The sun it burns!! How to protect your tropical plants.

After a long winter indoors, even the most sun-loving tropicals will burn at the slightest hint of afternoon sunshine. 

Those first warm days of spring are so exciting when you have a house stuffed with tropical plants, but my biggest mistake is giving these plants too much light too quickly. They need to be adjusted back into sunshine over the course of about 3 or 4 weeks starting with dappled shade or late evening sun. 

My Orange Bird of Paradise sees about 3 hours of direct light. 

I’ve studied the shadows in my new yard all year long to scout out the best spots. It’s important to remember that the shadows are getting shorter as we move through spring. Parts of my yard that were full shade a month ago are now baking in the sunshine. 

Unfortunately the Chamadorea microspadix has already been burned as you see above. 

I have noticed that the plants that spend the winter going in and out of the garage like my citrus and ensete banana are well adjusted to the sun already and can go out in full sunshine. 

My Musa Sikkimensis "Bengal Tiger" was growing in the house and turned into a wind-torn crisp after this photo. No worries though - new leaves will grow in soon!

My Sabal uresana spent most of the winter outside. It’s in the ground now and received some fertilizer. It’s a very slow grower, but I love the novelty of it! 

My Clivia is in bloom. I love this time of the year. Happy gardening!

Camellia season is here!

​Winter is my least favorite season, but Camellias make it so bearable. When I lived in the south, these gorgeous subtropical shrubs would bloom through the whole winter, but up here the Japonicas usually wait until March. I have 7 cultivars of camellia in my garden, but the first to bloom might be my favorite. 

This is RL Wheeler. It has huge, 3-4” wide variegated blooms. It’s a relatively fast grower but can grow well in pots. 

I got mine deeply discounted in South Carolina 3 years ago and it’s been in a pot ever since. By the way, camellias are usually pretty expensive but you can find great deals at the end of Autumn when nurseries are clearing their inventory or in the spring after they are finished blooming. 

Eventually, I’ll put these camellias in the ground, but I love that planters give me the opportunity to move these around. Camellias are unbelievable when they’re in bloom but fade into the background the rest of the year. It’s nice to be able to move these plants into view during the spring and then push them aside during the summer so other plants can shine. 

These are a few others growing in my garden. 

Ashtion's High Rise is new this year for me & I'm really enjoying it! 

My least favorite so far has been Spring's Promise. The flowers are really small and it's not as strong of a performer as my other camellias. 

Unfortunately, the landscapers destroyed the blooms on my Arctic Rose and Kramers Supreme. They are usually great performers for me and hopefully, they will be more careful this season. Never prune a camellia in autumn. I wasn't home when the disaster struck! 

Let's grow a Hardy Tree Fern in New York!

I tried growing a Dicksonia Antarctica many years ago and failed miserably! (Check this post for how it looked in 2013 and this one for a peek at that same fern when it was much larger in 2010). 

It took a decade, but I'm willing to try again! The last time I grew these tree ferns I kept it in a very small pot. It died in the house from lack of water. The roots are very fine and fibrous so I honestly didn't realize it needed potting up. This time I'm starting it off in a big pot and I'm going to drag it into the garage during its first winter when temperatures drop into the low 20sF. Eventually, I'd like to plant it in the ground and cover it during the winter - but I'm in no rush. 

I also purchased a Magnolia figo. It's also known as a banana bush because the flowers smell like bananas. I'll plant it in the ground and protect it during the winter. Magnolia figo is cold tolerant to about 15F. 

What's the point in a garden without some comfy furniture!?

I feel like all my hard work in the garden pays off, but one regret I had last year was the lack of time I spent sitting outside and enjoying it! I think the biggest reason was the lack of places to sit - so before we really get into the warmer days - I decided to make an investment. 

Nighttime temperatures are still dropping below freezing, so the orchid on the table was only there for the afternoon, but the palms will stay outside at this point. The potted Trachycarpus fortunei and Camellias only go in the garage when temperatures approach the teens F at night - and those days are long gone!

My Camellia "R.L Wheeler" is getting so close to opening its first blooms of the season. It's a spectacular cultivar! 

I decided to add my Chamadorea microspadix and Lady palm to the area to give a really nice "Florida vibe". These palms are cold tolerant down to 20F (and the Chamadorea can actually handle even colder!). I do keep them in the house during the coldest weeks of winter because I love to spoil my plants.