It's Bananas! A view from above Mid-August

 

Check out the Bismarkia!

Musa Sikkimensis showing a tinge of red from above

Musa Sikkimensis growing in part shade. Actually it only gets maybe 2 hours of direct sun.

Inca gold plumeria and Tibouchina

Tropical Hibiscus Appreciation Posts

Hibiscus are one of the most easy to identify flowers in the world and instantly transport me to the tropics. So it's a little weird they've actually been growing fewer and fewer tropical hibiscus in favor over the years. I've given my attention instead to the beautiful perennial hibiscus that comes back every year without any special care. 

You can't blame me, right? It takes a lot of work to grow hundreds of tropical plants up north. Hardy Hibiscus have bigger flowers and more unusual leaves BUT I do have 6 tropical hibiscus this year that I am now sure I can garden without

Variegated Mahoe Hibiscus

This one proves that hibiscus isn't always about the flowers! This plant has amazing variegated foliage and is a must for any gardener who is looking for really interesting foliage. I fell in love with this plant when I went to Hawaii last January. 

In Hawaii

Mine was a super cheap $9 plant on sale when I got it from Logees in January 2023. 

The Variegated hibiscus tiliaceus is on the far right (March 2023) 

It did okay in the house until April. It seems to have higher heat and humidity requirements than other hibiscus and didn't really start growing outside a few weeks ago when our night temperatures regularly stayed in the 70s. Here are some photos from early July! 

Variegated ....

I got this one from a college plant sale. The foliage is very impressive, but I haven't had a single bloom yet. Honestly I am not too impressed, but it does look lovely in front of my Croton plant. 

I had a lot more fun with Snow Queen. I recommend that cultivar if you're looking for a prolific blooming hibiscus with variegated leaves. 

Colors & Flower Textures

Hardy Hibiscus flowers are big, but if you're looking for flowers that literally look handpainted, you need a tropical hibiscus in your life. I mean look at THIS! 

And look at THIS! It's like a peony. 

I unfortuantely was not given a cultivar name, but an Instagram friend with an incredible hibiscus collection says the first one looks like "Cajun Cocktail". Both of these were purchased from Bloomin Haus in Holtsville, NY. 

Classic Red Hibiscus 

This plant is special because it was given to me by a friend's mom in 2008 before she passed away. The red hibiscus is planted with a common pink hibiscus known as "Painted Lady". I haven't repotted it in about 10 years and it's starting to get VERY tired looking. You can look back at some of my earlier posts to see it in its prime. 

I decided to do some light root pruning. I used a scissor to loosen the entire rootball and I cut off the bottom inch of the rootball and added about 3 inches of fresh soil to the bottom and fresh soil throughout the sides. I pruned about 6 inches off all the shoots. It probably won't flower until late August, but it will be much better for it! 

The tropicals are out for the season!

Last weekend when I came home from Florida for my NY visit I took out all the tropical potted plants. I have over 100 of them, but I was only home for 36 hours so I managed to do the whole job in an afternoon! It was a challenge but you got to do what you got to do! 

Here are some pics. 

I got this coconut palm as just a sprout in June 2009. That was one of the coldest Junes on record in NY, only 3 or 4 days were in the 80s for the whole month and most days brought a cold rain. But it didn't flinch through that and 8 years later it's STILL IN THE SAME POT! It has never given me trouble and it's probably the longest I've ever kept a potted palm. 

Last spring my bottle palm got a really bad case of sun bleaching on the fronds. So this year I have the whole canopy underneath my table umbrella. When I come back home in late June or July I'll bring it back into the sun. I don't think it can handle another year with dying fronds so I am being very careful.

The spear on my queen palm is collapsing. I never have much luck with those palms indoors, but we'll see if it can overcome its issues this summer. It's in plenty of shade for now. Ideally I would have taken it out in March had I been around at the time. They can handle cool weather better than indoor climates.

My young adondila looking good after its first winter indoors. 

My big adondila palm has overwintered indoors for 5 years now. It's pretty care free. I keep it by the kitchen skylight and give it water every week or so until spring. Surprisingly spider mites have not been an issue for my large palm. You can see it in the corner of this group shot...

The croton and hibiscus are in this shot. They look ready for summer. 

The plumerias never have any problems overwintering. They are truly just the best tropicals you can grow in NY, it's a shame they aren't locally available. In my new home in North Florida nurseries do carry plumerias from time to time which is nice to see. They are fantastic plants! 

My large one still has christmas lights on it from the holidays. It's 15 feet tall. Don't ask me how I get it outside every year. It's all a blur! (but I have lots of scratches as proof that it happened)

Unlike my plumerias in Florida, my NY plumerias have  TON of inflorescences ready to flower. I am excited to see these in a few weeks.

Here's a fun plant to grow as cuttings - Monsteras. Some people call them swiss cheese plants because of the holes in their leaves. The mother plant was getting too big so I cut it back hard and put the cuttings into buckets filled with water. No issues at all over the winter and tons of healthy roots. 

The year I abandon my Ensete was the best year it had being overwintered! This is the second winter it has spent in my garage and it's off to a great start. This is another one I'm looking forward to seeing in a few months!

Another "garage survivor", my cordyline australis. Ever grow those little "spike plants" in your flower containers? This is what happens if you let it grow. Mine was just a little "spike" 4 years ago but it has grown so so vigorously. I truly am amazed at it's growth rate. It's long, needle leaves definitely make it a focal point anywhere where there is bold, broad foliage involved.

I planted some cannas here. Stay tuned!

My spotted farfugium is looking good after a winter in the garage. It's a little messy after its blooming but when I have more time during a future visit, I'll clean it up!

This shot will be covered by bananas if all goes well! 

But in the meantime the cherry tree is nice. More importantly, it looks like the spanish moss survived the winter. Hopefully it can survive the nesting season with the birds!

Thanks for looking!