Hello New Gardening Obsessive Registered

That certainly is beautiful. I didn't realise there was so much difference in temperatures, we had several periods when the temp. went down below -12C. How warm is your greenhouse in winter?

 

Hi Liz,

Its about 3 degrees above the outside temperature at night, so still pretty cool. The construction allows very little moisture but more importantly no frost. The min temp on the green house thermom for this year was minus 1-2 but this would not have been for very long.

The garden is south facing and daytime temperature seems to hold it all together as the greenhouse can get into the 20's with just a little sunshine. This year I put x2 80w flood lamps in the greenhouse which was enough to keep all of the plants growing to the extent that unlike in previous year none of the foliage withered in the cold. I shall definately be doing this next winter as I am confident that my other tallest banana is going to flower very soon. And they take ages without heat.

1st September 2005



Middle of September



1st October 2005



1st November 2005



MIddle of May 2006



Most people have some flowers in bloom all year round, but the same flower? - ridiculous!

I recon I am looking at setmeber 2006, a full year before it finishes. The flowering stem of the banana dies after flowering relying on the suckers for the next generation. Its a bit sad after nursing it for five years and 8 feet for it to die. But the others aren't far behind and I don't fancy building a taller roof for the green house.

My word I can waffle about bananas! sorry.


Its a lot of trial and error to see what will survive but very worth while. I have some plants which have survived far below the RHS published temperature tollerances. The biggest stomach ache is getting the �£�£�£'s of tree fern through the winter. I now have a tried and tested method but its still a relief to see new growth.

Not sure I could cope with minus 12 never mind the plants!

 

Have you got a water feature? I cant get over your garden its awesome..i did see one on a gardening programme once that someone had done like yours ..but yours is definately better..theirs was more packed together..please dont show me a giant gunnera as mine has only just woke up and its only 4 inches accross the leaf!!

 

Give me a minute and I will get the camera out!

Yes I have a water feature, it got smaller and smaller on the plans as the beds and plants I wanted got bigger and bigger. I did it for my little boy really, and once the peonies get going you will only be able to hear it.



My gunneras are in sunken ponds/pots dug in the front garden lined and covered over with gravel. I leave them covered with thick storage tubs well into april almost forcing them like rubarb.

Between you and me I am going for a monster this year, lots of chicken manure and daily top ups of water. My biggest gunnera is no where near its previous form as I moved it and had to sever most of the large roots just to get it out. They are very heavy!

[ 15. May 2006, 10:38 AM: Message edited by: Banana Man ]

 

The gunneras at the botanical gardens in birmingham are out of this world ..you can walk under them..they are lovely..thats where i got hooked..i call mine gladys...it should be minnie!!...I dont really want mine to get too big as i am moving in 2008 and she will be coming with me..when i get moved i will find her somewhere she can grow big...without any disturbance..I bought some giant rhubarb plants the other week for 99p and they have grown bigger than gladys allready!..when your giant gunnera appears you will have to make me jealouse and post a picture..

 

Most of my plants are called bob or dave for no other reason than they sound funny if you say them like Rowan Atkinson.

I took these today, its a bit overcast has just started to rain.

This little fella does really well in the 25" width half barrel I grow him fringed with Gunnera.magellanica.




This one is the one I moved and is growing in a sunken pond underneath the gravel.



And with any luck this will become this years monster!

 

They don't take long to get big. This years monster is 3 years past the size he was when I bought him in his 12cm pot.

 

They are lovely..perhaps i should have covered gladys..being its so cold here..i thought she was dead..so allthough she is small i am glad to see her emerge..will give her a fleece blanket next winter..for me to achieve anything like you i would need outside heaters..fleece ..wind breaks..and a miracle..

 

Ooooooh!!!!! Mr Banana Man!! Just the person I need to pick your brains about Bananas!!! Your garden is lovely!! I brought my O/h a 5foot Tree Fern for anniversary this year - its his little baby.... As for me, I'm a banana beginner.... but am potty about them already!! My first one I got at the Eden Project 2 years ago - a Musa Basjoo (mainly for the boys, as we are trying to re-create a jungle for them!!!) and last year I got a Musa Ensettee to keep the first one company. Anyway - I didn't put them in the greenhouse, and they caught the frost. By the time I moved them from the sheltered corner, they had lost their leaves. I cut them back and kept them slightly dry, but I think I have killed them... what do you think? Musa Enesttee

Musa Basjoo
Is it time to accept I'm a Banana murderer and replace them???

[ 15. May 2006, 01:50 PM: Message edited by: Honey Bee ]

 

I used to live in Portsmouth so I know how hot hampshire can be, living in south hampshire you should have nice hot summers for bananas. There is good news and bad I am afraid.

The ensete is almost certainly dead. I usually bring them in about october and leave at least one leaf on, but last year I overwintered one in a wheelie bin. Whilst the main of the trunk survived the moist new leaf had frozen and subsequently rotted when the temperature rose. Also with all the leaves lopped they can also get the 'strangles' where leaf tissue dries so tight that it prevents the new leaf ascending upwards.



The musa basjoo, depends on how good the root system was before it got cold. I have in the last 2 winters left out small MB's in 1 litre pots with no protection at all. These have rotted to the base over the november to march period. In April I remove the squidge and expose the crown which is still pink and alive. Within the next few weeks a shoot appears as below. If the stem has died completely it may be that there is enough below to produce a substitute sucker. It is worth waiting for this to happen becasue it could take until june. Just don't over water, because without the leaves to dispose of its water they can rot.

Looking at the M'Bas picture I would cut off another inch to create a fresh wound. The top looks pretty dry.



Basjoos are about �£10 for a good 1 footer so they not too expensive to replace.

A tip for your o/h with regards to the tree fern. Get more height out of it with a big pot. My 6 footer rides about 8 foot to the crown and then anout 3 for the fronds!



Believe it or not B&Q can be good for some tropicals. Look out for the 20% sales, for my 30th birthday I got x2 6 foot tree ferns and a 4 footer for �£300. Its a lot of money but collectively they are 231 years old!

If you want I can give you a list of leafy tropicals that are easier grow for the kids.

 

You're not a Pompey boy, are you??? We can see the spinnaker tower from just up the road, although we are not in Pompey itself... re-located here from Poole a few years ago.... and yes, normally we would have been in our shorts for a few weeks by now, but this year, its flippin freezing!!!!
I got 'im indoors' tree fern at B&Q - quite a bargain compared to other places, at least �£75 cheaper!!!! When I can escape the rampaging hoards (the kids, 5 here at present), I'll trim the top off the Basjoo and see if we get any results. As for the Ensette, I'l tip it out the pot and see what state the roots are in. That Banana in your decking - is that an ensette maurelii, and how old is it? I hoped mine to get that big.....
We are waiting for the landscapers to arrive, so by the end of July, I'll have a garden to plant everything out in, so for the time being, everything is in pots, and I have been getting some small plants and growing on. In the greenhouse, I have got a small Aroid, Black Magic, a Yucca, a False castor oil, some Cannas and calla lillies. Any suggestions would be great - the bigger the better, and also cheap and cheerful too!! I do like your Gunnera in the pot - the Kiddies wanted one after we saw one at a garden centre, growing on a river bank, it was HUGE!!!!
Anyway - waffled on far too long.... will be back to ask about what you feed your ferns and bananas later.... thanks for the tips..

 

No, I am an Essex Boy. Lived in the **** end of Portsmouth, Sommers Road! for 3 years whilst at University (shudder). I like Portsmouth but I am not a city boy and I prefer the safe bubble of village life.

The ensete is an Ensete ventricosum 'Montbeliardii', exclusive to http://www.kobakoba.co.uk/. They can only grow them from tissue culture or suckers which rarely occur, so I feel a bit guilty for experimenting on it. I had it for 3 years so I would think it was approaching 6 years. Ive got another one now which I am much more careful of. It is the only ensete that forms a trunk. The ensete you had does not grow up so much as out.

Your plant list sounds good so far, will suggest some others later. Just give them loads of water and chicken manure they love it.

Gunneras are quite easy to do in pots, I will try and write some instructions for you. Must go.

 

Yes, I would shudder too if I lived there!!! I only venture into Portsmouth to go to Gunwharf Quays (FAB Shopping!!!!), or to take the kiddies for a rampage along the Ramparts in Spice Island. Luckily, we are only 5 minutes walk to the countryside.

Had a look at Kobakoba - perhaps its a good thing, but they are closed until June!! (My debit card just heaved a HUGE sigh of relief!!) Unfortunately, the only Bananas in the local GC's are large specimens with an equally large price tag. And have only seen Musa Basjoos.
I will have to look at other web sites - can you recommend any others? A couple I have come accross have stupid delivery charges.
Right, tea break over - got to get on with work!!

oh - thank for the photobucket tip - sorted it!!

 

Absolutely catching garden with a beautiful tropical atmosphere to it!
You should sell tickets at the door for your guests (aha aha ah)!
Welcome

 

Thanks miraflores its taken a long time to create and stand back and be happy with it but its been worth it. I have finished it twice before and started again because it didn't feel right. It wasn't heped by the event of some selfish toads who sold their garden for development and did this to it.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e140/WRX53/illegitimate children.jpg

Strangley enough they all moved within months of doing it. Seems they were happy to inflict it on other people but didn't fancy it themslves!

Kind of sent me into abit of a frenzy to obscure everything. But I wouldn't change the garden now,(pheww!) In a strange twist of fortune the close proximity of the new development has made the garden better suited to growing tropicals because of the additional protection from wind. At least thats what I tell myself for sake of sanity.