Whats looking exotic in August 2014

This flowering one is in a pot and stuck in there amongst the other stuff to hide the pot. I'll stick it in the shed this winter as a back-up.
The one that I planted out by the Trachy is just growing like boogery but no flowers.

 

I do have a sack barrow and find it very useful. I also have some larger 50 litre pots, which can be lifted quite easily with it, but I am keeping my more exotic stuff inside my garden room where I have limited space, and 50 litre pots use up the space pretty quickly.

Yes - some will be old, but there will also be a few new ones as well. As I have never had any ginger flowers yet, I am not sure what to expect and how to go about things. My gingers will continue to grow over the next winter at 10C in my garden room. Can you cut back the stems in winter, when they are still growing? I assumed the rhizomes had to be dormant when you did that.

Having said that I now have 3 large gardenariums so I can afford to experiment. I had assumed, perhaps wrongly, that if you keep things growing over the winter they will have a head start in the following year and grow bigger and flower earlier.

On a related subject, I broke the top foot off a tall gardenarium stem in early spring, and I have noticed that although the stem appears to be happy and healthy, no new growth has appeared up its centre.

 

second lot of photos as I didn't realise till I had a PM , THAT i was in both shots reflected in the greenhouse but also I had all my bundies on the washing line


Eucomis "Pink Gin"

 

In response to your first (deleted) post, it is certainly a biggie! E.pole evansi in the parentage?

 

havnt a clue Longk as its a Avon Bulbs own breeding I bet you want a couple now

 

Yup!!
Are the cuttings still looking ok?

 

yes all look fine, its very gritty compost John inns no 1 and I have added more sand to the mix

in a 8 inch pot 3/4 filled and with clingfilm over the top but not touching the leaves

 

I preferred the originals Spruce....
Jenny

 

First time Ive had a Ginger lilly flower - I think its gardnerianum but its more yellow than Petes one ? Unfortunately I planted it three years ago & have lost the label..


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Lucky, lucky you! I've managed to get H gardnerianum into growth this year, thanks to the regular rainfall, but flowering is a distant dream

 

That's lovely Nick, and you have more flowers coming too - I am very envious. I have been looking again at mine and the new growth at the top looks different from the rest, so I am tempted to think that I have a flower bud growing.

Has anyone grown any other types of gingers, such as Costus or Alpinia? Some of the pictures look lovely - but you rarely hear of anyone growing them in this country. Is there a problem with growing them?

 

I've got a Costus barbatus, which came off a plant that Sal bought. It grows in a nice circular whorl but its too small, as yet, to have flowered so I'll let you know next year what I think of it

 

Bomarea edulis is nearing the end of its season.......................


On the plus side there are plenty of large seed heads on it!

 

Musa sikkimensis, furthest back in middle of photo, is massive having retained its pseudostem last Winter




Jungle!


Ensete montbeliardii and Tetrapanex Rex

 

Thought this might be worth another look, its the Podranea that has done really well this year, its growing trough the morning glory intended to cover up one of my junk areas.


I call this Canna @Victoria as she sent me the seed a few years ago.

Caesalpinia gillesii has just started to flower, it very late starting this year, mostly due to me not noticing back in the spring that its stems were totally encrusted with hard scale insect.

Pomegranate, small, but as Longk would say, small is beautiful.


Looking very similar to the Podranea in flower form, but very different in leaf, although its the same family, desert willow, or Chilopsis liearis.