November 2022 - What's tropical in my Staten Island NY garden

 November 2022 came in with incredible warmth in New York City. Temperatures soared into the 70s for 5 days, topping off near 80F. I had true tropicals like plumeria and Adondila palms outside thriving into the middle of November along with other tropicals like croton, ti plants, and monstera. Can you BELIEVE this was my view during some of the shortest days of the year? 

Begonia going strong

It felt like a pool day

Sabal minor

Blooming roses and gorgeous crape myrtle foliage in early November

The cherry tree on the left lost its leaves before the plumeria!

Can you believe my Plumeria "Divine" is still blooming in November? 

Happy in the November sunshine

Adondila and cannas surviving despite a few nights in the 30s.

Mexican Sunflower hanging in for a few more moments

The Trachycarpus are ready to shine before they are wrapped for the coldest weeks of winter in January and February

Another view of my plumeria

This Fatsia Japconia is unprotected. It does suffer minor dieback when temperatures get closer to 0F. It's a reliable bloomer!

The first freeze here on Staten Island was on November 18th. A few days prior, I moved all the tropical plants into the house. They'll be very cozy there for the winter! 

The good news is there are still plenty of gorgeous sub-tropicals that don't mind a little winter chill. Yucca gigantea is cold tolerant down to the mid 20sF (briefly) and Oleander can handle even colder. These plants sailed through a 25F morning low and several other nights in the upper 20s. 

Chamadorea microspadix is a must! 

I generally bring all these plants along with my European fan palm into the unheated garage when temperatures drop below the mid 20s outside or are below freezing for an extended period of time. That last part is really important. Gardeners who push plants to their limit tend to focus on the minimum lowest temperature a plant can handle, but the duration of time below freezing is the biggest factor - especially for potted plants.

Update on my zone 7 Mediterranean Fan Palms (Chamaerops humilis)

Chamaerops humilis are known for their cold tolerance, but it turns out these palms grow exceptionally well in containers! Mine go into the unheated garage when temperatures drop near 20F and spend about 10 months out of the year outside. 

Over the years I've grown these in New York City outside in the ground. Click HERE for posts describing my experience with this palm tree. They, unfortunately, died when temperatures dropped close to 0F, and their protection failed, but now I'm growing them in planters. 

The planters look gorgeous in the late October garden and I often leave them outside through the holidays. As you'll see below, it didn't grow a lot during their first year in their containers (2021), but this year (2022) a lot of new fronds flushed out through the summer. I am growing Verbena underneath which is a very cold-tolerant hanging plant that blooms beautifully in the spring and early summer.

May 2022

Summer 2021

Newly planted in November 2020. 

Chamaerops humilis is the only species of palm tree native to Europe, but it's one of the most versatile landscape plants in the world! I've seen these palms grow beautifully in cold climates like Vancouver, Canada, wet and tropical climates like the Caribbean, and hot and sunny climates like Las Vegas! 

Chamaerops grow in such a wide range of climates because they can handle cold and heat exceptionally well. There is even a blue form that in my experience performs even better than the green form! 

Save money - start expensive plants like yuccas from cuttings!

Yuccas are a fantastic way to add drama to the landscape! Their rigid leaves look great all year long and during the warmer months, you'll occasionally see a plume of blooms that pollinators love! Although yuccas conjure up thoughts of the desert (like the gorgeous Joshua trees at Joshua Tree National Park) there are many that don't mind a wetter climate and give off a more tropical apperance. 

Growing Subtropical Yuccas in Cold Climates

Yucca gigantea are one of my favorite summer plants. Unlike most yuccas, these grow quickly and that makes them cheap! They are only cold tolerant to about 20F before significant damage, but they do well in the garage during the wintertime here in New York City. Most of the time, you'll see yucca giganteas sold as neat and tidy yucca canes. If you let them grow, they'll eventually develop funky branches like this. 

If you want a very tall plant, get one with a single growing point, or start them from cuttings! These are about 10 years old.

A Little Bit About Cold Hardy Yuccas

Unfortunately the more cold tolerant yuccas tend to be slower growing and that makes them MUCH more expensive.  This Yucca "Thromping Around" (pictured below) cost about $30 and will take a few years before it makes an impact in the landscape. Meanwhile, Yucca Rostrata often starts at $200 for a 2 foot tall plant and I've seen 4 foot tall plants go for almost $1000. The price only goes up from there! 

The good news is there's a cheap way to bring yuccas to your landscape if you grow them from cuttings and select fast growing species. Yucca gloriosa 'tristis' (formerly Yucca recurvifola) is has a solid growth rate and easy to grow from cuttings! This is a trunking variety native to the southeastern United States. It's common in landscapes in the New York tri-state area because it produces a beautiful, tall trunk and the leaves are not as menacing as other species. 

How to take a Yucca Cutting

Saw off a piece of the yucca you want to propogate. Yucca recurvifolia is a generous brancher so you can take off a piece without losing much of the original plant. With other species like Yucca Rostrata, you can cut off the top of it in early spring to start cuttings, but I personally wouldn't even try. Not only will it take a long time to grow back, but the leaves are as sharp as knives and I don't want to have that falling anywhere! 

Once you have your yucca cutting trim off the bottom leaf bases like this. This is where new roots will develop! 

Let it dry off for a couple of days, and stick it in a small pot with some soil and keep it in partial shade. Ideally you'll want to start these cuttings in the spring in cooler climates. In my case I'm going to let this cutting enjoy the warm fall days we have here on Long Island, and bring it into the garage when temperatures drop below freezing. It'll go in the landscape during the spring! 

You can grow Flamethrower palms (Chambeyronia macrocarpa) as a container plant!

Eccentric plants are what the tropics do best, and it's rare for these big personalities to do well in tiny containers in northern climates. Fortunately, the majestic Flamethrower palm is an exception. This slow-growing palm gets its name for the red color its fronds get as they unfurl. Here's mine on Long Island, NY. For a place where ANY palm tree looks out of place, the vivid color on this one is really special!

What is it like to grow a Flamethrower Palm?

I purchased my Chambeyronia macrocarpa from a plant sale in Orlando, FL in March of 2018 (photo below). That was 4 and a half years ago and the palm is still in the same pot size. It's safe to say this palm is slow! When I lived in Florida and in South Carolina (photo below) it would grow 2 new fronds a year. 

March 2018

March 2018

The photos below from my balcony in South Carolina are from January 2021, about a year and a half ago.

Jan 2021

Growth Rate

This is my first summer growing a Flamethrower palm in NY, and I only had 1 new frond open up. I know that sounds painfully slow; however, each new frond is MUCH bigger than the last. (At least 50% larger!)

Out of the dozens of palm trees I'm growing, the Flamethrower palm grows a lot wider than it does tall. This palm only holds 3 or 4 fronds at a time, so I'd argue that this palm changes shape and size more dramatically when a single frond unfurls than palms that throw 5-10 fronds out a summer.

My favorite thing about this palm is the low maintenance. They prefer shade during the sunniest part of the day, but don't mind direct morning or evening sun. It can also handle cool weather. In South Carolina, it was exposed to nights in the 30s and plenty of dry afternoons in the 50s. This palm does not handle winter wind well. My South Carolina apartment balcony was on the 4th floor and the fronds were tattered after the cooler months. Chambeyronia macrocarpa also will not tolerate below-freezing temperatures. It's a good choice for northern gardeners because it's cool and dry tolerant so it'll do okay inside the house during the winter months. 

How long does the color last?

You'll see images of this gorgeous palm in full color on the internet, but I think it's important to manage your expectations about how long the color lasts. the emerging spear stays completely green until it's about to unfurl (which happens nearly overnight!). 

Here's a photo below from September 17th. You'll notice the huge spear is still completely green.

This spear took so long to unfurl I thought my otherwise healthy palm was sick. But 3 days later, on September 20th we got our first taste of color. 

And every day the color got better and better! 

The palm frond completely unfurled about a week later and remains red. When it's all said and done, I'll get to enjoy the red color for a little less than a month before it changes over to a deep green color. 

Before and After Summer GLOW up.

Patience is a virtue most gardeners share & time is better than any fertilizer, but you might be surprised at how much a garden can grow in a short period of time. 

I established the garden at my parents house on Staten Island years ago, but I've only been gardening on Long Island since May. Below is a comparison of the two. You'll see a compare and contrast of the Staten Island garden over the past several years & how much things have changed in just a few months on Long Island. 

If time isn't on your side, don't be discouraged. A LOT can change in the garden in just a few months.

Staten Island Yard: Over the years

Below you'll see how quickly my Trachycarpus fortunei grew the past few years. The winter of 2017-2018 almost killed them even with protection. Temperatures dropped close to 0F. They have since recovered beautifully. Here's a view of that recovery! I literally could cry looking at the first photo. Now I laugh because it was a VERY awkward phase post cold snap for the tropicals.

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

What I love about gardening with potted plants is how easily you can mix and match combinations. Every season looks a little different than the last and if one potted plant isn't performing well, all you have to do is swap it with something else. A lot easier than digging a shrub up! 

2019

2022

This year I decided to place all my biggest palms in the pool area. There's power in numbers and it makes a much bigger impact to have a lot of cool plants close together than spreading them out. 

2022