End of July Update

wxman · Post by **wxman** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 6:15 pm

Was working in the garden tonight and decided to snap a bunch of pictures. Things are progressing really nicely!

The windmill palms

Castor beans

Check out the height

Down another path

Papayas

Thai giant

New one I'm trying this year. Bellyache bush.

Can't wait to see what August does!

Thanks for looking!

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 7:20 pm

Your yard looks better than ever.

Those New Zealand purple Castor look awesome,I don't think mine will catch up to them.

The green ones(Zanzibar)are bigger,one may be close to yours,not sure...massive
leaves though,I think some leaves(at least one) are at least 3'.

Your Trachy is getting huge.

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canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Wed Jul 24, 2013 4:37 am

Amazing tim.

I cant get my EEs to get any size when they get in the ground. You know how big the corms are?

I remember those papaya in april..... I had no idea that they grow quite that fast. They look to be pushing 3 feet? You grew these from a store bought fruit right? At first ight those magnolias look like F elastica trees....

wxman · Post by **wxman** » Wed Jul 24, 2013 8:28 am

Thanks guys. The EE bulbs were the size of golf balls when I planted them this spring. Yes the papaya are pushing 3 feet. I went to the local grocery store in spring, picked up a papaya, and harvested the seeds. Started them in my greenhouse in March/April and into the ground the end of May. Seem to be quick growers -- love fertilizer and water.

I'm surprised on the size of the purple castor beans. I thought they weren't supposed to grow as big as the green kind. Oh well, they look great!

How has the weather been in Canada? My lows have been mostly 60s/70s down here in Wisconsin for the past month which has really pushed growth. Do you get those kinds of lows up there? I think lows are more critical than highs.

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Wed Jul 24, 2013 11:15 am

Up this far in ontario it hasnt been too bad.... i can say "average". Down south it seems they have had a wet spring but decent temps.

June was rather dry, after a wet may, and a super late start to spring. We had some temps at 28 - 30C for a week or 2 at the end of june, most nights havent dropped below 12C. The average low in middle of june to july is about 13C. Daytime average seems to be abour 24-26C roughly. Above average rainfall this july, in 2 burst. Im on the shore of lake superior so it tends to moderate temps a bit. The city has a range of zones, from a few pockets of zone 5 all the way to zone 3a. I seem to be zone 4.

In regards to taro it seems that the larger i plant them the better the acclimate for me. I should just start some now (Same with papaya). They cost pennies a piece (taro). I cant wait to see what it looks like in september.

skutch · Post by **skutch** » Sun Jul 28, 2013 6:55 pm

I got a thai giant that wasn't even a bulb. (guessing it was a pup), but it took and is about your size now. Honestly, it feels like Thailand in NJ this year so maybe it will really take off. Great pics. Those trachy's should give anyone living just about anywhere that with a little bit of effort, little bit of love, and a little luck, anything is possible!