Starting Tropical Garden, Could Use Your Help"!!!!

I am currently in the beggining stages of designing our backyard and adding alot of greenery and flowers. The only problem is, I suck at picking the right kind of plants, bushes, trees, etc. If any one is a landscape designer or a "starving student" of landscape design we would appreciate the help. We are in the LA area in Burbank CA. We don't have alot of money to spend but we do have some! I would like to add alot of tropical type plants with lots of color. Please email me if you have any way of helping us. I will include some pics of the existing yard tommorrow when it is light out.

Aloha!

Ka maka Koa Tiki

P.S.
please only email if you would like to contact me directly, or if anyone hasd some ideas post'em here!

email: [email protected]

[ Edited by: Ka maka koa tiki on 2005-06-22 10:20 ]

Hi KMK,

Here is a great thread to get the ball rolling. This is only one of many inspiratipons of landscaping by some of these talented TCers,
You came to the right place.

If you don't have a lot of money you may want to hunt down some local horticultural clubs for plant sales. You can often find plants there from hobbyists for low prices or even free. People with an overabundance of fast growing/spreading plants (bamboo, lillies, palm seedlings) who hate to just kill them will pot them up and give them away. You may even find more mature plants offered if you'll just come and dig them up.

Sunset magazine is a great idea source as it focuses on western US gardening and they frequently feature Califusa tropical gardens. The Sunset Western Garden Book is a must for the beginning gardener.

PS: A change in your subject line to something more specific such as "Starting Tropical Garden, Could Use Your Help" may get your post more attention. The number of exclamation marks is up to you.

[ Edited by: woofmutt on 2005-06-22 03:45 ]

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

Here are some pics of what we have to work with. I have a good idea of plants I want, but need help with the design. The yard is pretty "boxy" and we feel it needs some contours and more greenery! Thanks for all the info!

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d803b3127cce92075770ba3500000016109AbN2jhy4a2
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d803b3127cce92075736ba7300000016109AbN2jhy4a2
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d803b3127cce92075730ba7500000016109AbN2jhy4a2
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d803b3127cce920757393b4c00000016109AbN2jhy4a2
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d803b3127cce920757253b5000000016109AbN2jhy4a2

Oh man you just found my G spot. TROPICAL GARDENING

In my expieriense the downside of pots is they need to be watered and fertilized more often than plants in the ground.

Also many potted plants will not take full sun while the ground planted will. Especially the black plastic pots.

I reserve desert heat loving species for pots (some cycads and a few palms such as Butias) and I have them on a watering timer with drippers.

In Burbank I imagine you have the heavy adobe clay that dries to a cement like concrete.

While there are many plants that will thrive in the clay its better for most to have better drainage. In the winter the cold wet clay will spell the demise of many plants.

If you are starting from scratch it is well worth it to spend a couple thousand dollars (for a large yard) and have dump truck loads of prepared soil delivered from a source such as agromin. Wheelbarrow this into the yard in meandering hills. Plant on these hills. In ten years you and your plants will be glad you did. The added landscape value of hilly mounds vs flat tundra also adds to the appeal. You cannot add mounds later it must be done at the beginning

For plants Kentias are my number 1 palm tree. Guadalupes are cool. Caryota Gigas available from specialty nursery such as http://www.junglemusic.com. Coconut relatives such as Parajubea Cocoides are great. Tree ferns such as Cyathea Cooperi will benefit tremendously from the mounds. I could go on and on on this topic. Ive spent the last 10 years tropicalizing my yard.

If your going to do it my advice is do it soon and with gusto. Many of the palm trees are painfully slow growing (Jubea Chilenis, Jubeopsis and others) In ten years of growing I still feel only half way there, At the palm society meetings the palm heros of southern California are in their 70s. Visit Ganna Walskas Lotusland in Montecito if you want to see what multimillions of dollars will do and a century of growing.

Also notice the foiliage growing in Disney land near the Swiss Family tree house. Dioon Spinulosums are spectacular there.

Near Burbank is Huntington Gardens and also the LA arborettum in Arcadia

Cycads are another topic altogether. Cool.

Hope this help
Dave

kamaka,
I would say you have a great start there. When I bought my home my main bed along one side was similar to yours. A straight boring rectangular bed bordered with railroad or landscaping ties. Rip them out and have a few cubic yards of soil delivered. It won't take more than 5 to give you a full, curvy raised bed to be proud of. You could plant to your heart's content there, and do some in pots for around the patio.

I have some pots I re-plant with bright colour every year, just to mix things up a bit.

With such a clean slate to work with, you could always add a pond to one corner, or beside the patio, tikis poking out from behind the foliage, etc. Lots of fun!

I just bought 4 different species of bamboo(6 plants in total) and am trying to figure out how to deal with them(let them run rampant, box them in, brick them in, pot them in etc.)

my first yard was like that, long and narrow. Yours looks great! I would start with a mirandering path thu the yard, with seating areas on sides. use big leafy plants first, then pots as Tikiwinebear suggested. This also helps as you can place the pots and move them around till you have the right areas, then do the permenant plantings.

Good luck, walmart is cheap and has good flowers and plants. Home depot, sometimes has a sale area.

Amy

other sources for inexpensive or free plants is to put a request on http://www.craigslist.org or join a Freecycle group near you.

also check out Tropicalesque Gardens or the other topics and trades/sales inGarden Web

i'm having Zone Envy ~ Seattle is only an 8, not all that tropical!

elicia

On 2005-06-22 21:57, dogbytes wrote:
i'm having Zone Envy ~ Seattle is only an 8, not all that tropical!

elicia

Elicia! We taked about htis on another thread about six months ago. There are plenty of tropical looking plants out there that work in our part ofthe country. I have Hardy Banana, palms, and a variety of small grasses and of course Bamboo (I let it run - if I see it coming up in an area I don't want it in - YANK!) Got to keep on top of it before it get on top of you!!

So there, don't pout - you have a new Bike!

Bamboo!!

There are plenty of clumping bamboos.

All of the Bambusa's (for ex Bambusa Ventricosa, B. Textilis) are clumpers. The shoots will come up adjacent to the mother plant.

If you have an unsightly view plant Ventricoa about 3 feet apart and in three years you will have a 20- 50 foot tall hedge.

You can then eat the shoots and make tiki bars.

I totally have the zone envy too Elicia. Does anyone know of Tropical looking plants that aren't "Tropical". I mean, they can withstand a minus 40 winter?

I know it sounds like a stupid question..but I have already noticed that my new place has some perennial ferns that look kinda tropical.

Ostrich Ferns! Hardy to zone 3, and grow 3'-5' tall! Very tropical looking, perennial and easy care. I'v got one that already has 2 babies this year.
http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/ferns/matteucciastru.html

O.K. here is my first post! I too am working on my tropical garden. I haven't found a good source for clumping bamboo yet but still looking. However, I am now searching for one or two large garden Tiki statues. Something in fiberglass or concrete. I'm in the San Francisco bay area. Anyone point me in the right direction? As soon as I can figure out how to do it I'll post pictures of the garden here. Thanks.

I don't know if this may help, but the climate in Southern California will support papaya trees, but not coconut palms.

We've planted a number of papayas around our yard. Mexican Papayas are easier to grow, but we planted Solo Papayas (the kind they grow in Hawaii).

One of may neighbors is a landscaper, and the other is a buyer for a nursery. They said it gets too cold to plant coconut palms.

Oh, we also planted a lot of Bird of Paradise, which is drought resistant, easy to grow, and has a nice tropical look to it. Banana trees will also grow, but may partially die off in winter, then grow back in summer.

Best of luck on your garden! Don't forget to landscape with lots of lava rock. I loaded up my truck with a bunch I pulled out of the ground during a drive out to Amboy, California.

On 2005-06-23 20:09, tikipedia wrote:
I don't know if this may help, but the climate in Southern California will support papaya trees, but not coconut palms.

I can confirm the inability to grow coconut palms. I recommend foiliage/non fruiting bananas. I also recommend red bananas.

Bromiliades do very well.

On 2005-06-23 17:26, Hiddenmickey wrote:
I haven't found a good source for clumping bamboo yet but still looking.

Check out the source list on the American Bamboo Society webpage: Plant Source List

There are quite a few places that have a great selection. Not sure what's close enough to you, though, so take a look.

On 2005-06-24 15:22, UtopianDreem wrote:

On 2005-06-23 17:26, Hiddenmickey wrote:
I haven't found a good source for clumping bamboo yet but still looking.

Check out the source list on the American Bamboo Society webpage: Plant Source List

There are quite a few places that have a great selection. Not sure what's close enough to you, though, so take a look.

Bamboo abounds at

Jungle
8817 Washington Blvd
(1 blk west of National)
Culver City, CA 90232-2323
(310) 559-6008

(closed Sunday)

Thanks for all the great posts. I think I might need to hire a pro? It is all too confusing. I did recently plant a few bananas. we are planning a major remod on the yard complete with new cement and bbq. would really like to have a cool tropical feel, with lots of plants and flowering trees. I planted a few plumerias in pots and they are taking off. I can't wait till they bloom!

Hello neighbor. I, too, live in Burbank. I'll PM you with my phone number and if you like you could swing by and look at my tropical yard. It's taken years and,due to the heat, I've made some mistakes. Remember that in Burbank you have to create your own shade or a lot of your tropicals will wither in July and August. Good Luck!!

one of the most important elements for your tropical setting is the "vintage" attributes. to accomplish this, plant all you can and water profusely until you really think everything is looking great. then go to the SPCA and rescue two german shepards (preferably under two years of age). Love them lots and feed them well and make sure you leave them alone for a minimum of eight hours per day. Before long the vintage look will take over and you will find happiness in knowing that your shoes are safe...

I don't get it?? (Alohabros)was that an attempt at being funny?

ka maka koa tiki, don't question it, try it! better yet, throw a couple of pot bellied pigs into the tropical yard... man, you will be amazed at the results! just do it and don't look back!

A word about bamboo...

One word of caution about bamboo: There are certain types of bamboo that are "runners" and others that are "clumpers". If you choose the wrong kind (running), and you do not take the proper precuations before you plant, bamboo can easily run amok and take over your entire yard, your neigbor's yard, and everything in its path! The clumping kind of bamboo will not do this. So, just a word to the wise to do some research before planting your bamboo.

I like to watch those shows that are on HGTV on the weekend. In one recent episode of Gardening by the Yard (hosted by Paul James), they discussed the different types of bamboo, how rampant certain varieties (running bamboo) can spread if the proper precautions aren't taken prior to planting. Basically, they made a barrier out of a hard plastic that was put down into a trench that was dug several feet into the ground. Seemed like a lot of work! But, they said that if you don't do this, there will be nothing to stop the running variety of bamboo from spreading out of control. Here is the internet site for the bamboo episode: http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/shows_gby/episode/0,1806,HGTV_3842_13468,00.html

As far as other tropical plants go, here in South Florida I see a lot of torch ginger which does very well in our climate.

Anthurium are also very nice:

A plumeria tree would also be a nice choice. I have one growing in my back yard, but it is taking a long time to grow. Plumeria flowers are used in making leis in Hawaii. http://www.floridata.com/ref/P/plum_spp.cfm

Mine are about this size:

Bromeliads are very nice and colorful too, but don't grow very well in direct sun. I have some on my patio that are doing very well. A lot of people actually have them indoors too. There are many different varieties and colors of bromeliads. Here is one example:

On 2005-06-23 17:26, Hiddenmickey wrote:
I haven't found a good source for clumping bamboo yet but still looking. I'm in the San Francisco bay area. Anyone point me in the right direction?

Since you're in the Bay Area, you gotta check out Bamboo Giant in Aptos (located a town over from Santa Cruz). We're actually making a trip there this Saturday...

Hiddenmickey,

I am not sure where in the Bay Area you are, but in Sebastopol (near Santa Rosa) there is one heck of a spot to check out ALL kinds of bamboo. We were looking for a black bamboo to pot in our backyard. We had no idea there was so many kinds available in our area. This place has acres of planted bamboos so you can see what it looks like after it has been growing for a long time.

The place is called Bamboo Sourcery http://www.bamboosourcery.com/ . The staff and office is small, so you have to make an appointment with them to see their grounds and talk to someone. They will walk you around the property and show you all plants that might work for you. The prices are reasonable but the big kick is the variety of bamboos you can select from.

Even if you aren't closeby, its worth the drive to check out their bamboo and the property. Heck, stop by some wineries and do some wine tasting too!!

Good Luck in your search!

Myke

I have lived in the SF bay area, Hawaii and now Sacramento for 9 years. I just took a lot of still grabs from some video earlier this week and put them into a file.
My tiki garden used to be a swimming pool area with the pool now the huge center bed. You could do something similar by cutting a bed into the lawn and leaving grass as your walking paths between the center and enlarged side beds.
You can not get more bang for the buck than with cannas and taros. Even in cold areas they can be lifted and stored easily.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/calthai2003/album?.dir=5038&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

Looks like your yard could use some shade trees too. Many choice tropicals like a semishaded location. Maybe a Jacaranda or Cassia tree. You can basicly look around at other yards and see what thrives in your location. They are bound to be mostly subtropicals. The hardiest things will be the ones you see the most of. I see you have agapanthus already, that's easy. Lantana and plumbego are are also reliable bloomers. So are dwarf oleanders. As I said cannas are worth their weight in gold. Gingers are favorites in both Hawaii and CA. I am farther north so butterly and shell gingers are the ones that do best for me, but in Hawaii I had all kinds of torch gingers. Bird of paradise and giant bird of paradise are choice plants. The birds will give you late winter flowers. Princess flower is another favorite of mine. It thrives throughout the tropics and subtropics. The colored types of Cordyline are standards landscape plants in Hawaii. Not sure if you can grow crotons outdoors year round there or not. Worth a try if you can get some 6 inch house plants as starters. Ixora is very popular too, I think you can grow that. I can't grow it here so I grow it's cousin pentas. Don't forget gardenias and jasmine for fragrance. You never see bouganvillia as a vine in Hawaii, it is always a shrub, but you could grow it as a vine on your fences. Anyway just a few ideas from an old subtropical gardener.

[ Edited by: nuimaleko 2005-07-11 13:13 ]

Itz all in da soil. If you have palms, feed them with large amounts of rabbit shit. Trust me. Use sawdust in the soil and mix it well. Clunping bamboo will take over too. Best bet is Bamboo Border. If anyone needs Taro roots, e-mail me. I rid them daily. Enjoy your garden. Itz easier than it looks. just my 3 cents. 10-4

once established though, turn the pot bellied pigs loose. these critters will start rootin' through the garden. yes, some plants will take a hit, but the pigs turn the soil daily, so you don't have to. plus they create these radical, and organic, mounds that would take weeks of work to create. you may be horrified at first, but the activity of these buggers will become most endearing and the shape of the garden will change daily. watched this happen for the first time about 12 years ago, drove a roomate crazy, but the end result was most amusing and satisfying. you design, the pigs refine!

Can Anyone Identify these palms? I am looking at the thin trunk ones that are tall (10-15feet) in the pictures.

Mahalo!!

[ Edited by: ka maka koa tiki 2005-10-24 02:16 ]

Okay, so we ripped out all the camelia bushes and got rid of the pink & white rock "garden" that was here when we moved in a year ago. Put in a small lawn and patio, kept a large orange tree. Now on to creating a tropical garden... We were inspired after a trip to GoldenGate Palms & Exotics in Richmond and Jurrasic Palms in Albany -- purchased five majesty palms, an abyssian banana, blood banana, & chinese yellow banana, as well a couple of cannas for the sunny side of the yard. But what do we put around the orange tree? Besides the shade from the orange, there is a huge redwood in our neighbor's yard. I was thinking of kaffir lily and some ferns, but is there a good groundcover that might work under the tree? Also, I have an afternoon sun spot next to the house where I was thinking about putting a banana shrub (michelia figo) or something else that would smell good through the windows -- any suggestions? Thanks.

When we buy another house Me and Nikki have been excited about that prospect. She is an Orchid connoiseur. Orchids and Hibiscus..Me wanna

Does anyone know where one can buy tea leaf plants around LA?

From time to time the Jungle in Culver City has some, but they are out.

I saw red ti leaf plants at my local Home Depot a month or two ago. They might be able to order them for you if they don't have them in stock.