That is what two televisions station weathermen said last night (5/9/23), that we may get “possible pockets of frost in some areas” of Massachusetts and Connecticut.
If you look at my prior posts and some from past posts about when to expect our last spring frost date, I always use May 12th. The possible frost in some areas of CT (and MA) was announced for last night.
I am not going to count my chickens before they hatch, but this could mean we are fairly safe to put out warm season annuals, at least during the day, like Petunias.
Tomatoes and peppers wait till Memorial Day still for me – but it is a great time to harden off plants outdoors that you have started indoors from seed to acclimate them to the sun and temperatures gradually – remember shade first for those baby seedling starter plants and gradually into the sun every day for a few hours, back inside at night. If you put them directly into sun, the leaves will get sun scald/burn, and you will see white patches on the leaves the next day. And avoid windy days as you harden off plants.
As for the tropical plants, I still wait on some, like I won’t put out my Mandevillas yet, but other plants are going out! Yippee. Oh, and I don’t put out basil yet either – they like warmth like tomatoes or peppers do.
Last night, I used a bed sheet to cover up some Yucca plants which have been in pots in my greenhouse all winter. They are hardy but they were inside all winter, so with every plant I take out of the greenhouse, I introduce them to shade for a couple days first or dappled sun, then move them into full sun if they are sun lovers.
All the deck furniture is out – the patio umbrellas are out; the cushions are out! Just waiting to glam up all with my plants!
Hope you are enjoying this fantastic weather this week. (P.S. I saw a couple hummingbirds this week, so I put out the feeders too.)
Cathy Testa Broad Brook, CT Zone 6b Container Gardener Date of this post: 5/10/23; Wednesday Potential Frost Pockets: 5/9/23, Tuesday evening
Light Bed Sheets are perfect for a little protection when the weatherman announced a potential light frost in springtime overnight.
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!
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
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’.
Photo by Cathy Testa of Container Crazy CT. Begonia with herb planters on each side.
Photo by Cathy Testa of Container Crazy CT. 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
What I like about this plant above! The fleshy stems can break when you remove it however, but that was fine as I was taking it down at the end of summer or very early fall to prepare for an autumn planting.
About two weeks ago, I decided to check on my stored corms and tubers of my Alocasia plants. They are stored in my basement in cardboard boxes over the winter months from about October until April.
I stored them differently this fall because last year, the corms/tubers had some rot spots on them when I took them out in springtime to replant them. The new storing process I used in the fall of 2022 was documented in my prior post below on this blog site.
Post from October 2022 of how I stored my Alocasia corms and tubers for winter above.
Mid-Winter
In late February, of this year, 2023, I decided to check in on the stored tubers and corms. And I’m happy to report that they are doing well. No rot spots. The change I made was to not use peat, use newspaper, and use mesh bags to insert the corms/tubers into individually and put in a cardboard box (instead of a plastic bin). I also cut air holes into the sides of the cardboard boxes.
Largest one – when I stored it in October (photo above).
The cardboard box used.
Appearance of the largest Alocasia tuber in February 2023 (5 months since storing).
As you can see from the photos above, the tuber of my largest Alocasia now has a papery covering. There are no rot spots and there is a bit of green, showing signs of life – it is doing well. This one, due to its size, would not fit into a mesh bag, so I just laid it on top of the newspaper. You will also notice when comparing the photo from October and the photo from February, the whole tuber shrunk a bit as it dried out, which is fine and normal.
Close Up Photo (Feb 2023)Smaller tubers (October 2022)
The photo above is of smaller tubers and corms which I had dug up in the fall. These are still green, and I laid them out for about a week to dry out more in the fall, removed all the soil debris, and inserted those which would fit into mesh air hole like bags, and then placed them in a smaller box, with newspaper padding around, and loosely closing the box to allow air circulation, in addition to making some air slits in the side of the boxes.
Smaller tubers in this boxMesh bags shown on the right in this photo
I’m happy all looks fine so far. The place where I stored them is in my unheated basement that does not go below freezing but is cold during the winters. This year, we have had a mild winter thus far. Thus, the basement may be a little warmer than usual. I’ll look forward to when I can take these out in April or maybe May to get started in small pots to induce growth and then transition them yet again to my containers in late May to enjoy all summer.
Inserted into Mesh Bags, then placed in cardboard boxes in the fall season.
How it Grows
This photo shows a few years back. The plants are starting to grow and gives you an idea of the Alocasia’s form. This one grows upright and is a jumbo variety.
In the first couple years, the size of the plants did not grow as large as later as the tuber/corm grew larger and larger. As you can see in the next photo, the height of the leaves are taller.
Every summer season, I use different fillers plants. This particular jumbo Alocasia is so worth saving and regrowing. It seems to become more dramatic every year.
The stalks of the leaves are usually about 3 feet long along with the leaves growing 3 feet too.
The plant usually looks like this in the fall season, when I’m getting ready to cut it down and dig it out. I’ve documented the process many times.
Shown above are various posts as I overwintered the tubers and corms of my Alocasia plant (and plants as a result of more tubers over time). The process I used before, with peat and bins, had worked perfectly for other plants such as Canna Lily rhizomes and Red Banana Plant bases, but for this type of Alocasia plant, it seems better to store them more in a dry state, the way I showed above in the paper and in cardboard boxes, etc.
I hope this helps anyone out there who stores their tubers and corms over the winter. I’m in CT planting zone 6b. Our winters are becoming warmer due to global warming here in CT, and this year has been particularly mild. We got a snow fall this week but we haven’t plowed our driveway once yet – its been warm enough some days to work outside and other days, a bit chilly. We have not snow showed yet and it is March!
Upright Jumbo Alocasia
I purchased my first tubers of this type of plant in 2018 or 2019. These types of elephant ear plants love sun and do fine in partial shade as well. They are dug out in fall and replanted in my container gardens every spring (after spring frost), as soon as it is warm enough outdoors – usually around Memorial Day. I start them in small nursery pots inside to get started and it easy to keep them growing well each season. Because this plant is tropical, it can’t be left outdoors through our winters or freezing temperatures. In the fall, you can let frost hit the tops or cut them down before fall frost. It turns out storing them in paper has worked better to keep them dry and safe. This plant grows up to 72 to 92 inches tall. I plant the tubers about 4-5″ deep and enjoy their dark green glossy upright leaves all summer. They are a real showstopper if someone hasn’t seen them before. I think the mistake I made was I treated these the same as my Canna Lily rhizomes and red banana plant bases, but it is handled somewhat differently. Live and learn – that’s the life of plant enthusiasts!
This year I’m trying a new method for storing my Alocasia corms (sometimes referred to as bulbs or tubers, but they are not true bulbs). I have seen Alocasia corms referred to as “tubers” in many garden reference and technical books, but for the purposes of this post, I’ll stick with corms as the term used for these Alocasia plants I am putting away for the winter months in Connecticut.
Bins Years Prior Used
For years, I stored the bases of underground parts from my elephant’s ears and canna lily plants in plastic bins with covers (air holes drilled in the covers) with peat. When I say “parts”, I’m referring to corms for the elephant’s ear (Alocasia and Colocasia) and rhizomes for the Canna Lily plants).
The peat (only a small amount below; used almost like a bed below the corms/rhizomes, and some peat lightly sprinkled over the tops of the corms and rhizomes) helped maintain a bit of moisture but kept the tubers in a dry but not too dry or too moist state.
However last year, some of my Alocasia corms had rot areas on them when I went to take them out in the spring to start growing again. They were too damp. Plastic bins will hold onto some moisture (versus a dry cardboard type box) but this problem of rot really had never occurred before. Since I want to make sure I am able to save these dramatic large Alocasia plants’ corms, I’m trying this new method this year.
Dug Up about a Week or few days prior
In last week’s post, I showed how I dug up the Alocasia plants from a huge cement planter, cutting off the foliage about 4-6″ from the top of the corm area, and laid them out in the sun for one day. Then I moved them to my basement in laundry baskets.
I also dug up a very large Alocasia plant prior to these, from a big tall patio planter, and laid out a huge corm with top part of the plant (stump like stem area) in a bin about a week before these above.
The ones in the laundry basket were still too damp when looking them over yesterday, so I laid them out on a table in my basement, and spread each corm on the table so they are not touching, and decided I will wait a few days longer before packing those up into boxes. I will leave these on a table another few days to air dry in my unheated basement.
However, I decided to pack up the others that were dug up prior from my gray patio planters. One of them is super large and heavy. It isn’t draining out any more water or moisture now, feels like it has dried enough, and there are no rot or damp areas on the corm area. It was placed in a bin in my basement about one week prior to those dug up from my cement planter so it and its side shoots have been drying longer.
In doing a bit of research, I’ve read Alocasia corms may be stored in newspaper and put in a cardboard box with air vents. I happen to have some boxes available and used a large sharp knife to make slits in the boxes around the perimeter of the cardboard boxes for the air vents.
Making air vents
I placed crumbled up newspaper sheets in the base of the cardboard box and used the original plastic mesh bags, which were around each corm when they were originally shipped to me. I placed individual corms into these mesh bags for those that would fit. My largest “stump” shown top right of this photo below is too large for any of the mesh bags I kept on hand.
Mesh Bag with Corm inside
I loosely wrapped a couple sheets of newspaper around this mesh bag once the corm was inside and put it in the box. I am careful to not have them stacked or touching too much with other corms handled the same method because if anything is damp, that moisture will transfer to any touching corms. However, these were all fairly dry and not moist. The idea is to not overpack any boxes and keep air around each.
Now for the larger Alocasia stump. I keep calling it that because it is so much larger, it is more like a stump size! This one I had to find a larger long box and I have no mesh bag for it. It also has a large green area (the top part of where it grew) still attached which is not wet at all when I decided to lay it into the long cardboard box. Again, I crumpled up newspaper below in the box, and then I used a paper bag to cover it like a blanket and close up the box. I did not tape the box closed, as air circulation is important. I just overlapped the covers and I also put vents in the sides like with the other cardboard box prior to laying it in there.
Largest Alocasia “stump”
The root area is dry with dry soil a bit still on it, the corm area is dry, and there is still green life on the top part but there is no dripping water coming out of it – it seems like it is dry enough. I labeled all the cardboard boxes with date and placed it in the usual corner of my unheated basement (by the door where it is like tucked in a corner, stays cool, dark, dry and it does not go below freezing here.)
Box Top DatePaper bag serving as a blanket
I have read the optimum temperature for storing Alocasia corms is 40-45 degrees F. Again, my basement is unheated. The only time it may get warm in there is when we use a woodstove at the opposite end of our basement, which is only occasionally. It does not go below freezing (32 degrees F) so they will not freeze. They are kept in a consistent cool 50 degree range or a bit below that for the whole winter. I will check on these in one month by making a note on my calendar to go look at the corms in these cardboard boxes and seeing if they look good (no rot, no moisture, no wet newspaper).
Again, this is the first time I’m trying the cardboard box method for these. I also wish to note, canna lily rhizomes tend to not survive if they completely dry and wither up, so I don’t think I’ll use this method for those plants, only for my precious upright huge Alocasia plants’ corms. I’ve read more about how these are okay more on the dry side. Makes sense because when I purchased the corms about 3-4 years ago, they showed up in a card boad box, with the white mesh bag, shown above, and only the brownish corm with no plant at all attached.
Label the boxes
Corner in Basement
You see the big plastic bin near these two cardboard boxes, that was the bin I last used for my big red banana plant (stump), the Ensete, I had for over 10 years. It failed this year, so there’s nothing in that box right now. I also put a plastic shelf section below the boxes so it is not directly on the concrete floor which may lead to dampness on the bottom of the boxes.
Pic of corm inside a mesh bag
I just hope this works well this year and will keep you posted. Next up will be to dig up my canna lily plants from containers outdoors. Sometimes I don’t bother anymore with those as they may be easily grown from new plants next season, but it is always a great feeling to reuse and regrow plants to save money on purchasing new ones, but sometimes I run out of energy to keep digging up these things. Each year, I seem to do less storing because of the effort. Sunny days help!
Thank you for visiting,
Cathy Testa Connecticut Planting Zone 6b Date of Post: 10/18/2022
P.S. I also want to note, many references will indicate to let the plants get hit by frost first before storing underground parts like the corms or rhizomes, etc. because the freeze will induce dormancy to the plants, however, I often do this process just before a hard frost. The weathermen indicated frost may be happening this week. Wednesday’s forecast indicates about 34 degrees F overnight – so that is chilly!
Overwintering Alocasia (al-oh-KAY-see-uh) plants, dug up from a large cement planter in my yard yesterday 10/11/22.
Since this plant is not hardy in my Connecticut planting zone (6b), they must either be dug up and stored (tubers) in a cool, dry place. Alternative options, if the plants are small enough, is overwintering them as houseplants in small pots where you have a sunny room. Or just moving the pots with the plant in tact into an unheated basement and letting them go dormant, but check to add moisture to the pot’s soil from time to time, and check for any insects on the foliage if moved in the pot. In this case, I dug up the plants, removed the foliage, and air dried the tubers yesterday outdoors.
The Planter – Cement
Because yesterday was sunny and warm, I wanted to get to the elephant’s ears in this planter. I was already tired from being on my feet all day, so I rushed getting these out. Luckily for me, the soil is super soft in this big cement planter due to worms and just great healthy soil. Rather than cut all the foliage off first, like I typically do, I dug around the tuber areas in the soil to break free some roots and just pulled them out one by one from the plant stems.
10/12/22 Before Removing the Elephant’s Ears plants
The soil and exposure
The soil in this planter stays relatively moist and receives the east morning sun, so it primarily gets partial sun or dappled sun, it doesn’t get too hot in this area. I do not fertilize – literally – I do not in this cement planter. Over the years, I’ve added recycled soil (from other pots), maybe some compost, but not often, and it is possible some wood ash from the woodstove in our basement, that is used only occasionally, was tossed in there by my husband, but I asked him not to do that after a while (wood ash changes the pH of soils). It is apparent when I dig in the soil, it has worm castings and the soil is very soft and easy to dig into. This is why I was able to pull out the tubers with the plant on the top rather easily after I broke the roots around the base with a trowel. I didn’t even use a shovel.
Laying the plants on the ground after digging them out
I do, however, water this planter by using a garden hose from above and showering it every time I was out there watering my other patio pots above on my deck. We had a very dry season this summer here in Connecticut so I’m sure the tropical plants in this cement planter enjoyed the moisture I gave them. These tropical like plants like moist soils, part shade or some full sun. After getting them out, I laid them on the ground and got my machete, which I finally found where I had stored it!
Chop off the foliage, then lay in the sun
It was super easy to chop off the foliage and stems with my machete. One whack and it was done! Then I put them in a laundry basket to sit in the sun for the rest of the afternoon, later, I moved the laundry basket to my basement. It will sit there drying a while before I move them to bins or paper bags for the winter. Some references will say to wait until the foliage dies back or wait till the foliage is hit by frost to dig and store the tubers, however, I like to work on nice days and yesterday was it – sunny and warm. I store mine in the basement, in a corner by the door, which is an unheated basement but it does not go below freezing in winters. We have a woodstove at the other end of the basement, but it is only used on stormy winter days when we feel like it. We do not use the woodstove to heat the house, only to warm it up sometimes. This means those tubers in the corner stay cold, but they never freeze there. It must be cold, but not freezing, and not too warm either. If warm, they may get soggy or start growing.
Side Shoot on Right
Notice my logo on the left side of this photo above; do you see the brown original tuber? The plant this season grew from the side of this tuber (a side shoot) which is attached on the right. Sometimes there are smaller side shoots which you may pull apart to create separate plants and replant those side shoots. Also the green parts above the brownish tuber is this year’s plant and I cut it about 4-5″ above the brown tuber in most cases when I remove them. I usually leave the green plant (like a stump or root base) on there but I am not absolutely sure that is required, because when I received the tubers, there was just the brown dry tuber to plant.
After Photo
It probably took me only a half-hour to get those elephant’s ears (in this case, Alocasia macrorrhiza, known as giant elephant’s ear or giant taro) out of the cement planter. I was lucky I think it was easy. I know rain is coming tonight and some parts of Connecticut got hit by a quick light frost already, but no hard frost here yet in East Windsor, CT. When it is a true frost, all the foliage will blacken and flops over. Next is to get to those tall Canna lily plants on the ends of this planter dug out and store the rhizomes or the whole root base.
Note: A. macrorrhiza is hardy in zones 8-10 from what I’ve read, but here in Connecticut (zone 6b for me), they are not hardy (will not survive in the ground over the winter months). Also, when I dug these out – there was no rot on any of the tubers, which is good news. Sometimes, if I wait too long to dig these out, there may be rot spots on the tubers because of cold, wet soils later in October. This is another reason why I like digging them out now. I don’t want any soft rotten spots on the tubers, rot only leads to storage problems as the rot may continue on the tuber, which is what you don’t want.
Sit to dry out a bit more before storing
Because these plants get huge and are gorgeous, I had to take the time to save them. I will let those tubers sit in a bin, spaced out for air, probably for another five days before I store them. I have always typically stored them in peat in bins with air holes in the lids, but last year, as noted on prior posts, they rotted a little. I am going to try storing them in paper bags in cardboard boxes this year with air holes. Plastic bins can trap moisture and for some reason, it just seemed they were too wet last year (maybe I was rushing too much last year, and stored them too wet). I have found when my rhizomes for Canna Lily were too dry stored, they didn’t make it. I have always balanced a bit of moisture from the peat and air, but I believe the Alocasias prefer more on the dry side. Everyone has different techniques for storing from what I’ve seen and read over the years.
Prior was making pumpkins
Prior to doing all of this quickly yesterday afternoon, I made a few more orders of my centerpiece succulent topped pumpkins. They were so fun to make and took me a few hours – and my feet give me a hard time, now that I’m getting a little older, standing for hours can be rough. I even put foam on the floor – below my feet, but I felt it later. I tend to make these centerpiece arrangements standing up, and anyhow, these are what I made for some requests. It was a perfect day to do them – sunny in the greenhouse. It’s that time of year when I’m making pumpkin centerpieces and still putting away plants and supplies.
Succulent Topped Pumpkin Centerpieces by Cathy Testa of Container Crazy CT
If interested in a custom pumpkin, now is the time to order since it is pumpkin season. They last for months!
This is part one – showing my process of disassembling my largest elephant’s ear plants from containers or planters. I purchased the tubers in 2019 for this Alocasia, which I refer to as an “upright elephant’s ear” because the leaves point upwards towards the sky. It is often referred to as a Giant Elephant’s Ear, Giant Taro, or Upright Jumbo). Official name is A. macrorrhiza. They grow from 71 to 96 inches (6-8 feet tall) from summer to frost and prefer partial shade. The leaves are very dark green, glossy, and impressive! It prefers partial shade but will do well in more sun with appropriate moisture. In my zone, it must be stored, but warmer zones, I suspect you may keep them outdoors or protected somehow.
2022Cathy Testa holding two of the leaves
As you see here, I’m peaking behind two of the leaves. The leaves are at least 3 feet long with the stem an additional 3 feet as well. They tower above me in my planters and put on quite the big tropical show in summer. Now, on to how I disassemble them in preparation for our Connecticut winter months:
Definitely Wear Gloves
TOOLS
Gloves: Definitely wear garden gloves. These plants release a sap that will make your hands itchy – believe me, I regret when I don’t wear them. Even digging around the soil, I found my hands will itch later.
Hori hori knife: I really like this tool, heavy duty, serrated edge, perfect for cutting the roots in the soil around the base of the plant to release it. I find this to be one of my most useful overwintering tools.
Bin: A clean bin to put all the tubers and root bases in to let dry outside if it is pleasant weather, or inside if it is rainy.
A Large Kitchen Knife or Machete: I couldn’t find my machete, so a long, clean, sharp knife is a great back up.
Clean Up Tools: A leaf blower works to blow away dirt that will fall everywhere.
Ruler: Yes, measure those babies!
Large Knife
Cut away all the foliage by using the knife to slice each stalk off individually at the base of the plant. The main thing is to cut away from the plant so the angle of the slices are able to drain away excess moisture. At least that is how I do it. I’m also very careful to not nick surfaces with my knife tip – always avoid any damage while I work.
Slicing off each leaf at the base of the stalk (petiole) – stem – whatever you wish to call it!
As you slice off each petiole at the base, be sure to do a clean cut, avoid tears or anything which would allow entrance of mold or insects later on. A clean cut is recommended. If you mess it up, cut it again below where you just cut it.
Measure the leaves cause it is impressive!
I always measure so a ruler is handy, or measuring tape, and then take photos. Because sharing is caring – LOL. Everyone loves to see how massive these leaves get. It is fun to Instagram the photos!
Here are two of the biggest leaves above. It is too bad I am not set up to make leaf castings of these babies, they would make impressive art for the garden!
Close up of Slice
As you can see, the slice is downwards and away from the center of the plant. I slice each stalk individually and pile the leaves to the side.
All leaves removed
After removing each stalk, I use my Hori hori knife to cut around the base of the “stump” in the soil. As I push the knife around in the soil, I hear the crack of the roots being cut. Then I will push on the stump back and forth to help loosen it. Once I feel it is ready to be “delivered” from the soil, I start to pull it out – It always makes me feel like I’m a doctor delivering a baby – hahahaha. I have quite the imagination at times!
Cutting a circle around the base of the plant to cut the roots belowOut with more top sliced off
I will put it in the clean bin and trim the roots with clean sharp pruners or cutters, and slice the top off a bit if it still too big to fit into the bin. Leaning it upside down, or on the side to help drain excess moisture is helpful as well. Some folks may recommend not trimming the roots but I always have. New roots grow when it is replanted. My theory was less “fleshy” material the better. Fleshy material has the tendency to rot sometimes over the winter months.
After I got the massive big base out and laying out to dry, I worked on the planter next to it which had more off sets from the same type of Alocasia. I then let this dry in the house for about 6 days. Oh, I also removed as much soil as possible from the tuber areas. I used my gloved hands and kind of just rubbed or pushed off the soil. You may use a garden hose with water blast but that will only make the tuber wetter, so I didn’t do that. In the past, I have used a soft painters type brush to get soil off.
TIMING
In Connecticut (my planting zone is 6b) you may do this process either before or after we get a fall frost which could happen anytime now, but sometimes I like to start this while things are dry and temperatures are not too difficult to work in, so I started on these two planters last Thursday (9/29/22). It was a cool, breezy, day with little sunshine but that would be better than the rainy cold days expected the days following. The date if this post is 10/4/22 and no frost yet, but there are some talks it could happen this weekend, I hope not, cause I have lots more to do!
I placed the bin in the house for a few days and then moved it to a table in my basement. The next phase is storing them. For years, I stored all my tubers, rhizomes, corms in peat in bins with air holes drilled on the tops. But this past spring, I had rot on portions of my tubers. This year, I plan to store them dry in paper bags for some at least. I will most likely test the paper bag process and see the results. I will post photos of this soon. I also saved some mesh netting bags (like those used for Avocado’s in grocery stores) to put some tubers in.
Oh, when I took these apart last week from the gray planters, they had NO ROT anywhere on the tuber areas (brown area at the base) which is good news. No rot means they won’t have rot as they dry for a few more days. When I store the tubers, I will share it here as well.
The tubers need to be sored in a cool, dry place. I use my basement which does not drop below freezing but is unheated so it stays cool. It is recommended that you do not store them in plastic bags which would only trap moisture. If stored in a paper bag, make sure it has holes for vents. Again, for years, I stored them in peat moss in bins, but had rot issues this year in spring, and I didn’t want to loose these tubers of this super big Alocasias, now that I’ve regrown these plants each year. These particular tubers were from 2019 so it has been replanted 4 times now. A definite pay back from the investiment!
PLANT IN SPRING
Next year, after all danger of spring frosts, I will replant these Upright Elephant’s Ear tubers to grow again. Many tropical loving plants may be handled this way, such as Canna Lilies. For years, I stored my big red banana plant, Ensete, the same way as shown above. In fact, here is the link to the Ensete post if you are searching for it on my blog site: https://containercrazyct.com/2013/10/31/storing-my-big-red-banana-plant/. Unfortunately, I lost my big red banana plant this year in 2022. It was the first time it rotted too much.
NEXT OVERWINTERING PROJECT
Ack, I have to dig all of these up soon – anyone want to come help me?!
Canna Lily on ends with Upright Alocasias in the centers
Cathy Testa Connecticut A Container Garden Designer Also make custom orders, grow tomatoes in spring time, make succulent pumpkins now in fall season, wreaths during the holidays! Thank you for visiting and your support.
DIASSEMBLY ALOCASIA QUICK STEPS:
Get your tools ready (knife, gloves, bin, hori hori knife, cleanup tools, etc.). Cut away each leaf stalk at base cleanly. Cut around base of plant in the soil area to break free roots with hori hori knife. Pull out stump (base with the tuber) out of the planter, and let dry for several days to a week. Store in an unheated, dry, cool area that does not go below freezing in winters.
Cathy Testa of Container (Garden) Crazy CT (Photo in my greenhouse by JMS Art & Photo)
Potting Mix is probably one of the most important aspects of success for growing healthy plants in patio pots. It must be a quality product. If the bag of soilless mix is damaged, not a good brand, or these days, possibly unavailable, you are in trouble.
Every single product or tool we use to grow plants (pots, trays, fertilizer, seeds, soilless mixes and specialty media, labels, etc.) has increased in prices and there are continued delays in the supply chain. This will affect all of us this year again potentially, however, it won’t stop us (because we love plants, or course! But I see it coming and if you haven’t noticed these issues, you will.)
I usually don’t make my own potting mixes for my container gardens, seedlings, or starter plants, but this year, I am highly considering it. In fact, I just read an article here, where they share a downloadable PDF file of how to make your own potting mixes. BTW, I trust sources from universities or extension services the most. By making your own mix, you are in complete control of each component. I’m guessing it may be cheaper but I am not sure until I compare apples to apples, so to speak. However, there is such an ease with opening a reliable trusted brand of professional potting mixes, if they are available and fresh.
Photo in Cathy T’s Greenhouse – Yes, that’s my hand in the mix!
Traditional pre-made potting mixes contain perlite and/or vermiculite, and peat. Good mixes are light-weight, have good water holding capacity, and mixes vary based on the specific growing needs (seeds, transplanting, bedding plants, plugs, potting up, etc.). Some mixes will have things like beneficial mycorrhizal (or biofungicides to prevent root diseases). Some will contain alternatives to peat, such as coir. Some have organic fertilizer added, and some don’t. Some mixes are pH adjusted and contain starter nutrients. This list goes on and on, and it all sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? That is if you can find it and trust it.
Photo from Cathy T’s Greenhouse
After using various bagged potting and soilless container mixes for ten years, I am able to tell when a mix is healthy the minute I opened the bag. I’ve talked about what to look out for when you buy potting mix for your container gardens, patio pots, and planters here on my blog. I still need to update that article I wrote, called “The 5 Must-Do’s for Successful Container Gardening” which I wrote a long time ago and did a brief update to it in 2019. But it still needs lots of work. Potting mixes is a big topic. I just haven’t had the time to really dive into a more extensive version of that article.
Now here we are in 2022. And I’m frustrated with the potting mix scene. I’m not alone. Lots of plant related Facebook groups have questions on potting mixes. People are frustrated because they get issues in or from the mixes (i.e., fungus gnats), and they just want good results, and so do I. They fear using the wrong type or brand, and even I have from time to time. Why? Because lately some results from “some” mixes let me down, and now with supply-chain issues, I wonder how this will impact availability and quality of mixes in 2022.
Pouring Potting Mix into a Bubble Bowl Terrarium – Cathy Testa of Container Crazy CT
Potting mixes are like a good foundation to building a house. And we all know what happened when one ingredient in concrete for home foundations became a huge issue, where houses had to be lifted and new foundation poured because house foundations were cracking and deteriorating. Well, I kind of feel this way about potting mixes. Potting mixes are the foundation to starting seeds, potting up your indoor houseplants, and building up soil mixes in your outdoor container gardens and patio pots, along with other components as needed. If one thing is wrong with them, it may lead to issues (e.g., poor drainage, insects harboring, or no moisture holding capacity). And there are many sources of potting mix brands out in the market, and it is growing, as defined in this link based on recent market analysis. The affects of COVID have impacted production and demand. It makes me wonder, what will roll out of those long awaited semi-loaded trucks, when they do arrive.
Castor Bean Seed Coming Up in Healthy Mix
For years, I had no issues acquiring the potting soilless mixes I needed, but the past couple years, eh, I’ve encountered some issues. And this year, because of all the things still impacting our supply chains overall, well, there are now potential issues with availability. This is my prediction, but we will see. I did receive a comment that orders were all back ordered a few months ago but the bottom line is lately we just can not predict what will happen next. So, my overall thought is, will potting mixes be in short-supply this year? And how will you or I manage that if so? What adjustments will need to be made? And also, remember, being flexible in the growing scene is key. I struggle with this because I want to be in control, but I’ve learned over the years, you must be flexible and strong! LOL. Because growing plants is a science and an art, and a bit of a guessing game sometimes too.
Cathy Testa Container Gardening containercathy at gmail.com Zone 6b
A mix of elegant pastel colored blooms and pops of bright vivid flower colors offers the feel of a cottage style country garden in several container garden planters.
Container Gardens by Cathy Testa of Container Crazy CT
When I look at this photo above of several planters I designed and assembled for a customer a couple years ago, I think it feels like a cottage country garden. There is a wonderful mix of pastel bloom colors and splashes of deep reds and bright cheerful yellows to capture attention. I could envision butterflies and bees visiting the blooms all summer long.
The Plectranthus (plant with white edges on leaves) is a heat lover and cascades over the rim of the pot (spiller) creating a bit of softness. And the Pennisetum grass in the back adds that bit of wispy texture and a dark contrasting color. There is a Canna Lily off-center which would grow tall and have yellow blooms and the Zinnias with big chunky bright yellow flower heads gave structure to this pot, but there were 7 more pots to complement these plants.
Placed in the customer’s front Landscape Beds
The planters were placed in a south facing landscape bed which receives full sun most of the day starting probably around noon time. The idea was all of the pots would be placed in various locations in the front of the customer’s home, of which are visible from the street and also from inside the home from a large picture window. The goal was blooms and color.
Bright Yellow Zinnias popping against the darker tones of the Canna Lily plant and the Pennisetum grass.
I used yellow blooming Zinnia plants in some pots and pink blooming Zinnias in others. The Zinnias provided the big pops of color I was looking for and the plants grown locally were extremely healthy, plus many people adore Zinnias because they are a traditional charming blooming summer plants. When I picked them up, I knew the customer would love them. On the back side of the planter, tucked in were little red blooming Vinca plants to echo the tones of the darker tones of the foliage of the Canna Lily and the ornamental grass. Always looking to repeat colors and provide contrast is key (dark colors against lighter colors).
Pink Zinnias, Purple Million Bells Calibrachoa, and Alternanthera ‘Plum Dandy’ – By Cathy Testa of Container Crazy CT
The hot pink blooming Zinnias were irresistible as well. There were lots of closed buds on the plants which is awesome, more flowers to come all summer long. Also, the Zinnia flowers were really big and full plus the foliage looked fantastic. I added some purple Calibrachoa, and I had to add one of my favorite foliage fillers, Alternanthera ‘Plum Dandy’. Alternanthera plants prefers full sun to part sun and are easy-care plants. I’ve used the cultivar, ‘Plum Dandy’ before, a few times, in various container gardens at my own home and other sites, and I feel it is a nice staple foliage filler with a darker tone. The tone, a deep rich purple-like color, worked well with the pinks in these planters.
Alternanthera ‘Plum Dandy’ with Pink Zinnia Flowers
The purple foliage of Alternanthera is alluring to me. I love how rich and solid it looks. This plant doesn’t produce showy flowers, in fact, I don’t recall ever seeing any blooms form, so it is not used for that aspect, but incorporated into the plants to provide a nice deep contrasting filler color against the green foliage of the Zinnias.
Check it out Alternanthera ‘Plum Dandy’ in my own tall planters I have on my deck used the same year as in these pots for my customer on this prior blog post: Overwintering Plants. You will see it in the pot extremely full and lush by the end of the season. Coincidentally, the Plectranthus is also in the same prior blog post (white edges to leaves). Both of these are superb full sun foliage fillers. They grow fast in the appropriate conditions and require little maintenance.
Red Zinnias with Canna Lily and Yellow Blooming Lantana
A yellow blooming Lantana was added to the planters with red Zinnias and Canna Lily plants. Lantanas are very reliable plants and are drought tolerant. They do well in hanging baskets especially if you are not good with watering. This one, shown above, is called Lantana camara ‘Luscious Bananarama’ – Wow, that’s a flashy tradename! It is able to tolerate dry soils and loves heat. It will attract butterflies as well, along with the other bloomers in these planters.
Loading them into the garden cart
You will notice in the photo above, with the two pots in a cart, the pot on the right has an Elephants Ears (Colocasia) plant as the thriller. For the fillers, there is a Gomphrena pulchella Truffula Pink plant (annual as well) with pink ball like flowers and the taller bloomer, Verbena ‘Media Shower’ annual with lavender flowers. Both of these plants are so pretty. They both have very thin stems and grow tall with the round flower balls at the tips, and while sturdy, they have very delicate and wispy looks to them. The Verbena grows taller than the Gomphrena so it adds a bit of change in heights to the planters – also an important design aspect.
When planted at my home, I noticed little white butterflies visited the blooms mid-summer often on the Gomphrena pulchella plant. To see it in my planter at home, see this post: Aqua Blue Planter. I used them there and just loved them.
I partnered the Gomphrena with a blue Salvias (almost purple) in the customer’s planters. The whole goal was to provide lots of flower colors for the customer that would bloom all summer and all of these annuals in the planters would do so, plus they were all very healthy plants to use at the start, which is very important. The Canna Lily and Elephants Ears plants were to be the big showy tropical thrillers in the centers or off-center. They would grow much larger over the course of the summer.
Loading them Up to Deliver – Container Gardens by Cathy Testa
I remember as I started to load up all the planters into my truck, with the help of my husband, thinking how the plants all together looked so lovely and reminded me, again, of a cottage style country garden. Sometimes we are able to create a desired garden look by using various containers with a mix of whatever goal you desire.
In the customer’s landscape front of home upon delivery – Container Gardens by Cathy TestaLoading them up in a garden cart (so pretty with the pink blooming Mandevilla in the background!)Pink blooming Begonias, Pink Hypoestes (pink and green leaves), and Colocasia (Elephants Ears) and Canna Lily.Alternanthera ‘Plum Dandy’ up closeCanna Lily with burgundy darker foliage – to repeat the color of the Alternanthera
In the end, the pots were all bloomers adding a bit of charm similar to cottage country gardens. It was a pleasure to look back at these photos, especially during the winter. I hope you enjoy them too.
Container Gardening Tips with this Post:
Always purchase healthy plants to start (weaker plants are more susceptible to insects and diseases)
Use varying heights in your arrangements to guide the eye and try to not over crowd plants
Focus on contrasting colors (dark colors next to light colors) to make colors more visible to the eye
Use various structures and leaf sizes (wispy straps of ornamental grasses next to chunky leaves of Canna Lily)
Incorporate some spiller type plants to soften the edges of your pots (Plectranthus as an example) to draw the eye downwards
Get plants with lots of buds to open if possible
Enjoy and thank you for visiting. Please share your comments!
Container Crazy CT 