What's Looking Exotic in September 2014

I wonder if they would be more impressive unsplit but in a larger pot next year? Mine are a veritable clump ...

 

Look very spindly Peter, if you dont mind me saying?

Dont think I've ever had Gardnerianum or Tara ever look like that.

 

Just tried to edit but cant get it to work.
Just wanted to say I agree with Kristen, dont split them go for larger pots.
You can usually see which way the new growth is moving once you get them out of the pot, so I usually repot off centre allowing the new growth more room.

Having said that, I'd be doing it in spring.

Never tried growing all year round as you are doing.
Wonder if they actually do grow all year round, I know they come from the Himalayas, but not sure how warm it is, all year round, at the altitude they would normally grow at.

Or if warm, possibly a dry resting period.

 

The pop-up AJAX thingie sometimes fails to work. This site is designed to work on systems that don't support AJAX, and a way to "force" that is to Right Click - Open in New Tab/Window on a link; used like that on an EDIT link it will open the full-fat editor on your post.

It will probably be years before it next fails to popup the AJAX thingie for you though!

 

Pete - you are quite right. I suspect its a function of being inside over the winter with stems of 3 feet that remained green all winter. They actually can grow a bit over winter. I have kept them in the house under grow lights before and noticed an increase in size. Then the 3 feet stems continue to grow in the spring. I had been worried about cutting back growing stems that weren't going to go dormant if I kept them inside. But I will do it differently this year.

I am sure you are right Kristen - thank you. My garden room was erected in early November last year, and I was keen to over winter everything that I could at 10C to see what would happen. However, a year on, its time to reconsider. I am pushed for space, and I can easily overwinter gingers as rhizomes, they don't need to be in pots at all. I can then plant them out in the border next year (the biggest pot that I have). I will take your advice and not split them up.

 

Mine are indoors, overwinter, but in larger pots / as a clump. However, my storage is frost-free, rather than 10C (but having said that mine is frost free with no heat added [bar just a couple of nights of the year when we get -10C or so - no top-up heating at all last winter], so in practice it is warmer than "frost free" would imply.

Not sure I agree with that (but it will work of course). I think the main issue with Gingers is getting them to flower early enough to enjoy them before the frosts arrive. No problem this year of course ...

I've read a number of sources, with clearly keen Ginger growers, who advocate keeping them indoors until July and only then planting them out, and that that approach will bring forward flowering by a month.

The other upside, for me, is that if they are potted (and then plunged in the border) I can hoick them out and bring them in if I want - if we have weekend guests and nothing else that I can put in the Conservatory that would be impressive (for want of a word)

 

There is a limit to how big a pot you can use - most of my stuff is in 35litre pots, though the two gingers I showed were in slightly smaller pots. I do have some 50s available, but its not very practical to go over 50. Even 50s are quite difficult to lift with a sack trolley because the base is so big.

But I take your point about gingers flowering very late. Its all a learning curve. In fact its good not knowing all the answers. If you knew everything life would be very booring.

It strikes me that there are three very different ways of growing tropicals.
1) If you live near Pete or in South Devon, you can leave stuff out all winter, but that limits what you can grow.
2) Or you can grow everything in pots and move them inside for the winter.
3) Or you can grow stuff inside all the time, which is what I am trying to do with many plants - but then you are pushed for space.

I am waiting for the definitive book to come out.

 

My answer is to buy a lottery ticket. I need to improve my number-choice strategy though

 

I'm adding Tricyrtis ishiiana here as it's a bit of a rarity, and it does look exotic..................




I moved it this year and it has struggled a bit.

Iochroma australis is starting to bloom again...............

 

On the ginger front.
Of the few I have grown I tend to think flowering time is set pretty much by the plant itself, possibly on day length.
Some species flower earlier than others what ever the weather.

Peter, with your grow room maybe you can prove me wrong?
How about a few ginger flowers in spring?

I have heard it said they flower a bit earlier if grown in shade?
Not sure if that is true, but might be worth a try.

 

As a result of there being a bleedin' huge Taxodium in the middle of my garden most things here are in shade to one degree or another. My Hedychium is just starting to bloom.

 

Dont want to become boring on this one but the combination of the ginger and the Bougie is really something, not easy to capture in a pic.


Another Morrisons Passion flower, Empress Eugene, didn't realise until I saw the flower it was one I grew some years ago also known as X belotii.
Slightly scented and a hybrid between caerulea and alata I believe.


The living stones are showing that they are still living at the moment.

 

I would be crowing about it if that were mine!!
The only fly in the ointment is that the BoP lacks the common decency to bloom at the same time

 

My 3 Lithops are all yellow, must get some different ones!

The Washy is looking good now but a bad Winter my cause it to defoliate again, the Butia is very slow with one frond a year.
The Dicksonias behind will have to be moved as they are too close to the wall and interfering with the Butia.

Callistemon Salignus has decided to have a late flush (of 5 flowers), I've never had one flower twice in the same year.

 

@pete are the ones with the pink flowers Conophytum?