I love tropical plants and have your basic perennial garden with trees and shrubs, plants, pond etc. The only problem is COLOR, wonderful leaf formations and that sort of thing. So I started growing tropical plants and added them to the landscape and got hooked.

I'm in zone 6b and lack a lot of space to overwinter plants so I had to put the brakes on the number of plants to overwinter indoors...

I'm growing bananas again. I lost the last batch a few years ago. I tried them from seeds and never got any plants. I even used the boiled water method, but got discouraged. I bought every variety-but alas, nothing.

This year I bought a small Zebrina? It has the dark maroon red blotches on the leaves. The plant is now 8 inches tall and has 3 pups-one 6 inches and two small 3 inch babies.

Since I separated the pups can I plant all of them into the same large container? It would save space indoors over the winter. Secondly, do you plant them up gradually or can they go into one BIG pot.

Thanks,
JLo

Aloha,
Sorry I don't know anything about or am familiar with Zebrina. But look in the forum for someone who hails from England. They have experience when Zebrina. Unfortunately I can't remeber the name but they did help another newcomer named Joan.

Hope you find help and may your place look more tropical. Oh, by the way, Have you tried Canna? It's a banana relative whose rhyzomes are very easy to store during winter. You don't need to grow it indoors during the winter. Just let fall kill it to the ground, cutoff the dead stalks, dig up the rhyzomes and store in peat moss in a plactic bag during the winter in a dark, nonfrost place. It comes in a variety of flower and leaf colors. It's also very easy to start from seed although you might have to wait a season or two for flower. A very tropical looking plant.
Aloha KAHOA

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Aloha,


I have several varieties of canna, particularly the ones with variegated leaves. I bring them in during the winter and continue growing them. Its pleasant to see some colored foliage in the winter time when there is snow and everything is so bleak. Some of the other canna I started from seed and they were very easy.

I managed to find a location for pink lemon and kumquat "Centenial" which has a variegated leaf. I just ordered them and a few others...I eliminated all of my brugs except sanguinea which I'm waiting on to flower. I grew it as a standard so hopefully it will bloom this year.

Thanks for replying to my post.

WAYYYYYYY up here in Ontario, Canada

JLo

Aloha tropi_canuck,

Just to let you know, I'm in zone 5/4 in the eastern Upper Peninsula, Michigan, across the river from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. You're lucky to be where you are!

It's just frigid up here during the winter. I think my bananas actually shiver. Too bad you don't have much more room to over winter plants. Since you love tropicals I would have sent you a rhyzome or 2 of hedychium (ginger) I brought over from Hawai'i. I've found the 2 species I have do very well in potted culture.

They do TOO well. I have an over abundance but I don't like to kill off the babies. If you are interested let me know. Rhyzomes aren't illegal to cross over the border as long as they don't have soil attached. These plants will bloom indoors in Oct-Nov when most things are dead. And these hedychium blossoms are so very fragrant. You'd think you're in Hawai'i.
Aloha Kahoa

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The "Soo" as we call it here...now that is COLD.

I have a garden room (5 sided) attached to the back of the kitchen. Its mostly glass except the west wall. It also has a skylight and is always filled with sun. The ceiling is actually an octagon and cathedral type. I over winter plants in this room and it houses the computer. Its my favouite room!! In summer I have to keep the curtains pulled...its hotter than HADES in there. The ceiling fan runs non-stop and at night I keep the patio door open and get a wonderful breeze.

My back garden faces SOUTH so it gets hot like the desert there in summer. That's why I have climbing roses and shrubs etc...just to get a little bit of shade. I've been in this house for a long time and looking to downsize. But in the meantime I got hooked on Feng Shui gardening. I just finished the front and now I'm working on the back garden. Its not the proper year to put up a gazebo so I'm doing a type of folly....sort of a pergola that I'll take with me when I move.

I know I'm wayyyyyyyy off topic...but I just started making "Books" out of old window frames...I spray painted the glass to look like parchament. I masked off a border on the glass perimeter. I also painted the frames and now I'm going to stencil quotations from poems and songs that reflect garden themes. Just now working on, " I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden.:

I would love to try some gingers. Is it possible to send banana pups across without soil? I have extra Zebrina banana pups...

brugmansia_47@hotmail.com

JLo