Starting Tropical Garden, Could Use Your Help

T tikiwinebear Member Santa Rosa, CA (Sonoma - wine country) Joined: Sep 30, 2004 Posts: 582	T tikiwinebear Posted posted on Wed, Jun 22, 2005 12:56 PM One thing to keep in mind is POTS. As in terracotta, glazed, that is. We have 40-50 potted plants in our backyard. These include tropical varieties such as bamboos, taro, gingers, and even a couple banana trees. There are a couple great reasons to pot your plants. The foremost for us is ease of care and weeding, and containment. We have 3 varieties of bamboos, and they need to be contained (confined). We can hook up drip irrigation to the pots, and never worry about them getting watered when on vacation, since we have them on a timer. Using a fertilizer (like Miracle Grow) on them once in awhile keeps them beautiful and healthy. The second reason pots are good: With the wet and cold factor we get in the coastal Northern California area, we need to move some of the plants to the warmer garage in the wintertime. Our banana trees die off to a single leaf by the end of winter, but at least they haven't rotted out, or froze. BUT, the main reason to use pots, is for EFFECT. When we have an outdoor party, we can shuffle the plants around so the tropicals are in the spotlight. You can't rearrange your planted plants, but you simply move your pots around, and you have a whole new backyard!!! The banana tree pots are on rollers, so they are just as easy as moving the smaller coleus plants! Lastly, certain plants need certain amounts of sunshine. When the plants are in pots, you can place them in the appropriate place so they grow healthy and happy. When it comes time for a party, you can place them anywhere you want for a few days, and not worry about the effect the extra sun (or lack of sun) will have. I hope this information will help you out with your plant placement, thus help you make the best plant selection! Here is a link to my photo album from our last backyard tiki party. We don't have any standing tiki bars, but notice the plant placement around the tables and patio. Enjoy! http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mykecmi/album?.dir=/1973&.src=ph&.tok=phmhGMDBWKPUinyy Aloha Myke

One thing to keep in mind is POTS. As in terracotta, glazed, that is. We have 40-50 potted plants in our backyard. These include tropical varieties such as bamboos, taro, gingers, and even a couple banana trees.

There are a couple great reasons to pot your plants. The foremost for us is ease of care and weeding, and containment. We have 3 varieties of bamboos, and they need to be contained (confined). We can hook up drip irrigation to the pots, and never worry about them getting watered when on vacation, since we have them on a timer. Using a fertilizer (like Miracle Grow) on them once in awhile keeps them beautiful and healthy.

The second reason pots are good: With the wet and cold factor we get in the coastal Northern California area, we need to move some of the plants to the warmer garage in the wintertime. Our banana trees die off to a single leaf by the end of winter, but at least they haven't rotted out, or froze.

BUT, the main reason to use pots, is for EFFECT. When we have an outdoor party, we can shuffle the plants around so the tropicals are in the spotlight. You can't rearrange your planted plants, but you simply move your pots around, and you have a whole new backyard!!! The banana tree pots are on rollers, so they are just as easy as moving the smaller coleus plants!

Lastly, certain plants need certain amounts of sunshine. When the plants are in pots, you can place them in the appropriate place so they grow healthy and happy. When it comes time for a party, you can place them anywhere you want for a few days, and not worry about the effect the extra sun (or lack of sun) will have.

I hope this information will help you out with your plant placement, thus help you make the best plant selection!

Here is a link to my photo album from our last backyard tiki party. We don't have any standing tiki bars, but notice the plant placement around the tables and patio. Enjoy!

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mykecmi/album?.dir=/1973&.src=ph&.tok=phmhGMDBWKPUinyy

Aloha
Myke

Post #167402 by tikiwinebear on Wed, Jun 22, 2005 12:56 PM