Exciting Tropical Plants in my New York City yard in May.

Hi everyone! Sorry, it's been a while.  For those of you who haven't been following - I started this tropical garden in my parent's yard when I was in high school (long before this blog started!), but I  moved away 4 years ago to the sunny south. I have my own garden now, but my parents' garden is still thriving!

The COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult to safely leave South Carolina and visit my family in New York City this past year. Fortunately,  I was able to come up in the fall to bring all my tropical plants inside the house, and I just visited for a short but sweet weekend to celebrate my dad's birthday, Mothers, day, and plant a lot of pretty things! 

It was a very mild winter for New York City. The low temperature in my yard was 16F and Newark Airport reported a similar low. That's typical for a zone 8b and is the second warmest winter minimal temperature on record (number 1 is 18F in 2002). 

Below I've shared a few things I'm really excited to see sprouting in the garden this month. Everything is coming back to life quickly after the mild winter weather. 

First, let's talk evergreens!How flawless are these Trachycarpus looking this season!? A zone 8b winter can do wonders for these palms. I'll trim off a few of the tattered older leaves during the summer. 

Aside from the ostrich ferns, to the left, this pathway looks identical in spring, summer, fall, and winter! The Daphniphyllum macropodum (aka Redneck rhododendron) is a rarity because it actually looks BETTER in the winter than the rest of the year. The evergreen foliage turns tinges of red near where the leaves meet the trunk (this is how it gets its common name). In the spring, the old foliage sheds and looks a little beaten up, but new leaves emerge fast and freshen the plant up! In front of the Redneck Rhody is a Rhodea Japconia which also keeps it's beautiful looks all year long. It reminds me of clivia, but without the pretty flowers.  

Daphniphyllum macropodum closeup of new leaves. 

I'm not too impressed with the Camellias this year, but at least I got some nice blooms! This is Kumasaka. The foliage isn't very full. Surprisingly the gardenias look MUCH better. 

Gardenia Crown Jewel and Summer Snow are both looking flawless without protection this winter. Not a surprise at all! They nearly died after a 2F low in January 2019 and haven't bloomed since. I think it will make up for it with a big show this summer!

It looks like the crown jewel gardenia is already trying to produce flower buds! 

If you're looking for an evergreen fern, Tassle ferns are a must-have in zone 7! It looks like a baby tree fern. It's so furry! Even during cold winters, the fronds stay green and look really good. Sometimes it will look a little smooshed after heavy winter snow, but all is forgiven when it flushes out with new fronds each spring. 

Illicium floridanum is another winner if you're looking for a beautiful evergreen. It's very cold tolerant and blooms each spring. The flowers are kind of hard to see (maybe it's because I'm red-green colorblind) but they're leaves are pretty. It's known as a Florida Anise because of the spicy fragrance the leaves emit when crushed. HOWEVER, it's NOT edible! 

Red-tipped photinia is a common shrub here (I actually didn't plant it!). It's stunning in the spring when the new leaves emerge red and stays beautiful green through the winter. 

Aucuba is a gorgeous, hardy evergreen shrub that looks a lot like tropical crotons! Actually, some of the recent new cultivars coming out for crotons look like aucuba. The specks of yellow are a highly desirable trait, but there are other patterns to choose from if you're looking for an even more dramatic color. Aucuba is reliably hardy in zone 7 but probably could survive temperatures briefly below zero without issues.

If yellow is your color, Yucca filamentosa "color guard" is a stunner. It's evergreen, cold tolerant, and native to the US. It takes care of a LOT of checkboxes which is why it's so common. Not every plant has to be rare and expensive to be beautiful. The white flowers on this plant in early summer will grab anyone's attention (especially the nighttime pollinators!). 

It's cousin, yucca gloriosa is a little less cold tolerant, but has a beautiful, rigid structure to the foliage and more closely resembles an agave. My gloriosa has some weird black spotting on the foliage, but there are some beautiful specimens in the NYC area that have survived some of our coldest recent winters. I'd consider them marginal in NYC, but worth growing! 

If you're brave, you may want to try Tractor seat plants (Farfugium japconia) in the ground in zone 7. They do fantastic outdoors here in zone 8 South Carolina, but I never wanted to risk losing these pretty evergreens, so I wheel them into my garage in NY during the winter. The yellow flowers in late fall are reliable and stunning! 

I know this long leaf pine is planted way too close to this utility box. I'd just like to post this picture and apologize for my past mistakes LOL

It's a houseplant that can survive outdoors all year long in New York! Fatsia japonica is a must-have if you love funky-looking evergreen shrubs. The leaves are huge and kind of resemble a glossy, dressed-up fig. Their growth habits are totally different and while you won't get tasty fruit - you will get pretty flowers in the fall! This plant did suffer dieback when we dropped near 0F, but has recovered really nicely. I wouldn't recommend planting this without protection outside of zone 7. 

These aren't evergreen but are awesome tropical looking plants to try! 

You wouldn't be an italian in New York if you weren't growing figs. I used to see these trees covered all the time during the winter, but it's not necessary anymore. Even cold winters are only cold enough to knock most well situated figs back a bit in the NYC metro. Many are well over 2 feet tall! 

Passiflora craeula is a semi-evergreen vine during mild winters. I've lost this plant during cold years so I'd only consider it marginally cold hardy for a northern zone 7, but would probably be flawless in a southern zone 7 where winter freezes aren't as long. It's coming back with no dieback this year! 

Next to the passiflora is my American Wisteria. It puts on a beautiful show in May in New York and will rebloom again during the summertime. It's not invasive like the Japanese and Chinese species you'll see in forests. 

Bronx Fig has proven to be very cold tolerant. It was only a foot tall when I planted it back in 2015, but despite frequent pruning, it's getting big!

The figs are covered with a lot of fruit after the mild winter this year in New York. I've had total dieback during really cold winters from the Brown Turkey Fig pictured above, but the Bronx fig only had minimal dieback even when we dropped close to 0F in 2016 and in 2019.

We can't go wrong with a classic tulip! These come back reliably. 

This is my favorite plant of all time! I absolutely love hardy ground orchids. Don't let the "orchid" part scare you, Bletilla striata is very low maintenance and it comes back stronger each season. My only complaint is the short bloom time. It only blooms for about 3 weeks in mid-late spring (usually late May into early June in New York). The pretty foliage will stick around all summer, and you'll usually see some interesting seed pots, but it does fade into the background for most of the warm months. But don't let that discourage you. I planted maybe 10 stalks in 2015 6 years later have over 100! Each stalk will produce 5-10 blooms. We're talking a THOUSAND orchid blooms in New York City! There's a hardy orchid for even the coldest gardens in North America, including some gorgeous native lady slipper orchids that are a must-have for the native purists that want something a little funky in their garden. 

That's all for this week! In the meantime, you can follow my plant adventures on social media and on this blog! 

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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!

A few Late November Photos around the Yard

Although winter is certainly knocking on the door there are still some interesting plants to see in my yard. My Loquat gets lost under over tropical plants during the summer but it really shines this time of the year. The leathery leaves and fragrant blooms are a big hit in the yard in November. The blooms smell a bit like honey.

Not sure what cultivar of ivy this is but it is a beauty. The leaves are huge and the coloration is consistent and unusual. It is a slow grower though. 

Mahonias are great for adding some complex foliage to the winter landscape.

Soft Caress Mahonias are definitely not hardy to New York City long term. I covered them with blankets and even christmas lights on one night. Both survived but with some defoliation. It is a beautiful plant with palm - like foliage so worth a try in zone 7 but certainly a plant for 8a and up! 

Mahonia Japconia is a much hardier species of the genus and quite beautiful! Mine is thriving in nearly complete shade and blooms when the yard NEEDS the color most. If you want winter blooms and nice winter foliage, this plant just might be the most reliable for a zone 7! Mine bloomed much of last winter even in the snow. The yellow flowers contrast snow beautifully. In early summer the flowers change into blue berries which also looks very nice. All around a great plant and hardy through zone 6! 

And a wide shot with the livistonas and farfugiums

All these photos are from my phone so sorry for the lower quality. Thanks for looking!