From Spring to SPRANG!

Here's some comparisons from early summer to late August

Check out the bananas, ensete included, and citrus! Whoa! 

Musa Sikkimensis before and after around the pond

This amazing Corymbia citriodora, aka lemon eucalyptus

The hibiscus tillaceus was barely visible in that early june photo and the bananas had no leaves!

What a change!

My parents yard was so bare earlier this year!

A little more subtle change by the pool area

Monstera Thai Consetllation. Love this one! 

Thanks for looking!

 

Ashei Magnolia - The Pros and Cons

I've grown Ashei magnolia in my yard for a few years now. There's some downsides to this plant, but first, let's talk about the good! The leaves on this one are GIGANTIC and it's native to the US. The blooms are absolutely stunning, and despite everything about this plant being big, they do quite well in small gardens because they won't reach tree-like proportions. It's native to a small part of Northern Florida but is very cold tolerant and would probably do well just about anywhere in the eastern US.

Now onto the bad! Firstly, it's a deciduous magnolia which means it's down to just branches all winter long. Not a big deal for most gardeners, but it's just hard to compete with Magnolia grandiflora, figo, and sometimes virginiana which look beautiful all year long and also have lovely blooms. There's a lot of competition in this family!

I find the foliage on Ashei can sometimes look a bit messy later in the summer. The blooms are also very short-lived like all magnolias, but I haven't gotten a lot of new branches from my Ashei, so there haven't been many blooms. I definitely recommend this plant if you find one, but don't feel too bad if you miss out on it.

A decade of growing Trachycarpus fortunei in New York City (their growth rate through the years)

I LOVE pictures that show plant growth throughout the years. Before and after pictures can really give gardeners the idea of what they're getting themselves into before they purchase a plant, or what to be excited for in the months and years to come.

Windmill palms (Trachycarpus fortunei) are the gold standard for palm lovers in colder climates. No tropical garden "up north" is complete without them! These were the first "hardy" palms I ever purchased. They were planted in the ground from 3-gallon pots in March 2009. I was only 14 years old! Fast forward 11 years and these palms have grown a lot. Windmill palms have a reputation for being slow-growing, but I don't think it's warranted! Mine is putting out 1 new frond a month and over the course of a 9-month growing season, that's going to give you a pretty full looking palm by the end of the year! 

I moved south in 2017 so these palms have had a lot less intervention. Unfortunately, their beauty did take a hit in 2018 and 2019, but they're starting to bounce back!

For those of you growing (or thinking of growing) windmill palm seedlings in a cool climate like NY, here's what you can expect from them over the next few years! 

SUMMER 2009

WINTER 2014 (5 YEARS LATER)

SUMMER 2017 

This was the last year I was able to check on the palms throughout the winter. They still receive winter protection, but 2018 and 2019 were the harshest winters in their lifetime (near 0F both winters). You'll see the impact from that damage in the next picture. 

A peek from a freak March snowstorm in early 2018. The fronds were protected during the winter, but at this point, the worst of the winter cold was already over.

Summer 2018

The palms aren't as full and actually appear smaller as they recover from winter damage. 

Summer 2019

The winter of 2019 completely defoliated my windmill palms despite protection. I was worried they weren't going to make it, but they managed to make a slow come back later that summer! 

Now (Summer 2020)

I'm much happier with their look here! The winter of 2019 - 2020 was very mild. Our coldest low in my parent's NYC yard was 14F which is so manageable for Trachycarpus. They aren't quite as tall as they were in 2017 because the fronds aren't quite as stretched out (they're getting more sun these days). They really look pretty close to flawless and still have plenty of growing left to do this summer!

Thanks for looking! You can follow my plant adventures on social media and on this blog! 

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7 years of Trachycarpus fortunei (windmill palm) in New York City zone 7

If growing a tropical garden in a climate with four seasons had a symbol that symbol would be a windmill palm. Windmill palms can pack a punch, are easy to protect, and can grow long and slender trunks. Walking underneath palm fronds all year long can suddenly become a possibility for so many more people thanks to windmill palms.

----------------- Cold tolerance ------------------

Now as much as I would love to say that you can grow a windmill palm without protection here in New York City, USDA zone 7b, the reality is that you can't long term. You could be the exception if you have an incredible microclimate, but I have seen so many people try and while they can sail through a mild winter and get by during our average winters, anything a little colder than usual always knocks them out. They can handle more cold in southern states where the sun angle is a bit higher and the days are warmer. But anyway if you have any questions leave a comment below. I want to get into the positives because anyone serious about this hobby whether you are in a zone 5 or a zone 8, should have a windmill palm because they are beautiful and very tough.

I give mine pretty minor protection during the winter. Protection goes on when a bad storm is coming (to keep moisture away from the growing crown), when nighttime temperatures drop below 18F, and when days fail to get above freezing. And my protection method is very basic since I am not too handy when it comes to building things. Just some lights, a frost cloth, and a plastic garbage bin gets the job done. Just make sure not to use LED lights since those do not generate heat. I use c7 or c9 light strings since the bulbs are nice and large and they emit a lot of heat.


----------------- Growth Rate ------------------

I've been growing my oldest trachycarpus since 2009. They were just baby 3 gallon palms when I planted them out. Now they are taller than me and are the proudest thing I grow. I know people who live in colder climates who have had even faster growth than this, but here is what can be achieved here in New York City in 7 years. There is an expression that goes the 1st year a plant sleeps, the 2nd year it creeps, then the 3rd year it leaps. I found this to be very true with windmill palms. It grew very little the first 2 years in the ground but after that took off! The first two years I had it, they actually looked very unhealthy. Now I think they look as healthy as they would in a mild climate.

In the middle of these 2 trachycarpus is a Livistona palm which I've had in the ground since 2010. It's only hardy to zone 8b and usually defoliates completely with temperatures in the low 20s, but it always comes back with some protection. A great perennial palm. As you can see it really has not grown much in the past 6 years unlike my trachys!

July 2009 (planted: 3 months ago)

December 2010 (planted: 1 year, 9 months ago)

November 2016 (planted: 6 years, 8 months ago)

My Agave Collection: AGAVE BLOOMS ON THE WAY!

I've been patiently waiting to update everyone on this exciting news - one of my potted agave plants is flowering! I have never seen an agave flowering in a pot, but always hoped I would see mine bloom one day. When I got this plant at the age of 15 years old, I remember envisioning what it would look like in bloom. Now I'm 22 years old and that day is finally here!

For those of you who are not familiar with Agaves, Agave plants are "succulents" loving dry weather and sandy soil. They are desert plants that thrive in places few other plants will - but most are not very cold hardy in the wet Northeastern US. I like to grow agaves in my yard because they remind me of California, southern Europe, and the beaches in the Caribbean, in other words... vacation! I keep mine as potted plants and while my Agave americana and Agave parryi spend much of the year outdoors in their pots (only going inside when temperatures drop below 20F), my Agave desmettiana is more tender and go inside before the first frost of the season. At the end of an Agave's life (which can be anywhere from 10 to 100 years long) they use ALL their energy to make a massive blooming stalk. So the sad news is that I am about to lose my largest Agave, but it will be going out with a big BANG (and I'm sure I'll have lots of baby plants underneath it to carry on its mothers legacy.

I got this Agave desmettiana 6 years ago as a nice sized 3 gallon plant at a local nursery. This past year was actually the first year I repotted it. It's a sharp and heavy plant so I was not excited to repot it, but I got it done and just 2 months after giving it a large pot it decided to start blooming! So now I am the proud owner of a blooming agave plant here in my zone 7 yard in New York City. Yes I cheated a little because it does go inside every year, but I think it is still well deserved after poking myself for 6 years dragging the 100 pound beast inside my house every winter!

Summer 2012

Spring 2016 (repotting)

There is not a lot of detailed information about what to expect when a potted agave is about to bloom so here is my experience! Before the plant bloomed, the leaves got smaller. Once the stalk starts to appear things start to happen very quickly. For my Agave desmettiana, it took about 6 weeks for the stalk to reach its maximum height (about 6 feet tall). Agave desmettiana are small growing compared to many other species which is why they are perfect for growing in pots. The flower stalks on many of the larger agaves easily reach 20 feet tall or more (sometimes 5 or 10 times taller than the rest of the plant) so A. desmettiana is much more manageable in comparison. Oh yeah and if the blooms don't sound cool enough, when the plants mature little new plants called bulbis develop ON THE STALK. Not only does it look cool but it sure beats having to grow plants from seed. I don't think mine will stay healthy enough to mature to its fullest because winter is almost here, but it did get this far!

Agave blooms are VERY attractive to hummingbirds so if you get lucky enough to have yours bloom during hummingbird season you'll see lots of those birds enjoying some lunch!

I'll post an update when these buds open up. We have some cold weather coming this week so I'll be storing it inside my unheated garage during the overnight hours to keep the buds from getting damage.

I hope you enjoyed. Thank you for looking!

What a Difference 2 weeks make (and a comparison to this time last year!)

This weekend was the hottest in a long time in my yard. While the air temperature "only" maxed out at 97F (which is pretty typical for the hottest August days in NYC),  the dew point temperatures have been brutal. For those of you who aren't too familiar with dew points, I'm going to put my meteorology degree to use and explain it very briefly.

Slight Tangent: 

      The dew point temperature is a way of measuring how much moisture is in the air. Cold air is denser than warm air so there is less room for water in colder air than there is in warmer air. That's why it doesn't feel muggy even when it's wet outside in the winter - the air can only hold so much water when it is cold outside. When dew points are above 70F, it's means it's very humid -- because if the air temperature were to drop to 70F, the water vapor would begin to fall out (as dew) simply because it couldn't hold any more water. Any object below 70F would fog up.

      The past 4 days have had dew points in the 80s in my yard! That's about as high as it gets in the US. The windows around the house are dripping wet every morning and my plants are growing right before my eyes.

----
Ok back to the plants! Basically to summarize, it's been very hot and very humid and my plants are very happy. So I figured I'd try and compare some photos from earlier this month (and from August 2015) to now and see what's improving and what's not!

2 weeks ago

Now - the banana canna grew the most and the basjoo is growing modestly. Nothing too impressive in this planter bed this year but still some more time left for good growth!

Last year - the front yard definitely looked a bit nicer last year with the ensete, but I don't have to dig much up this year so this new look is lower maintenance! And I think that the front yard holds its on this year!

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Watch the way the castor beans shoot up. The cannas also got huge. All of these tower over me now. Remember I didn't even plant these castor beans!

2 weeks ago

Now - (slightly different angle). 

Last year  - the cannas are MUCH bigger this year! 

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Look at how the Mekong Giant Bananas and banana canna filled out in just 2 weeks time. The Mekong Giant, which died to the ground and did not sprout until nearly June looks bigger and better than last year at this time!

less than 2 weeks ago

Now 

Last year

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Not much growth but I love the cordyline in this spot.

2 weeks ago

Now

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Not much has changed in a year for the pool plants. 

Early August 2016

Early August 2015

My Cordyline Australis has a GREAT year!

Two weeks ago you would not be able to find this plant in my yard as it was hidden behind a forest of castor beans and cannas. Now it's one of the centerpieces of my yard because while it was in that corner it was getting huge and beautiful! 

Cordyline Australis is a pretty hardy plant. Sold as "spikes" at local nurseries, they are possibly the most common annual to see year from year coming in green and purple. The green form is actually pretty cold tolerant and during mild winters they survive in their pots and are reused by people for another year or 2. Rarely do people make an effort to save these plants long term in NYC, but three years ago I had an unusually vigorous plant so I kept it in the garage when it got below 20F outside.

It was pretty big this past winter, here's a photo of it "enjoying" a very wet snow storm...

Now it's really massive! Here it is as of now, about 6 months after that previous photo. It has literally doubled in size! Hopefully the 8 foot tall light pole and the planter serves as a useful scale. 

Thanks for looking!