoo thriving until almost November before needing to wrap them up.

 

Depends on the weather of course, but in most seasons it would.

 

Other halfs Passiflora x exoniensis is in bloom..................