Dracaena draco

Today I bough a Dracaena draco from my local nursery (really hate that place)
looking for information on internet apparently it`s only frost hardy to -1 , but I `m sure I`ve seen some large speciment around my area , Am i wrong !!!!!!
HAS ANYONE GOT ONE?

 

I dont think its hardy Sal.
You might have seen Yuccas perhaps?

 

that`s why i hate this place they got nice speciment at a really nice price , they had a 6 feet yucca elephantis for £50 , (reduced from £100) that`s another not hardy , seen a beschorneria albia , Ill may go back tmw an swap for one of it .
It`s a shame as the Draco is a really nice plant .

 

My local garden centre is the same. Flogging things to die so the punters will come back ...

Tender vegetable plants way too early in the year, acid-only plants and we are alkaline for as far as you would choose to drive around here ... and so on. I only buy when they are on special offer ...

... but you are missing a trick Sal ... your garden centre will, surely?, have a huge library ... sorry "Book" ... section. Just go and have a browse for the growing conditions before you commit your cash

 

The Draco should really be in the houseplant section along with Y. elephantipies.

Not classing Beschorneria as a houseplant but not exactly the hardiest of the spikey looking plants in my experience.

 

The Nursery I`m talking about , has chanced management in the last 3 years and from an empty place has become a surprisly garden center , near by the have 2 popular garden center for family (coffee place , kids play ground and really estorsion price) .
the Dracaena Draco it`s almost impossible to find and a specimen will cost a fortune over there was just £25 , I really don`t know where he get`s the plant from but they are really cheap for the size i`ll give you some price.
3 feet washintonia palm £8
cordyline starlite 4/5 feet £30
cordyline red 3 feet £8
palms from £5 up to £50 for big specimen
this morning I bough 2 libertia grass for £5 1 palm cerifera for £5
3 japanese fern for £5.
I forbid myself to go back there.
in the end I swapped the draco for a gold leave formium

 

Sounds very reasonable Sal.

 

It is but at the same time is a sort of unprofessional place , but that remind me why I joined Gc , every garden center will sell you anything as much as you buy ....if the frost will kill it is your problem .
To admit that few plants had a frost resistant temperature on the label , but still not good enough for the area.
Cordyline red -5
beschorneria septentrionalis -8
washintonia filifera -7
beschorneria albiflora -7 (perhaps gone )

 

Most of those are "survival temperatures".
Not, "survive and still look good" temperatures.

There is a big difference if you are growing a garden.

 

With tropical garden it seam that you can`t really win .....If you relay on tropical evergreen the frost will come and the garden will look like a battlefield , if you start to wrap them all , is the same again ......then if you relay on annual the garden will look completly empty in winter, if we relay on super frost hardy the list will go down to may 4/5 plants .
So why we do it?
Simple because it look great and while all the other garden die down the tropical garden will look majestic up to October.
PS . I was reading about local garden competition and they are all set to june so after all we can`t even compete with other gardener as we have to wait the end of the season to see it .

 

Sal, my approach is the same as its been for 30 or so years.
If its hardy and tropical looking and I like it, I grow it.

If it tropical looking and tender I only protect it if I really like it, and it stands a chance of looking good the following year.

Then there are the trial plants, the ones not stated as hardy, but might make it.
I have a few but not many in this category.

Its all an experiment really, but I tend to use seed grown plants rather than the real expensive stuff.
Could never understand those that spend vast amounts of money to buy plants that stand no chance or are likely to just look worse every year, the people that sell them love it, the people that buy them are gullible.

 

one of the large garden centres in my area gives a 12 month guarantee on some of their plants

http://scotsdalegardencentre.co.uk/index.php?pageid=1066

if they die within 12 months, take it back with the original pot and receipt, and you get a full refund

 

It must have been a nightmare to find the seeds at the time , today is much more easy , plus with internet you will learn something new every day.
I do experiment new plants every year , but they never turn to be what it meant to be , plants that should reach 10 feet in one season barely manage to go over 2, or that nice tropical fruit plant that never produce any fruit , but at the same time there are many joy in the tropical garden ...I do agree with you and expencive plant , but at the same time it`s when you see a nice expencive plant that you will say wow .
time ago I got a book from the local library , it was called rare plants......shame the book was 18 years old and all the plants in that book turn to be common tropical plants ...including the rarest sarracenia , a banana that could have been grown in uk and so on.
ps when i`m thinking about few of my favorite plants are the pinapple (grown myself)
the purple eddoes (from the local shop) and few many other from cutting that I`ve collected.

 

ps I`m still looking for a price on internet for a dracanea draco and the cheapest plant available is from USA at £88 plus postage.

 

Its much easier to find plants that look tropical these days, I can remember spending ages trying to find a decent plant of Y, filamentosa in the early 80s, Y. gloriosa was almost non existent.
Things have moved on, and I think for the better.

But its a case of buyer beware.
They sell all kinds of plants that dont stand much chance out in the open garden.

The plants that really bother me are the large specimens sold at up market plant shops/garden centres, taken from the wild and potted up for sale to rich unsuspecting customers for thousands of pounds.