What is the 2nd most rewarding plant?

stevelau1911 · **Posted:** Tue Nov 15, 2011 10:54 pm

At this time of the year, I think garlic is probably the most rewarding. I really don't know when the ideal time to plant them is so I've been planting a bed of them every couple weeks, and just added another bed today which should only be a couple inches tall before winter.

Here's the blog with the pictures on them.

stevelau1911 · **Posted:** Mon May 14, 2012 2:18 am

One of the fastest growing edibles that I just found out about this year is raspberries. I'm growing the thornless kind, and these guys are growing exponentially in size. They are supposed to have the ability to produce new plants from their roots so once I get them in the ground for a while, I might have plenty of plants to divide from, and they are supposed to bear fruit on canes that are 1 year old, or older. The weakness of strawberries is that they grow too low to the ground and they are prone to damage from pill bugs or slugs, while blueberry plants require amending the entire bed before planting, but raspberries seem to be the easiest to grow, and still taste great.

Here's a comparison of 13 days ago and today.

foxd · **Posted:** Mon May 14, 2012 1:45 pm

I have become very fond of Passiflora incarnata. It's native with amazing flowers, reproduces easily and bears really tasty fruit.

I discovered yesterday that my Dancing Crane Ginger has one shoot that has reverted to the green form. I'm considering digging it up and moving it elsewhere.

I also discovered that my Amorphophallus konjac is getting ready to bloom. The flower bud is only about a foot tall so it will be a small flower.

rickw · **Posted:** Mon May 14, 2012 2:14 pm

I really like Elephant Ears, with my favorite being Black Stemmed Taro. The stem color and metallic looking leaves are special when planted in a shady bog.

Foxd, I just got a Passiflora Incarnata rooted cutting, what's my chances of getting blooms this year.

foxd · **Posted:** Mon May 14, 2012 5:36 pm

rickw wrote:

Foxd, I just got a Passiflora Incarnata rooted cutting, what's my chances of getting blooms this year.

Possibly good depending on the cutting. It seems to flower more easily than Passiflora caerulea. The Passiflora caerulea I've had for years, has never flowered. Two years ago I tried to kill it by planting it outside, since it never bloomed and clones off of it died every Winter. It is still alive.

Passiflora incarnata does sucker and I've had the suckers produce blooms and fruit the same year they are dug.

johnw · **Posted:** Tue May 15, 2012 12:37 am

Rhododendrons and magnolias.

They just look so right with bamboos.

Magnolia macrophylla with bamboos = the tropical jungle.

foxd · **Posted:** Tue May 15, 2012 1:39 pm

The Maple tree in our front yard is dying and a Magnolia is on the list of possible replacements. Actually my not-realistic replacement list runs Magnolia, Caucasian Wingnut, Formosa, Dawn Redwood, Hardy Orange 'Flying Dragon', Japanese Maple and Palm Tree. Some I have ready and waiting and some not.

I discovered this link on Cold Hardy Tropicals and noticed the Hayes Stiff Windmill Palm.

Quote:

Trachycarpus (Hayes Stiffie) is a very hardy palm tree being grown in Alabama. Most believe this may be a hybrid cross between T. Wagnerianus x T. Fortunei. The leaves are stiffer and hold themselves much different than the other forms. Their are many other small details and interesting characteristics that make this plant unique which leads palm experts to believe that it is a true hybrid or very odd form of Trachycarpus. When grown near other Trachycarpus Fortunei, the differences are quite apparent. In Louisville, seedlings have been taken down to 0°F to -5°F when very young and the pots they were in were frozen solid. When spring arrived the seedlings were all still green and alive. Not a single one was lost to the extreme cold. With other Fortunei you can usually tell when the plant is being stressed by the cold from the leaf damage, but this hybrid maybe far more cold hardy than any other variety or form. This form is also reported to be a faster grower than other Trachcarpus.

Interesting!

stevelau1911 · **Posted:** Sun Jun 10, 2012 7:50 am

I've tried growing a few types of elephant ears last year, but unfortunately I was never able to over-winter them. I tried deep planting some of them in the soil, but unlike musa basjoos, it looks like elephant ears will rot away. The ones I tried to tarp over also ended up dead in the spring. Surprisingly the amaryllis bulbs all survived after coming out of the tarp so I guess they are hardier.

One of the most dependable plants in my climate which seem to be extremely cold hardy as well as drought tolerant are sempervivums(chicks and hens). They never get diseases, come in all different colors, shapes and sizes. They are great for decorating a garden bed. The only problem is that the deer tend to eat them, but I've found that I can prevent that pretty easily by putting stuff around them like rocks which seems to discourage them from eating these plants. Another way is to simply plant them out of reach or in places they are afraid to come too close to.

I think I'm up to at least 24 species, and I will collect more if there are ones that look very different than the ones already in my collection which started from quarter sized offsets. They can get crowded if the offsets are not plucked and replanted somewhere else. Here are some of them in my collection. http://stevespeonygarden.blogspot.com/2 ... .html#more

sully0family · **Posted:** Mon Jun 11, 2012 4:58 am

My wife has a plant that looks similar to the raspberries. ( golden). she said they are two years old; of course I don't remember her planting them, but in 2 years they have spread 4 feet in almost every direction plus into the spectabilis. They are yummy.

rickw · **Posted:** Fri Jul 06, 2012 4:49 pm

foxd wrote:

rickw wrote:

Foxd, I just got a Passiflora Incarnata rooted cutting, what's my chances of getting blooms this year.

Possibly good depending on the cutting. It seems to flower more easily than Passiflora caerulea. The Passiflora caerulea I've had for years, has never flowered. Two years ago I tried to kill it by planting it outside, since it never bloomed and clones off of it died every Winter. It is still alive.

Passiflora incarnata does sucker and I've had the suckers produce blooms and fruit the same year they are dug.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, my first bloom with several others to follow.

stevelau1911 · **Posted:** Mon Oct 01, 2012 8:13 am

Last year my gunnera grew leaves that were getting close to the 3ft diameter range, and it was getting so massive to the point that it shaded out the surrounding blueberry plants. This spring, I divided off some of the side shoots as usual, and I ended up buring my main corm away from everything else. It grew fine in the spring however it was completely top-killed when we had the long 7 weeks of drought in the early summer.

Now that fall has come, and rain has bee pretty consistent, it seems to be coming back to life. I originally thought that it was a goner, but I think it should do well in its new spot. The tough part is get the plant to send out its roots so that it becomes a little bit less sensitive to drought, but I think this one if pretty well established by now. The bottom of the corm is around 1ft deep so it could be doing a lot more than what is seen on the surface. It seems to enjoy the cool and wet conditions.

johnw · **Posted:** Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:34 pm

Steve - Here's a very young Gunnera at a friend's here. It is planted on a hummock in a bog that has a few Lysichitons spp. too. You will find the Gunneras are happiest when their roots are in sopping wet rich soil and the crown slightly higher as the crown does not want to be wet in winter. They are tremendous drinkers and the size is directly proportionate to the water supply and the amount of richness you can supply. In two or three years a one gallon Gunnera should, if planted in the correct spot, at least 5 feet across. I suspect yours may be needing a wetter site, we all know you can supply the organics by the truckload! My own are planted about 1 foot above the waterline.

I wonder how Tpdd's have done after this dry summer, should be happy after a foot of rain of late.

johnw.

Alan_L · **Posted:** Mon Oct 01, 2012 10:53 pm

Is it true that these can't take the heat and humidity? The one Steve gave me last year pooped out in the middle of summer and that was the end of it. I had it in a huge pot with plenty of water, so the heat and humidity are all I can think killed it.

tncry · **Posted:** Mon Oct 01, 2012 11:21 pm

I haven't been to visit my cottage since August. I am going this weekend. I can't wait to catch up with my plants. I'll update the forum with a bunch of pics of bamboo and others (Gunnera included).

TC in PEI

stevelau1911 · **Posted:** Tue Oct 02, 2012 12:13 am

Alan_L wrote:

Is it true that these can't take the heat and humidity? The one Steve gave me last year pooped out in the middle of summer and that was the end of it. I had it in a huge pot with plenty of water, so the heat and humidity are all I can think killed it.

I don't think it's the humidity. It might just be the sun and heat as well as heating up of the nursery pot which made it croak. Mine completely disappeared this year until the drought ended, and it cooled down a bit. The other one that I sold locally reportedly doubled in size from last fall, adding on 2 side shoots.

I think if you tried it again, but planted it in the ground in a shady location by your pond so its roots can drink, then it might have a chance. Once this plant gets established in its spot, it seems to be a bit more tolerant to harsh growing conditions. They do have this plant for sale on eBay now.

BAMBOOWEB.INFO
HOME Bamboo Find bamboo plants Bamboo Synonyms Products Search for Bamboo Products Photos Bamboo Photos Other Photos Add a Bamboo Photo Add a non-plant Photo Sources Links Forum Wiki FAQ ABS Auction

What is the 2nd most rewarding plant?

Who is online