Last Day of Spring Update on my Plants

 Zone 7 Long Island NY June Update!

It's the last day of Spring & things are finally moving along in my garden here on Long Island. I have a bunch of tropical plants in containers, but I also am experimenting with some palms and subtropcials in the ground.

THE GOOD:

• GINGER: My Hedychium coronarium gingers returned! I was surprised even the clumps planted away from the house foudation had no problems. Unfortunately my Fiesta & Daniel Weeks gingers have not returned despite coming back flawlessly the past few years.
• GARDENIA: All my gardenias survived! Frostproof and Summer Snow survived with just a cover on windy days. They're getting ready to bloom
• BANANAS: It was a great year in the garage for Ensete Maurelli and my Musa Sikkimensis. These hardier bananas sprout back so easily and lept into action in March.
• CITRUS: My Owari Satsuma, Meyer Lemon, and kumquats overwintered in the garage and are fruiting beautifully. My ponderosa was in the house most of the winter and is also fruiting well!
• THE PALMS: My sabal Minor sailed through the winter at my parents house without protection. Windmill palms made it with minimal protection.

THE BAD:

• The palms at my house on Long Island did awful. Only one windmill palm survived, half the clump on my needle palm WITH a cover for protection died. My Sabal Minor and Uresana also died. It was a mess.
• All my tropical banana plants died in the garage. It really showed the resilience in species like sikkimensis. I never had issues before.

Musa Sikkimensis & Musa Siam Ruby. The Ruby banana overwintered in the house. Those huge Canna musafolia come back every year.
Happy Tropical Palms. The triangle palm in the corner is so cold tolerant. The new leaf on my Bismarkia emerged brown. I thought it was dead, but the emerging spear still looks okay so we will see.

Medinilla myranthia Verbena are a great plant, definitely hardy for zone 8 & sometimes in zone 7!Musa Basjoo waking up from this past winter. No protection.

The windmill palm in this photo is a replacement for the one that died this year from the cold in my front yard. Even with protection I couldn't keep it alive. A strange winter for sure
Ensete Maurelli thriving in it's 3rd year. Definitely the easiest banana to dig up
Ensete Giletti
Hibiscus tillacesus is getting HUGE. The bird of paradise bloom in the winter.

My Chuck Hayes gardenia survived with the same protection that killed my trachycarpus. Growing some low sedum here for a mediterranean vibe
Joey palm (accidentally lost this!)
I've seen a few nurseries carry Loropetalum here in New York! I'm keeping mine in a container for now.

Crown of Thorns and Kumquat

Honeybush

Dahlia overwinter so easily in the garage
Experimenting with a monkey puzzle tree in a container for now. I'll plant it in the ground someday. Also a Dyckia Cherry Cola

My Satsuma orange is having a good year.

The New Zealand Flax in this photo has surivived temperatures into the 20sF. Also hello Ficus tineke