Category Archives: Tropicals
Fall is Here; Overwinter Plants Soon
Leave a commentWow! It’s been a very long time since I’ve written a plant related blog post. Times have changed for me since entering the world of early retirement. It is difficult to have as many plants as I have had in the past because of the care involved, and my goals have changed. To travel means needing care at my home for plants while I’m away, and this is not always possible, so I cut back on having lots and lots of plants. And I also tried to focus on drought tolerant plants, so they won’t need as much watering when I’m away on travel.
I didn’t plant as much either to reduce care needs. But I still have the very serious addiction of needing plants on my deck at home. And to save money, another retirement requirement, I want to still overwinter plants as best as possible to reuse them next year in the summer again.
I have written many times how I’ve stored my red banana plant (Ensete) and Canna Lily rhizomes, and elephant ear tubers (both Alocasias and Colocasias) but it bears repeating my basic steps to remind those who ask this time of year.
Frost Expected Soon
A frost is expected later this week on Thursday, 10/10/24, this year. Tropical plants may be touched by frost if you are storing the underground parts (tubers, rhizomes, corms, etc.), but if you want to store the plant in its pot, it is best to move it before frost, so the foliage doesn’t get damaged, stressed, or destroyed from the chills. Move them in tomorrow or the next day, before the frost hits.
Agaves Disassembled
I also move in Agaves as best as possible into my home, but space is limited. I no longer heat my greenhouse (again to save money for retirement fun), so that option is out. In the past, it was no problem to store my Agaves in my low-temp greenhouse over the winter, so they just barely hung on. And then return them outdoors the next summer, but now I have to move them inside the home.
A few of my agaves got very crowded in their pots because of the side shoot babies which had been forming, so my tactic for taking care of those was to take the agave out of its pot, remove all the babies by carefully tugging them away, trying to keep roots if possible, and then placing the babies in mason jars filled with water to sit for a while. This will encourage new roots. Then for the momma agave, I pruned some roots and remove soil quite a bit to fit it into a smaller pot and then move them inside the home in a space I have by my indoor slider. Done!
The baby agave plants may look a little tattered or uneven but give it time. Soon these will have fresh roots, I’ll replant them into very small appropriately sized pots and let them grow. The shape will be normal over time, and they can grow as big as my big agaves have. This particular agave is Kissho Kan. These plants inside the home of the winter are kept on the dry side, barely watering, and in some sun by either my bedroom or kitchen slider doors. They are easy to overwinter if you have the space.
Agaves in mason jars with water above photo
Alocasia Tubers
I still have to work on my Ensete and other big pot on my deck, but I managed to take apart one of the alocasias in a smaller pot. I cut off all the foliage first, then dig out the base with roots if possible, and some will have the brown papery covering on the tuber area whereas the smaller sides shoots often do not, either way, I store the alocasia tubers in my basement in boxes with just paper wrapped around them or as a bed (like crunched up newspapers). They can go a bit on the dry side and I make sure to have some slits or air holes in the boxes used to store them. This works fine in an unheated basement that does not go below freezing. Colocasias (elephant ears) are stored a bit more on the moist side by using peat as a bed material in the box. Before moving them into boxes (either plastic or just your basic cardboard boxes), I leave the tubers to sit in the sun for a week or days for a while. I don’t put them in immediately. I may even leave them to dry some on a table in my basement if it becomes too wet outdoors due to rain etc.
These plants (the alocasias) can grow very very large, and the tuber gets bigger and bigger each year. I still have quite a few of those to do. The next two days will be sunny so that helps. The alocasia plants have the elephant ears where the tips point upwards to the sky. Regular elephant ears (Colocasia) point downwards. I didn’t do any of the regular ones this season. I’m kind of hooked on the alocasias.
This planter above is my next project. I have to say the alocasia is paired with the most beautiful Coleus Limewire. It is so huge right now; it will be sad to cut it down! It has done wonderfully has a filler plant with the tall alocasia. The burgundy foliage edged with lime green was just stunning when hit by the sun, and the plant was tiny when started, now it is huge! You can also see there is a eucalyptus plant stuck in there, first year I’ve tried one. It is super tall right now and I’ll probably give the plant to my niece. She likes the smell of those plants, but I find the smell disagreeable. However, while it is living in the pot, I haven’t smelled that scent, guess it is when it is cut down.
I took this photo this weekend so I could have a reminder of how large this Ensete (red banana plant) grew this season, which is only year 2 of it. I stored it last year, and it shot up a lot this year with growth, and I have to remind myself to plant it in the larger planter next year, because it fell over twice during windy storms here – thankfully the pot/planter did not crack! I was trying to encourage my black cat to pose with me, she wasn’t having it – she wanted to walk around the deck. Her name is Mini and she is our treasure pet! We just love her. She never bothers my plants, it is like she knows, they are important to me, just like she is.
Anyhow, tomorrow I will start to take these apart and store them and will show the steps but here’s some links from prior posts about the processes I have followed with success.
Please note: Years ago, I would put moist peat with my Alocasia tubers, but no longer. I use paper for those, and it works better. That is for the Alocasias specifically. (For Canna Lily rhizomes, I use peat, and for Colocasia regular elephant ears, I use peat).
Hope this is helpful.
Enjoy your day!
Cathy Testa
Broad Brook/East Windsor, CT
Date of this post: 10/7/2024
Plant Take Downs – Alocasia and Ensete
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Yesterday I started the process of taking down my tropical Alocasia and Ensete plants from my container gardens and patio planters at home. It was a nice sunny day, and it is much more pleasant to work on them in the fall when the weather is not cold or too wet. These tropical plants must be removed and stored over the winter because they do not tolerate our cold winters here in Connecticut in pots and planters.
Here’s a photo of the plants I took out of the planters.
And here are my tools:
Garden Sheers, Hori Hori Garden Knife, Kitchen Serrated Bread Knife, Pruners, Trowel, and Small Shovel.
Cutting off the foliage and stems
Cutting back the foliage is the first step and is relatively easy to do. Using the garden sheers or the kitchen serrated knife works perfect. I recorded several videos of me doing this and posted them on my Instagram page as well as my Facebook pages under Container Crazy CT if you wish to see how I used the tools to cut all the foliage back. Here are the links:
https://www.instagram.com/containercrazyct/
https://www.facebook.com/containercrazyct
For the Alocasia (upright type), I cut off all the leaves with stem (petioles) attached about 6 to 9 inches from the base of the plant. After getting all the foliage off and tossing the items into the compost, the next step is to dig out the base of the plant. This is the area where the corm is at the base (often covered with furry looking or papery material and has the roots attached at the bottom), and up to where the petioles grow from and up to the green part of the plant. Sometimes you will see little round suckers forming at the bottom of the base. For the purposes of this post, I’ll refer to the whole thing as the “base of the plant.”
The components of the Ensete (red banana plant) are a little different than the Alocasia (upright elephant ears) because it does not form a corm per say as the Alocasia does. It is basically like a big stump, with the roots at the bottom. When I cut the leaves off the Ensete, notice I use a knife and cut away from the plant base to avoid nicking or damaging the trunk. Technically, it is called a pseudo-stem formed by the leaf bases but for ease of writing this blog post, I call it the base or the trunk when it comes to the Ensete (red banana plant).
Dig out, Upside Down to Drain, Air Dry
In both cases, the fleshy material can be damp and contain some water so after I dig them out, I lined them up upside down to allow water to drain before laying them on a table in the sun for a few days to dry out some more. If the weather is rainy, I move these into the basement to dry out on a table.
I will trim the roots somewhat so there isn’t as many roots as possible to deal when they are stored in a box. The boxes I use are cardboard with air holes made in them with a knife – slits basically. In a prior post, I talked about how I store the upright Alocasias differently than the regular elephant ears. In my experience, these upright elephant ears store better in a dry and dark state versus a damp and dark state.
I allow the plants to air dry and then I place the base (as shown above) inside a cardboard box that will not allow any light in, and I put the box in a cool, dark place in my basement. I will check them in a few months to see how they are doing. Storing my upright Alocasias this method worked very well last year.
In years prior, I had stored most of my tropical plant bases in plastic bins, with air holes drilled in the top covers, and in some slightly moist peat. This worked well for my Canna Lily rhizomes and regular elephant ears, but I started to see rot on the upright Alocasias and learned dry storage was better for those types of tropical plants. Either way, if you discover the bases are rotting in the boxes, it is best to toss them out. And try again next year.
Now back to how I dig them out of my planters.
The Hori Hori knife is my go-to tool first. I basically stick the knife straight down into the soil and dig around it (the base of the plant) to cut the roots under the soil. I’m careful not to hit the corm or any part of the plant below but I can hear the roots crack as I saw around them with the Hori Hori knife. Sometimes that is all it takes. If that doesn’t get it out, I use a small shovel to dig more around the plant and then I rock the base back and forth with my hands and eventually it comes loose from the soil.
Timing
You can do this process before or after CT’s fall frost, but again, when it is cold wet and frosty, sometimes the corms will start to rot in your pots, so I like to do this “take down” process before things are mushy and wet. It always works for me. I usually do this mid-October when are days are cooling down.
I do brush off or use a leaf blower or just my gloved hands to remove the soil around the roots and the base of the plant base as much as possible. By the way, gloves are mandatory for me – the sap from these can make your hands itch and it is difficult to wash off – so I always wear gloves.
My sister-in-law gave me this bin this year and wow, I wish I had this for years prior. It is so handy. I toss all the foliage in there and toss into the compost.
Check the bases later
As noted above, I will check on the stored boxes of these periodically. Here’s a post I did last March when I check on them and they were doing well. You can see I used newpapers to make a bed for them and how the green is slowly fading on the photo below and eventually it goes dry.
As you can see, the flowers around the two tropical plants are starting to fade. The Salvias were still blooming (purple flowers), and I will miss those very much because two hummingbirds fed from them all summer. A bee or two was still visiting the blooms as well this month. They were so tall and beautiful. The White mandevilla was still offering some last blooms and the petunias faded pretty much. But the two tropicals still steal the show all the way into our fall season – why I love them so much.
The Ensete (red banana plant) on the right is a new one this year. I had stored a base of an Ensete for over 12-14 years but last year, I lost it, so I scored a new one this season. The Alocasia plants are from an original I got about 4 or so years ago and each year I get more from the pups and the repeat storing of the original. They are tricky to get growing in the spring though – and take a while to start from dormancy, but so worth it. Once they take off – they grow big.
Storing container plants is a way to save money and keep a plant growing larger as the base gets bigger each season. It’s a bit of a process but it went well yesterday for me. I’ve written my steps many times and just use the search bar to locate the posts.
Thank you for visiting.
Cathy Testa
Broad Brook, CT
Bringing In Some Plants for Winter
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In Connecticut, many plants we use and display in our container gardens and patio pots will not survive the winters here, and must be handled by taking them in as houseplants or storing them by digging out tubers if they have tubers, corms or rhizomes, such as tropical plants like Canna Lilies, Elephants Ears, etc.
I’ve started some of this overwintering setup process already this year. This year, I mostly have agaves, cacti, and succulents to take inside as houseplants candidates. Some of them are rather large and this is becoming like a jigsaw puzzle in my home, because I’m taking them into the house instead of my greenhouse this winter. I don’t want to pay for the heat for my greenhouse – it is becoming too costly. So, I’m literally back to how I used to store plants when I was first into playing with plants over 20 years or so ago!
Pick and Choose the Best Plants to Take Inside
The process of picking and choosing which are worth taking into the home is interesting. I have literally stared at a giant agave and thought, Hmmm, where could I fit this? I’ve rearranged my small home office so a table has space for some plants by a window. And I put many smaller succulent plants (like in 3-4″ pots) in the kitchen garden window over my kitchen sink that faces south. I even moved a small couch from my kitchen sitting area to fit plants under a window facing west there too. Plant people will do anything for their green babies, like a complete furniture rearrangement to make space by a window.
I see people asking all the time on gardening Facebook group pages, what do I need to do to move in this plant? Sometimes it is a tropical Hibiscus plant, other times it is a traditional houseplant they had outdoors, or perhaps it is a giant Canna Lily plant. Everyone has their suggestions, like dousing them with a dish soap liquid combo, or other methods, like putting them in a garage and doing a bug bomb routine, and someone said they even put theirs in paper bags and spray them with insecticide and let that sit for a day to kill any bugs. Are these methods good? Well, if it works for them – perhaps. Not sure about the bag method, however. But you will try anything to take in a plant for the winter and keep it growing or stay dormant so you may use it again next year outside in the summer months here in CT.
My Ground Rules for Taking Plants In:
I, however, use certain “ground rules” for which plants are selected to be brought into the home for the winter. And here are my rules:
The soil must be dry (as dry as possible).
For succulents, cacti, or agaves, I make sure the soil in the pot has dried out – so they were either kept under a patio umbrella (if there’s been rain) or brought into more sun to help dry out the soil on sunny days recently. I make sure the pot is draining very well, even have tipped a pot on its side and let water run out, and I look at the soil to inspect it. If possible, I may tap the plant out of the pot and inspect the roots and just kind of look over if there are any critters in there. Or rotting roots. Dry soil reduces the potential for soil born insects, I find. And cacti, succulents, and agaves do not need lots of moisture in the winter. So before taking them in, I make sure the soil is as dry as possible. We have had a mini summer episode this week for weather, so it is good right now to try to get the soil dry if possible, so I’m doing that now. Rain is coming Saturday. I want to take them in before that.
Blow any Debris off the Plant
I have a small leaf blower and I will use that – especially for Agaves since their leaves are stiff and can take the blowing of air, to remove any debris. Leaves from trees sometimes fall on them and get stuck between the leaves of the plant. A leaf blower is perfect this this – it may blow away a spider or two as well, but spiders are usually good bugs, however, if you have a fear of spiders, you probably want them gone before taking the plant indoors. I cut off any bad or damaged leaves of plants after this. What I’m trying to do is remove any potential for something to cause issues. Some insects feed on decaying plant material, so getting rid of anything decaying on the plant is a must. A vacuum may be another handy tool, and also look under leaves of plants for anything lurking.
Washing the Outside of the Pot
I use soapy dish water to very thoroughly clean the outside of the pot. I want to make sure I’m not bringing along any debris, dirt, or maybe something unseen. All of this is done to prevent bringing in trouble, like hidden insects or any kind of lurking problem. It is a precaution of sorts. But worth doing.
Selecting Best Location Possible Inside
It is tough if you don’t have a glass house, but there are some places I know my plants could make it. Some of my medium sizes agaves went inside the bedroom by the slider. It is Southeast, it will get some sun, just enough to hang in there. I put the mini succulents in the kitchen garden window but remember that window gets cold in winter, but most succulents or cacti can take “some cold”. On good days, I am sure to open the little side windows on the garden window to give the plants air circulation. I also put some on a table in my home office which faces north. I’m not sure if that is going to work though, but I may get a small grow light and try that location. That window and room is colder, but not as cold as an unheated greenhouse would be. However, there are some succulents that actually are fine with less sun so those will go in the office. My bathroom small window works for a couple plants. Plants that don’t need a lot of sun and like humidity from the bathroom shower may go on a little table there.
Spraying Plants with Houseplant & Garden Insect Killer
This I do with only some. If a plant has a bug issue and I see it – and it is bad, it doesn’t make the selection list at all to bring inside. It is too much of a risk to increase and spread. If I may suspect a tiny problem; I may lightly spray the plant before bringing it in to try to treat it. Garden Safe is one I have used. But I truly don’t do this too much. Look at the bottle label on the back, make sure it is a safe product for your particular houseplant candidate (some products should not be used on particular types of plants), and do that outside before you bring it in. Again, I avoid plants with problems, and usually I don’t have too many big issues because I coddle my plants in the summer as well. Many people use insecticidal soaps or horticulture oils, etc. Ask your local nursery person for a good product or browse those sold in stores, but read the label on the back, open it up and see if any plants should not have that spray on them.
Giving Plants Away
I select the people I give my plants to with as much carefully thought-out consideration as I do with which plants come into my home. My sister-in-law has a beautiful big glass living room, and she has a green thumb. I just gave her one of my huge Jades. She was thrilled. I have given her plants before, and she always keeps them thriving for years. It makes me feel good when I see the plants in her home, but I also have that tang of jealousy, like, wow, I gave that one away?! But like I said, my house is small. And she truly does take good care of them.
Overwintering Saves Money for Next Season
Overwintering plants is a way to save money and also is a method to keep your treasured long time plant companions going for years. It also adds beauty inside your home. And life! But probably the biggest concern people will have been insects and the correct place to put your plant so it can make it. A room with absolutely no light may not work for the houseplant candidates. It depends greatly on the type of plant and the temperature too in the house. If you keep a room totally unheated, that can stress a plant. But that room may be perfect for tubers you are storing in boxes, for example. I will go over tuber and storing of corms and rhizomes again soon.
I have a rather large Agave which I’m currently trying to figure out where to fit it. It has matured so much over the years; it is huge and heavy! I noticed one day ants going to the base of the large pot. I thought, uh-oh. I won’t move that one in the house without potentially taking it all together out of the pot and removing all the soil – what a chore, and it can be dangerous due to their spines. I’m still contemplating this one. Should I try to sell it? It’s a monster! What will I do? I don’t know.
Other methods:
There are other ways to capture some of the parts of the plants like taking off-sets or cuttings of annuals or even some succulents will have off-sets or plants on the stalks, seed gathering for other types of plants, etc. And storing tubers or rhizomes of tropical plants which I will most likely cover here again, but I also have many posts from years past on this on this blog. Use the search bar to search for them. But right now, I’m focused on my agaves, cacti and succulents for this post.
Keep your Inspection Hat On!
Finally, once you have decided to keep a plant and take it indoors, keep your inspection hat on. Look over the plants every few weeks or even every few days initially. If you see a problem, act on it before it spreads. Reduce watering greatly for cacti, succulents, and agaves. They don’t need water much during the winter.
Thank you for visiting!
Cathy Testa
Plant Blogger
Connecticut
Date: 10/4/2023, Warm sunny weather this week but rain and cold on Saturday!
I have a post from 2013 on how I stored my Big Red Banana Plant (tropical plant). It is sometimes difficult to search for, so I’m linking it here below for those asking:
Storing My Big Red Banana Plant
Photos related to today’s post:
High Rise Gardening
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Back in 2019, I received a voicemail from a gentleman, and he was looking for a gardener for his balcony. I immediately felt a certain tone in his voice. Something about the phrases he used and his professional manner in his voicemail to me made me feel this would be a call worth returning. And, my friends, it was.
It led to quite the adventure of planting not only one but two high rise balconies for five years, located on the very top floor of a building in Hartford, CT. It’s a good thing I do not fear heights, because if you did, you would not be able to look over the railing at the scenes far below. It can make a person with a fear of heights queasy.
There’s something special about working in a high-rise urban situation. The background city sounds are constant, but they are not the typical sounds I hear at my home, which is filled with birds and maybe a slight sound of road traffic. On a high-rise, you hear sirens, distant constant highway background noises, an occasional high-flying hawk, and air sounds. I liked that. It is not overpowering, just there and didn’t bother me. In fact, because I have tinnitus, I rather liked the background city sounds. It drowned out my tinnitus and also the enjoyment of working in this special place, made me not focus on tinnitus either! Plus, the views were enough to not even think about the background noises.
I also liked how you are up there overlooking the world, and no one knows you are. It is a really neat and inspiring situation. One time, when working on their planters, two helicopters flew right near there, as if a pair flying together. I thought, can they see me here, and I even wondered if it was the president. I had read he visited an area in CT that day.
And after a few rounds of plantings, I started to see bees. Usually, a solo one or two. One time, the client heard a tree frog in the planters. They could not locate it, but they were amazed, and so was I! He either hitched a ride on one of my nursery pots, or could it be possible he climbed up that high?! The balconies are 38 floors up! I always liked pressing that PH button in the elevators, I have to admit.
I thought, gee, I so wish I landed this opportunity when I was younger. I was very excited to work for these clients and their balcony gardening projects, and yes, it was all very large planters the full length of the balconies. Fortunately, they referred me to another couple in the same building, so had two wonderful sets of clients and wonderful planting scenarios.
Probably the best part of it all was the upmost appreciation for my planting work and craft by these clients. I was told often that I was an artist. Can you imagine how that felt? It was wonderful and meaningful to me. And their flexibility, as they fully understood this planting situation is unique and has special challenges. They were always, always polite and understanding because things unexpected can happen on a high-rise situation with plants. I knew it would be challenging yet extremely fun and rewarding for a plant person. Plus, I liked their style. Both had their own unique style, and it was fun to think about how to best meet their needs in that regard as well.
Working on a high rise has many challenges. Try – no water sources outside. Extreme winds that will shred plants. Cold temperatures when I did winter installs. And in the summer, extreme heat. I had a lot to learn and research. And, not to mention, going up and down constantly in an elevator. I am lucky I am a thinker about organization because you have to organize all to be efficient in those situations. And I got to witness how plants respond differently in a high-rise balcony situation in planters, pots, and spaces. Plant colors are different when experiencing extreme heat, they grew to amazing large sizes in some cases, which blew me away. I would plant a small herb and it would reach the size of a shrub by the end of summer. It would shock me sometimes, like wow, they love this sunshine and heat! I read somewhere you could not grow tomatoes on a high-rise, NOT! You sure can and they were wonderful.
I thought it would be a great idea to talk about the plants which worked well in these situations and what didn’t work so well on a high-rise. And write about my high-rise balcony gardening adventures. I actually had trouble finding good books on balcony gardening. I could write one of my own I guess, but I choose to use my blog, here on Container Crazy CT, to write about scenarios I encountered in a series of posts.
It begins today!
I’m not sure exactly where to start but these two images above are sneak peeks of two of the many planters. The first is client number 1 and after much thought and questions, I ended up putting together a mini garden and I loved how the deep plums accentuated it. And for the other photos, it was a mix of succulents. Some grew two to three sizes larger in one summer. It was amazing. I will write about these and many other planting arrangements as I do my series of posts upcoming!
More later!
Cathy Testa
Container Crazy CT
Date of post: 9/12/2023
Location of Photos: Hartford, CT
My Location: Broad Brook, CT
Last of the Chill
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This should be it. The last of some quick short drops in temps in Connecticut during the evening. When I got up this morning around 5 am, it was 42 degrees. Now at 7 am, it is 48 degrees. Call me picky but tropical plants really don’t like below 50 degrees F.
So, what did I do? I took some Mandevilla plants into my house last night. As an “extra” precaution. The drop in temp didn’t last long (a couple hours) but I was being extra cautious because I’m planting these Mandevillas at a site tomorrow. The last thing I want is problems right before planting day.
I had some issues with Mandevilla last year and this has led me to being frustrated with them. Sure, “IF” they are healthy to start with AND the temperatures are well suited for them to grow well, all is good. Little to no problems. But “IF” they are having issues even before picking them up, it leads to problems (e.g., leaf drop, leaf yellowing, blooms with brown spots, or tips of the vines blackened). I’ve seen it all. And as you probably know, they are not cheap. They are a pricier plant, so we don’t want issues with them.
This frustration led me to do some researching and I am reading some thrip insect issues are occurring in Florida on many plants and Mandevilla was listed as being one of them. Thrips are a big PIA in the planting growing industry. Is this why the Mandevillas are showing up with problems? Not sure, but that problem is bigger than little old me can handle. It is a issue to the insect experts in the industry. So far, I don’t see thrips on my plants and that is good. You don’t want those pests in your growing environments.
So, I am very careful about which Mandevilla plants I buy when it comes to Mandevilla now. I inspect them carefully and if I see signs of issues, I stay away from those. I literally hand pick them. If I see an issue, I immediately say nope.
Mandevillas tend to show up at our local nurseries early in the season, but they are heat loving plants. The nurseries will usually keep them indoors in their greenhouses until it is warm enough outside. Or they should be in my opinion. Otherwise, they get exposed and can develop issues.
When I pick up Mandevillas before outdoor safe planting time, which I prefer actually not to do (pick up too early but sometimes you have to or they may run out), I keep them in the greenhouse if it is below 50 F degrees outdoors still and put them outside during the days when warm and sunny. Most of the time, I put them on my driveway where it heats up well and there is some protection by the garage wall during the day.
We have had beautiful weather the past two weeks (minus the late spring frost we got on 5/17-5/18). On those nights when it was either a frost or a quick low temp hit which does not frost but low temp (lower than 50 degress F) – I’ve had to carry them back inside. It is a PIA. Because the pots are heavy and they have long tall 5-6 foot poles in them. But it gives me a bit of a workout. LOL.
But is that worth it? Are planting vining Mandevilla plants worth all the trouble? Absolutely yes, when they thrive. Which my plantings have for several years. I feel like issues surfaced more with them the past couple of years and that is frustrating for little ol’ me. I’ve written about Mandevillas before, and how wonderful they are and what a beautiful show they put on. It is on my other website, here is the link:
I’m hoping this morning’s quick chill was the last of it. My house had the company of some nice blooming Mandevilla last night which I will once again carry back outside today. Today will be a stunning day. Full of sunshine so that is good. Oh! Yesterday it wasn’t just the drop (a quick one) but it was windy too. I could feel that whip of cold air at times even when the sun was out.
As I’ve said repeatedly, Memorial Day is the safe time to start planting warm loving tropicals and warm-loving vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, etc.). And it is also safe for Basil. Basil does not like the cold. When I walked to my greenhouse this morning, I was still in my PJ’s and slippers (too lazy to put on my flipflops), and the ground was very cold and wet. That to me is a reminder, the ground is still very chilly. Containers are a big of a different story and warmer. But you get the idea. The ground is cold until it warms up well which should be happening now that we are past this cold crap, LOL.
We are scoring an amazing weekend of weather for Memorial Day – AMEN! Will be perfect to do my site plantings and get started on my home plantings. It has been so very tempting to cheat – remember in April? We had an 89 degree F day! WTF. That is nuts, right? What happened is everyone got antsy. One garden center told me people were asking for tomato plants in April – that is way too early for them to be planted but I think everyone got super anxious and I don’t blame them. I did too.
I only tempted fate by putting out my agaves and cacti. On the late frost we got, I covered them with sheets that night. Cacti, remember, can take a dip in cold – that happens in the dessert where they are from. But tender annuals, tomatoes, etc. – that would impact them, and it may not show up right away. What happens is they may look fine but they won’t grow if they were exposed to too cold of temps They will just sit there – stubborn as heck.
Well, rant over! It is go-time this weekend. I need a real good night of sleep tonight and then working tomorrow. I see it will be like a summer day! 70 degrees expected tomorrow. That is nice. No rain, no cold, just warm sunshine with the birds and tree frogs chirping. Finally.
Oh, and why did I carry these into the house? Cause my greenhouse is full and plus it was a shorter walk, LOL. My cat curled up under them and slept there last night. Guess she likes the Mande vibe.
Enjoy your weekend!
Cathy Testa
Plant Crazy Enthusiast
http://www.ContainerCrazyCT.com (this blog)
http://www.WorkshopsCT.com (misc plant services)
http://www.ContainerGardensCT.com (container services)
Frost Arrived in Connecticut Overnight in 2023 on…
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If you are on practically any Facebook gardening page, you saw the plethora of posts by people preparing for the pockets of freezing temperatures in areas of Connecticut and Massachusetts, as announced by the weather stations for the evening of May 17, 2023, and early morning of May 18, 2023.
Many nurseries also posted warnings to take in your hanging baskets, potted plants, and cover any plants you may have put into your gardens of the ground. They wrote titles such as, “Frost/Freeze” warnings. It was noted to occur in areas of New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It was important for plant lovers to heed their warnings and take “precautions” depending on where in the state you are located.
Because we have had spectacular weather for the past week or so, and Mother’s Day was just last weekend, many people got their plants started outside and patio pots were probably potted up and hanging baskets of annuals were hanging. Some of these items were probably easy to take in (such as the lightweight pots, and the hangers) while others may have been a real chore to move for some protection.
Even though I know the potential for frost and kept some of my plants in my greenhouse, I still had some out too which I was acclimating to the outdoor environments, and I even moved a few plants up to my deck but most of my pots have been empty because I wait till Memorial Day to plant my tomatoes, peppers, succulents, cacti, agaves, and Alocasias and Colocasia (elephant ears), etc. Anything tropical, cold sensitive, and any warm loving vegetables stay inside. I only take them out to harden off (acclimate) on good days this time of year and wait it out till Memorial Day to plant permanently in their intended locations – but it was rough to wait!
Light sheets were used to cover up the plants I did move out to the deck that I felt would be okay, like some Yucca plants I have in pots. But a lot of the smaller items I had out got moved in. My petunias, a few of the Mandevillas I was acclimating on my driveway, the Alocasias in two pots still small enough to lift, the Mangaves, and some Agaves. Anything with succulent like tender foliage (like the Mangaves, they have foliage similar to Aloe if you crack them open, they have gel inside).
So, we got our exercise last night. I did not cover up my amazing tree Peony as shown below in the photos. Plants which have been growing in my landscape for years, like my gorgeous yellow-blooming Peony, I didn’t bother to cover up. I checked them this morning and they looked okay.
Frost on the windshield of your car or truck is a good indication that yup, it got cold enough to get “frosty” on windshields, but just how long did the drop in temps last? It may have been quick, only an hour or so just above or just below freezing. At 4:30 am, it was reading 35 degrees F on my weather app. So, bear in mind, it was quick and not a drop you would get in winter that would surely completely kill your plants.
While this type of frost may not outright kill some of the plants you risked leaving outside, it will stress them. I didn’t want to subject the Mandevillas I am holding for a client to this quick frosty episode because then the plants’ leaves drop off, the plant gets a bit stressed, and they are temperamental to start with so even those have 5 ft poles in them, I took 3 into my house. The rest of my Mandevilla are still cozy in my greenhouse.
After years of stressing out about plants, I kind of know which are more susceptible and need to be babied in these situations and which are possibly okay risking. As I have noted in my recent posts, I always use May 12th as an estimated last frost date. This year, frost came a bit later (May 17-18, 2023) and I have already marked this on my calendar so that when I get my 2024 calendar to hang on my office wall, I will have already noted that it arrived on May 17-18. Even with me noting May 12th, that is safe because I don’t permanently put the plants out – I am usually hardening them off – by putting them out during the day to get acclimated and taking them in at night if I felt it dropped below 50 degrees.
I do believe that we are safe now – except for tonight – they said this occurrence of a quick drop in temps may fall again tonight, May 18th, for some areas of the state. Massachusetts was colder than CT last night, and my uncle, who has an amazing garden in New Hampshire, posted snow falling yesterday! When I see his posts, I know it is true that frost will hit us. And it did.
I tend to make a note here on my blog to serve as my reminder.
What I took in:
Sky Petunias – which are in tiny pots (they smell so strong; I took them in last cause I’m actually sensitive to the scent).
My Mangaves – because a) not frost tolerant and b) tender succulent foliage is more likely to get damaged.
Mandevilllas – They tend to get stressed, and I don’t like that cause it sets them up for leaf problems. They don’t care for below 50.
Agaves – Those prob would have been fine, but what the heck, if they weren’t too heavy, I took some smaller ones inside.
Alocasias – That were overwintered in the greenhouse, were outside to acclimate for a few days already, and were not too big yet and still in medium pots. They have tender foliage too. If the foliage were to get damaged from the frost, it would probably regrow from the tubers below the soil, but I just figured, take those two in.
Cacti and smaller Succulents – I had some on the deck in small terracotta pots, what the heck I took those into my bedroom, so it would be easy to put them back outside. Cacti can take cold drop, but the succulents cannot.
Houseplant Hanger – I overwintered a houseplant in the greenhouse and had that hanging outside for a few days now, in it came.
I probably will leave most of the smaller pots in today and tonight. I’m taking the Mandevillas out for the day and back in tonight and then finally this routine will be done! Friday night will be plant celebration time! Along with happy hour!
Remember, note the 2023 Frost Dates for reference and reminders next year. And enjoy the rest of your spring and summer planting season. I hope next week’s weather will be as pleasant cause I have lots of plant work to do.
Thanks!
Cathy T.
Container Crazy CT Blog
Zone 6b
Broad Brook, CT
What if I lost my vision?
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As we age, things with our bodies change and some things are out of our control. I recently found out I have an eye condition which could potentially lead to loss of vision in the center of one eye. Today I go see a specialist. I really dread this appointment because I envision a needle coming my way. But then I tell myself, stop obsessing and all will be fine.
But this had led me to think about what if I did lose my vision. What if I couldn’t see my plants, all the amazing flower colors, and the beauty of what plants bring to my eyes, and my heart?
Being a “what-iffer” is not a good thing and maybe my eye issue won’t be severe and allow me to be free of vision problems for several more years. I won’t know till after today’s assessment, or perhaps for a few years, who knows.
My Mom lost partial vision in one of her eyes many years ago too. I remember going to the doctor’s appointment with her and the process they explained for a surgery at that time involved lying face down for several weeks at home after the surgery for the recovery process. It was an insane scenario to me. I remember thinking how anyone can lay face down for that long? She didn’t do the surgery back then.
She managed a very long time with partial vision in her eye, but today, as she is more in her elder years, she cannot drive due to her vision issues. She used to crochet a lot but said she cannot do that anymore, and that she can’t even read the newspaper now.
I often browse my plant photos and it really brings me a feeling of good vibes. I love colors, I love looking at the colors of flowers. Even simple Pansies are amazing when you really look at the flowers, and think, how on earth could God, Nature, whomever is responsible for these colorful wonders do such an amazing job. It is such a gift to us. Truly. Just look at these purple Pansies in the photo below. The outer edges are a lighter purple than the centers. The color is two toned! Nature does that!
If you think about the colors of the world, so many come from plants, flowers, fruits, and of course, the sea, ocean, sky, etc. Colors paint our world. Can you imagine a world without flower colors? I cannot. I am always amazed at the beauty of gardens and plants. And color patterns of birds and more.
Recently, I started playing around with needle felting and I really enjoy it. I started to think, what if I couldn’t do this if I was vision impaired. What would I do to replace this creative therapy.
Could I envision plants and their amazing colors in my mind. I guess if someone said, oh this photo of your planter with x-y-z has this and that, I think I could envision it. I could see it in my mind, hopefully.
Again, I’m not in the gloom and doom phase – don’t get me wrong, just it got me thinking about it. Certain scents can bring you back to a moment in time. I remember the scent of sugar canes in Hawaii. I will never forget that – and if I smelled it right now, it would zoom me back to that moment.
Our senses are all part of the equation.
In a jewelry class I took this winter, a woman moaned a bit and the instructor asked if she was, okay? She replied that her darn arthritis was bothering her hands. I guessed she was probably the same age as me. I thought to myself, we all have our struggles as we age. For me it is my eyes, for her it is her hands. I have heard how painful arthritis can be.
I suppose you just have to adjust and deal. Heck, my hearing is already having issues. I joke with my husband that there should be a special form of sign language for people who start to lose hearing in their later years. He said, there is, it is called sign language. I always told him; we will learn and use sign language if we ever lose our hearing.
Anyhow, until any of those days come, I will try to “focus” (no pun intended) on enjoying colors even more than I already have. I will enjoy listening to the tree frogs, birds, crickets even more than I already have, and try not to think about those what-ifs!
To see photos of some beautiful flower colors, visit my SmugMug Gallery of Flowers.
Photos above:
Blue and White pinwheel morning glories. Grown from seed one year. Absolutely stunning and fun.
Yellow blooms with red speck of Canna Lily. Love growing Canna Lilies and using them as big tropical thrillers in my container gardens every year.
Deep red Canna Lily blooms with purple flowering annual behind it. I think the purple is annual salvias. I love how this spontaneous photo I took came out. Truly – does it not bring joy to your eyes, and then your heart? It does for me!
Almost all photos on my blog are photos I took with my iPhone. Yes, it’s an obsession!
Cathy Testa
Container Crazy CT
Broad Brook, CT
Zone 6b
Connecticut
Red Banana Plant, Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’
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Hello,
Today I am sharing a photo I had taken by a professional photographer of my large and beautiful red banana plant in 2013. I have stored this plant every winter and regrow it in a very large cement walled raised bed in my backyard. The bed faces east and is situated on the backside of my pool and lower deck. The top of the plant becomes visible from the upper levels of my deck when it reaches about twelve to fifteen feet tall.
However, last year was the last season I grew this particular one because it rotted in my over-wintering storage bin for the very first time in 10 years. I’m not sure why it didn’t survive. Maybe it just got tired of the routine of being “put away” and its thick heavy large trunk was unable to tolerate the overwintering process after so many years.
I have written about my storage process many times on this blog website. I will share the links below for your reference. It is a massive tropical beauty with long wide red leaves. While it is hardy in zones 9-10, it is not hardy here in Connecticut, thus it will not survive frosts and our winters. It must be taken down in October to store and regrow in the springtime.
Mine has never produced bananas, which would be inedible if it did. It never had the opportunity to produce flowers due to being cut down each autumn season, but I have read this plant does produce inedible fruit in the wild on older plants. Most people grow them here for the show they put on. The plant grow super tall, has leaves with red coloring, and the mid-rib area is also a deep burgundy red with a slight yellow green on the sides. The mid-ribs on the leaves are very thick and a feature I admire as well as the plants overall height, red coloring, and dramatic tropical look.
I cannot recall if the first one I purchased was from a grower by the name of Sunny Border in Kensington, Connecticut, but I believe it may have been there, and I returned there years ago to get more to sell during my container gardening workshops. They referred to their tropical plants as “temperennials” which included other beautiful tropical plants I admire because they put on a show such as Brugmansia (Angel’s Trumpets), Colocasia (Taro or Elephant Ear), Cordyline (Palm Lily), Cynara cardunculus (Cardoon), Phormium (New Zealand Flax), and and Musa (Banana). There are many flowering tropical plants as well to be had, but I tend to favor large showy leaves in my container gardens as the main thriller plant in combinations.
When I see larger plants at local nurseries here and there of this plant, they are pricy. But it is worth the investment if you know how to overwinter them. Consider mine which lasted ten years, it was purchased as a small starter plant in a 5″ square nursery pot years ago. Hopefully, I will be able to locate some more of that starter size going forward because I will miss this plant in my planter this season of 2023.
The planter where I always placed mine in the center, as seen in the photo below, is rather large. It has 6-foot-tall walls and is about 15 or more feet across. I’d have to go measure it to be exact, but at the moment, I’m too lazy and it is cold outside! But it is large. It has an open bottom floor to the natural ground below. It contains a mix of soil mix from fresh, to some used soil potting mix of other larger pots when I would toss it away and mix it in, and it has compost, but overall, the soil just evolved into a nice, rich, fertile soil. Due to its east location, it tends to stay on the moist side as well. The cement planter is more like a garden size, and I just love it because it is easy to work in. I do not have to bend down to the ground and may easily reach in to plant various plants around the Ensete red banana plant in the center. When I work in the soil of this big cement planter, I see worm castings and it is a sign they like the soil there as well. The planter is somewhat hidden from sight, and I have walked friends and family over to see it, and they are always surprised at its massive size. One would wonder why I put the cement planter there, and the reason is because my eyes and mind told me – put a planter there. I had envisioned a stone floor in front of it creating a path, but I still have not ventured into creating the path. I also envisioned putting a nice material on the front walls to make it more artistic but alas, I still have not done that process either. Maybe someday.
The huge leaves reaching five to six feet long move around in the wind and have a shiny look to them. When the sunlight hits the leaves, it creates a glowing look and I find this feature very enjoyable as well. These plants also grow very fast in one season. Every year, I’d take the trunk out which would be stored for the winter in a bin with peat. In springtime, I put the trunk base into a temporary starter type large patio pot and place it in my greenhouse to get started. Then around late May, it would be planted outdoors in my large cement planter. To water the plant and its counterpart filler plants, I take my garden hose to shower it from above the deck during the summer. I find the watering part therapeutic. If you’re looking to create a tropical exotic feel to your garden spaces, I would highly recommend the Ensete (red banana plant) on your growing list and keep an eye out for it when you are out shopping for plants for your larger container gardens and patio pots.
Botanical name for the red banana plant is:
Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’
Thank you for visiting,
Cathy Testa of Container Crazy CT
Located in Broad Brook, CT
Links to more info:
A Whopper of a Begonia
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Last year (2022), I decided to try out a new begonia plant in a planter on a balcony overlooking the city with an impressive view. Each season, I change up the “filler plants” in the large planters at this site and I must consider environmental factors such as extreme winds, strong full sun half the day, potential lack of watering, and flowers staying on the plant (not being blown away by the winds which are intense from time to time).
When I returned in the early autumn season, I was very impressed with the massive size and performance of this cultivar. It grew from a small starter size plant to this massive, impressive size and the color intensity of the blooms was very vivid and bright along with its darker colored glossy foliage. I definitely gasped in awe of how beautiful it looked when I walked out onto this high-rise balcony.
On each side of the planter with the begonia plant, I planted various herbs, which as you can see, grow quite well in this location. Each planter is filled with soil mix and receives a good amount of growing space below. The owners of this site are very good at watering the plants as needed as well. In addition, begonias are tropical or subtropical plants, so they do well in hot locations and bloom throughout the summer here in Connecticut, but because they are not hardy to our planting zone, they must be taken down or overwintered before frost hits them during the autumn season.
These clients like color on their balcony, and this begonia did not fail. Its growth habit is mounding, and its shiny leaves are a bronze color (another bonus); I love when plants offer darker tones to serve as contrasting colors in mixed arrangements in container gardens or planters, patio pots, etc. The flowers look a little orange toned here in my photo, but they are a vibrant red color. The other bonus about begonias, in general, is that they can take sun or partly shady sites. This site receives full sun in the mornings followed by shade in the afternoons once the sun is hidden by the tall building. The overall height of the begonia reached was about 24″. That is a whopper of a begonia, and that is the name of this one: Begonia ‘Whopper Red with Bronze Leaf’.
Another added benefit of the size of this begonia was it was visible from within the home. Nothing like seeing color when you are enjoying the expansive views from the large windows of your living spaces.
| A COLOR PROVIDER? | YES – VIBRANT AND INTENSE! |
| FULL SUN EXPOSURE? | YES – HANDLED HOT SUN TILL NOON, THEN SHADE |
| TOLERATES STRONG INTENSE WINDS? | SURE DID – THE WALL PROBABLY HELPS HOWEVER |
| HANDLES SUMMER TROPICAL HEAT | YUP! IT’S TROPICAL! THIS PLANTS LIKES HEAT. |
| IMPRESSIVE SIZE | ABSOLUTELY – IF YOU WANT BIG, GET THIS BEGONIA |
| HANDLES PERIODS OF DROUGHT | IT DID – LAST YEAR WAS A DROUGHTY YEAR TOO IN CT |
| DOESN’T DROP FLOWERS | IT DID BUT NOT TOO MANY – BEARABLE |
| PROVIDES CONTRAST COLOR | BRONZE SHINY LEAVES |
| EASY CLEAN UP AFTER SEASON | IT IS NOT TOO DIFFICULT TO REMOVE, STEMS BREAK THOUGH |
| EASY TO GROW | ABSOLUTELY |
Above is a PDF I found online by Southern Living Plant Collection for your reference.
Thank you for visiting!
Cathy Testa of Container Crazy CT
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