Last full update for the season ... pics inside!

wxman · Post by **wxman** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 5:16 pm

Well, as we near the end of September, a sad presence begins to creep over me -- we are nearing the end of the growing season here and soon cold winter conditions will develop over my garden until the warm spring sunshine helps release its grip.

Overall yard shot.

Closer ...

Other corner ...

Between the two large bananas.

Mountain laurel ... love evergreens. (happy)

Pennisetum 'fireworks' ... awesome ornamental grass!

Another bed with a ensete maurelii, musa orinoco, croton and rhododendron.

Closeup of rhododendron. Nice and full with next year's flower buds set.

Closeup of croton.

Perennial bed finishing up for the season.

Christmas palm.

Yucca filamentosa 'color guard' and magnolia 'edith bogue'.

Closeup of magnolia.

Closeup of yucca. They were 3" tall when planted this spring!!

Siam ruby and trachycarpus wagnerianus.

Trachycarpus fortunei planted in 2008 (3 gallon).

Trachycarpus fortunei planted in 2010 (15 gallon).

Trunk is getting big! (happy)

Thanks for looking everyone! Now I need to get winter preparations ready! (sad)

Hopefully everything makes it until next year.

igor.glukhovtsev · Post by **igor.glukhovtsev** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 9:10 pm

Awesome pics! How are you going keep Pennisetum alive through the winter?

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 10:35 am

Amazing growth this year considering many had such a lousy spring.
Nanners going into the basement for winter?

Those yuccas were 3 inches when planted? Amazing amount of growth.
Spectacular rhodo, look at how many buds you've got for next year!

Looking at the base of your older Trachy, it sure looks different than mine.
Obviously an indication of variety in the Trachy gene pool.

Good...the Tikis haven't disappeared.
Nice job this year Tim.

Barb

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 1:33 pm

Your Ensete are going to be giants next year for sure!

Hopefully we won't have the same *#%#%@^%@^& type of spring
we had this year.

It will be interesting to see how your Colorgaurd Yucca do this winter
and how they handle the moisture/snow...supposedly they are zone 5
hardy but I have my doubts-probably root hardy at least.
Mine have been moved and will no longer be under the protection
of the Cactus enclosure-so-we'll see whats what.

More digging than protecting for now ehh?

i will probably dig up some of the stuff thats coming inside
soon to let it acclimate to being pot bound

wxman · Post by **wxman** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 4:44 pm

igor.glukhovtsev wrote:Awesome pics! How are you going keep Pennisetum alive through the winter?

I am going to dig it, put it in a pot in my west window and hope for the best.

lucky1 wrote:Amazing growth this year considering many had such a lousy spring.
Nanners going into the basement for winter?

Those yuccas were 3 inches when planted? Amazing amount of growth.
Spectacular rhodo, look at how many buds you've got for next year!

Looking at the base of your older Trachy, it sure looks different than mine.
Obviously an indication of variety in the Trachy gene pool.

Good...the Tikis haven't disappeared.
Nice job this year Tim.

Barb

Yeah, summer weather didn't really kick in until June 15th here. April and May were crap. Bananas are coming into the basement and going dormant for the winter. The yuccas were tiny when planted! Lots of water, lots of miracle gro and the grew, grew, grew!

Hoping the flower buds on the rhodo make it through the winter. Supposedly this one is hardy to -20F to -30F. I'm spraying it with Wilt-pruf along with all my other BLEs.

Tikis are still there! In about a month they go inside for the winter. Don't want them in the icky snow all winter.

jimyhardy wrote:Your Ensete are going to be giants next year for sure!

Hopefully we won't have the same *#%#%@^%@^& type of spring
we had this year.

It will be interesting to see how your Colorgaurd Yucca do this winter
and how they handle the moisture/snow...supposedly they are zone 5
hardy but I have my doubts-probably root hardy at least.
Mine have been moved and will no longer be under the protection
of the Cactus enclosure-so-we'll see whats what.

More digging than protecting for now ehh?

i will probably dig up some of the stuff thats coming inside
soon to let it acclimate to being pot bound icon_surprised.gif

Yeah this spring was a total turd. Hoping for a warm and dry winter -- the best kind -- with lots of sun. You think I should cover the yucca with a rose cone for the winter, or will that induce rot issues? Unsure of what to do. Normally we barely get zone 5 temps here. Almost 6b most winters with the warmth from the lake.

Not ready for all that digging. How do you think my ensete will store this winter dormant? When I tried to keep them alive last winter under grow lights they languished and did not do well -- I think they are better off dormant. Was thinking of leaving them dormant to early April and then potting them up until May. Pots warm up faster in the sun and I think they'll get their root systems off to a better start in a pot versus the ground. Ground stays cold here until almost Memorial Day and I refuse to plant early again and watch stuff sit and rot.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 9:25 pm

Agree it's sad to put that gorgeous place to bed...
we've been robbed this year...of a decent season.

Barb

TerdalFarm · Post by **TerdalFarm** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 11:07 am

I'm debating whether or not to dig my Ensete or treat it like a bedding plant; that is my plan for the Siam Ruby.

As for the Tiki statuary, those might look neat in the snow.

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 2:22 pm

Rose cones will definitely help,they do have little holes on top
to let air/moisture in/out.
Anything touching the side will at least discolor.

The Ensete will store fine if it is cool enough(under 60/better 50),
be careful not to bruise the trunk as they can rot there.
Mine were kept in the cool dark basement-temps 45-55.

Not a bad idea about pot planting but they would probably need to
be indoors for it to be warm enough for the roots to grow-
they should be 12' at least next year!

sashaeffer · Post by **sashaeffer** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 2:43 pm

Best winterization I've read so far and Eneste is to cut it down to a foot or two, pull it out of the dirt and let the corm dry. Also let the dirt dry out in the pot and then set the Eneste back in the dirt loosely and put inside in corner, misting the dirt every so often.

I think that is what I will try and do to my potted one, as I don't want to loose it.

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