z9 shrubs for tropical effect

[southlatropical]

When I hear the word shrub, I think to myself boooooooooooooooooring. But there are certainly some striking and tropical looking shrubs out there that can be grown here in zone 9.

First up is Viburnum odoratissimum var. awabuki. I'm not crazy about viburnums, but I think this one looks great with the big glossy leaves.

[southlatropical]

And here is my small Melianthus major. These struggle with our high heat and humidity so they must be in shade here. This makes them grow pretty slow.

Here is a better picture of one that is full grown.

[southlatropical]

This one is probably my favorite. The loquat tree or 'Japanese Plum'. I have 3 varieties of these. This one has leaves over 12" long. I just planted it yesterday.

[southlatropical]

Aucuba Japonica 'Gold Dust' is one that I rarely see here in Louisiana. I call them the z9 croton. Once I have more canopy around here I will use these throughout my backyard. They cannot take much direct sun here at all.

[southlatropical]

I don't really consider gingers to be shrubs, but Alpinia zerumbet 'Variegated' is used everywhere down here as a shrub.

[southlatropical]

Here are two that the Louisiana garden cannot do without.

Philo Selloum

and Fatsia Japonica

[Eric in Orlando]

So you can get Melianthus to grow in Louisiana? We have tried it several times but it dies out by mid summer.

[Eric in Orlando]

Here is a few that are hardy here but have a tropical look;

Cocculus laurifolius- Himalayan Snailseed

Illicium parviflorum- Yellow Anise or Rootbeer Shrub

Rhaphiolepis 'Coppertone'- I think this is a hybrid between Rhaphiolepis indica and Eriobotrya deflexa

Ternstroemia gymnanthera 'Regal'

[Eric in Orlando]

a few others, some of these grow into trees but can be maintained as large shrubs

Viburnum odoratissimum var. awabuki, great glossy foliage and older specimens flower and set nice crops of red berries

Ilex latifolia- Lusterleaf Holly

Nageia nagi (formerly Podocarpus nagi)

Podocarpus elongatus, resembles Fern Podocarpus, Afrocarpus gracilor, but is much hardier

[Austinpalm]

Here is a better picture of one that is full grown.

[Eric in Orlando]

Talipariti hamabo (formerly Hibiscus hamabo)

Rhododedron scabrum (R. sublanceolatum)- Luchu Azalea from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan

Dichroa febrifuga- Evergreen Hydrangea

Xylosma congestum

[southlatropical]

So you can get Melianthus to grow in Louisiana? We have tried it several times but it dies out by mid summer.

I mail ordered 3 of them almost 3yrs ago Karutz Greenhouse (sp?). By August all three were quickly declining and eventually died to the ground. In Dec one of them began to grow back and I found out they can't take high heat, so I moved it to a shady spot in front of my house. This year I moved it to make room for an Encephalarto Ferox. They begin to yellow in Sept and then take off again in late Nov. You are a little hotter over there in Orlando, but I would think it's possible to grow them there. Maybe bring it inside from Aug to Nov until it gets big.

[Eric in Orlando]

...and some lesser known Camellia species;

Camellia purpurea

Camellia rosiflora

Camellia yuhsienensis

Camellia saluensis 'Apple Blossom'

[Eric in Orlando]

So you can get Melianthus to grow in Louisiana? We have tried it several times but it dies out by mid summer.

I mail ordered 3 of them almost 3yrs ago Karutz Greenhouse (sp?). By August all three were quickly declining and eventually died to the ground. In Dec one of them began to grow back and I found out they can't take high heat, so I moved it to a shady spot in front of my house. This year I moved it to make room for an Encephalarto Ferox. They begin to yellow in Sept and then take off again in late Nov. You are a little hotter over there in Orlando, but I would think it's possible to grow them there. Maybe bring it inside from Aug to Nov until it gets big.

We had tried several in the ground here; some in full sun all day and some that got filtered shade in afternoon. The full sun speciens all died by mid summer. All the ones with filtered afternoon shade died, too, except for one but it died the next summer. I think it is just too hot at night for too long for them to survive.

[southlatropical]

a few others, some of these grow into trees but can be maintained as large shrubs

Viburnum odoratissimum var. awabuki, great glossy foliage and older specimens flower and set nice crops of red berries

Ilex latifolia- Lusterleaf Holly

Nageia nagi (formerly Podocarpus nagi)

Podocarpus elongatus, resembles Fern Podocarpus, Afrocarpus gracilor, but is much hardier

Some of these I have not seen before. My list just got a little longer.

[southlatropical]

[mnorell]

Isaac--

Regarding the Viburnum--

The nomenclature (and the trade) is very mixed up with this...Dirr gets into this a bit in his new book but doesn't address the broad-leaf form. Here's I think how it actually lays out:

1) I think Dirr says that Viburnum odoratissimum is only around in one standard form, and that's the commonly encountered "sweet viburnum."

2) What you have labeled as V. odoratissimum v. awabuki (and Tropicos and Grin both still have it listed this way as well) is actually a broad-leafed form of what Dirr calls Viburnum awabuki. I purchased one of these a few years ago at Clegg's in Baton Rouge as "V. macrophyllum." I usually refer to it now (just for my own convenience) as V. awabuki 'Macrophyllum.' It certainly doesn't look at all like a V. odoratissimum to me!

3) The narrow-leaf form of the above is either just the plain V. awabuki or the Korean variety, V. awabuki 'Chindo' introduced by J.C. Raulston. Hopefully someday someone will really examine these species/varieties and get it straight...it seems hopeless, there is so much confusion.

Now where did you get your broad-leafed awabukis? Clegg's hasn't had them for two years and I haven't seen them anywhere else. My one specimen thrives here and looks oh-so-tropical in the humid sunshine. It's planted all over Tampa/St. Pete and southward, I always love seeing it there...but please let me know if you know of another source in Louisiana. I have many friends who want this shrub but only the (also-beautiful) narrow-leaf form is available here in Natchez. I think I'm going to take cuttings and attempt to root them this summer...if anybody's done this with success please post it here, it needs to be propagated around here!

Anyone grow Choisya ternata successfully in the south? I had one 'Sundance' a year ago that dropped dead, it may not have been from heat...and am trying several others this year. They're in flower now and it is very fragrant, and a beautiful shrub for the landscape.

Also many of the species Camellias have beautiful foliage. Aside from the large-leaf C. sinensis, I love C. furfuracea. That one is sweet indeed, very tropical-looking. Also C. chrysanthoides.

Brunfelsia 'magnifica' (a Monrovia name i believe) is also gorgeous in foliage, longer-blooming than the type, and very cold-hardy (partial leaf-drop only in low 20s).

[MattyB]

Very nice stuff guys. Thanks for those beautiful pics. Interesting thing about the Loquat tree is that it not only survives here with no irrigation, but fruits. They'll grow on our hillside in rocky soil with no irrigation and still fruit. They must have some gnarly roots.

[southlatropical]

Micheal,

I got mine from Clegg's on Florida Blvd. There were two others there, but not in as good of shape as the one pictured. They are $19.99 I believe. I think the manager mentioned that they were sent from the Denham Springs store.

My father-in-law owns the Podnuh's bbq there across the street. I am going there in the morning to try to repair the drive thru speaker. If you want, I'll stop by and pick one up for you. I think one of the two was marked as sold last time I went b/c I remember considering wether or not to buy the last one. As I mentioned the ones left are not in as good of shape as the one I picked up. If I remember correctly they had some branches broken/pruned off and were not as big.

I had come across this plant online in the past and knew I wanted one. When I saw it at Clegg's I had forgotten about it by then, but it caught my eye. They are not labeled and so when I carried it inside and asked what it was the manager said "Viburnum Awubuki". And then I remembered. I also picked up the Fatsia Japonica that day. Looks a little pale but it's really big for the 3gal price I paid. I'm sure it was left over from last year.

[southlatropical]

Very nice stuff guys. Thanks for those beautiful pics. Interesting thing about the Loquat tree is that it not only survives here with no irrigation, but fruits. They'll grow on our hillside in rocky soil with no irrigation and still fruit. They must have some gnarly roots.

I love em'. My neighbor has an old one about 30' tall at the back of his property. I think I am going to go pick up maybe 3 more of the big leaf one's (pictured above). They have the biggest leaves of any I've seen around here. They are just marked 'Eriobotrya japonica' with no variety mentioned on the tag.

[mnorell]

Isaac--

I'm going to Nola tomorrow so may just stop there myself on the way and pick one up. Thanks very much for the offer. I always go to the Clegg's on Siegen, as I've always thought it was the biggest one. Crazy how the big nurseries in B.R. always seem to have three stores. Because it's such a crazy mess of a city to drive across, I guess...

It seems crazy to me that this shrub isn't available everywhere in the Gulf south. Thrives here and probably catches more attention in my garden from visitors ("What is THAT?!") than anything excepting perhaps the Tetrapanax trees. The only problem I have with it is that the new leaves are terribly attractive to aphids and they distort the leaves unless you can get to them in time. They seem to get it when the ladybugs aren't here so there's always a distorted flush in winter and sometimes that tender new growth also gets damaged by a freeze. Otherwise I find no sensitivity to cold weather and extended freezes in the low 20s.

Good you got that Fatsia because now's the time to plant them. In my experience if you plant them later than early March they're probably doomed to give up on you in the middle of summer. They can't stand the heat and (potential) drought, I think, until they've gotten some roots in the ground. At least here in Natchez, they're very temperamental until they're established, after which point you can't kill 'em. I've probably killed 60% of them until I figured it out. Now I have 100% survival rate by planting them between November and February.

[mnorell]

Eric--

I have several Talipariti hamabo that I planted last year...one of them (the one in more sun) has grown substantially but still hasn't bloomed. It's currently leafing out. Do you find that they need lots of sun to bloom? I'm interested to know whether I need to move these, or if they just need more size on them. Also, do you know a source for the New Guinean Talipariti archboldianum? There's a gorgeous one in the new conservatory at the Huntington. Really pretty spectacular, though I'm sure it's very tender. Do you know of any other hardy members of the genus? T. tiliaceus doesn't return from the roots after freezes here. I'm testing Thespesia populnea, planted it right outside my greenhouse to give it some extra warmth in winter. It grew 8' last year (and didn't flower) but no signs yet of life after the freezes...Bob Riffle I think said in his book that this one would return from the roots...we'll see.

[John Case]

So you can get Melianthus to grow in Louisiana? We have tried it several times but it dies out by mid summer.

I have one the is trellised to about 8 feet tall......no flowers yet.

[tjwalters]

Aucuba Japonica 'Gold Dust' is one that I rarely see here in Louisiana. I call them the z9 croton. Once I have more canopy around here I will use these throughout my backyard. They cannot take much direct sun here at all.

Can't beat Aucuba japonica for a cold-hardy croton impersonator. Looks great here in Z7 in full or part sun.

[Mark_NoVA]

That's a great photo, Tom!

Can Rhododendron sinogrande grow in the SE zone 9? Grows in the NW, gigantic leaves: http://www.flickr.com/photos/edgeplot/2493616361/ . Too cold here for it, though.

Prunus 'Parkway' is a Cherry Laurel with large leaves, seems to be handling it's 1st winter in the ground well here.

There's a 'Spiderweb' cultivar of Fatsia japonica that is attractive:

[DoomsDave]

Loquats rock here, as Matty pointed out.

IF you want good fruit, spend the money and get yourself a named grafted plant. Gold Nugget's really good, though the pits are large.

[_Keith]

Very nice stuff guys. Thanks for those beautiful pics. Interesting thing about the Loquat tree is that it not only survives here with no irrigation, but fruits. They'll grow on our hillside in rocky soil with no irrigation and still fruit. They must have some gnarly roots.

I love em'. My neighbor has an old one about 30' tall at the back of his property. I think I am going to go pick up maybe 3 more of the big leaf one's (pictured above). They have the biggest leaves of any I've seen around here. They are just marked 'Eriobotrya japonica' with no variety mentioned on the tag.

If you like the fruit from your neighbor's tree, just get some fruit from and grow from seed. They are very fast and very easy to start from seed. I have 7 of them, all started from local seeds. The oldest is five years and it is about 10 x 10 with a good 6 inch or larger diameter trunk.

[simona]

Have the fruits, from the seeds grown Loquat trees, the same quality as those of the mother tree?

[monkeyranch]

In my 9a NoCal foothills climate I have all of the above "tropicalish" shrubs. All great. I read that Rhaphiolepis 'Coppertone' is a hybrid of R. 'Majestic Beauty' and a Eriobotyra. R. 'Majestic Beauty' is itself purported to be a R. indica x Eriobotyra. I really like the flowers and large leaves of 'M.B.' and it's especially nice as a standard. Other favorites of mine include Eriobotrya deflexa, Cestrum 'Orange Peel' (EVGN to low 20s, flowers even in cold weather), Photinia serrulata (clean year round, orangish-red new lvs, red berries, nice standard, nice change from P. 'Fraseri'), Prunus laurocereus 'Macrophylla/Magnolifolia' with its huge leaves, Tetrapanax papyrifera 'Steroidal Giant', Coprosma repens 'Pink Splendor' (and other forms), Lavateras (think imitation Hibiscus rosa-chinensis, fast growing EVGN filllers until your palms get huge), Spohora secundiflora (fruity fragrance), some of the colorful Euonymous, Elaeagnus x ebbingei 'Gilt Edge', Pittosporum tobira, Alyogyne huegelii (occassional winter damage but hardier that often cited and where else you gonna get purple-blue flowers like that. Also fast.), Griselinia littoralis (green and colored varieties, very round leaves, sort of "Coccoloba uvifera"-ish) , and manihot grahamii (very unusual structure and hardy, winter decid. though). No time for pics now but I'll try to post later. And one more (I know, I know, I know): Nerium oleander.

[leyucca]

One of my favorite is Daphniphyllum himalense : very tropical looking and amazingly frost hardy (z 6/7)...

http://images.google.fr/imgres?imgurl=http...t%3D90%26um%3D1

[John Case]

Aucuba Japonica 'Gold Dust' is one that I rarely see here in Louisiana. I call them the z9 croton. Once I have more canopy around here I will use these throughout my backyard. They cannot take much direct sun here at all.

They can't take direct sun anywhere........under canopy is a requirement for these...

[John Case]

So you can get Melianthus to grow in Louisiana? We have tried it several times but it dies out by mid summer.

I have one the is trellised to about 8 feet tall......no flowers yet.

Update......flowers have appeared.....looking forward to seeds for propagation!

[epicure3]

It took me forever to find that Viburnum odoratissimum var. awabuki....about a year. When I first saw it growing at WDW in Orlando, I had to track it down. It has grown a little too well for me....and I have it in the shade (which was a bad choice, but the only one I had at the time). It is now getting too big. I guess I could prune it.

[_Keith]

Have the fruits, from the seeds grown Loquat trees, the same quality as those of the mother tree?

Thus far, mine have been identical.

[tjwalters]

Aucuba Japonica 'Gold Dust' is one that I rarely see here in Louisiana. I call them the z9 croton. Once I have more canopy around here I will use these throughout my backyard. They cannot take much direct sun here at all.

They can't take direct sun anywhere........under canopy is a requirement for these...

They can certainly take direct sun here. Mine (Post #24) are in direct mid-day sun for several hours, and I've seen others around here in all day sun. When in sun, they grow in a very compact manner - looking a lot like crotons. In shade they tend to have a more open structure.

[Eric in Orlando]

Eric--

I have several Talipariti hamabo that I planted last year...one of them (the one in more sun) has grown substantially but still hasn't bloomed. It's currently leafing out. Do you find that they need lots of sun to bloom? I'm interested to know whether I need to move these, or if they just need more size on them. Also, do you know a source for the New Guinean Talipariti archboldianum? There's a gorgeous one in the new conservatory at the Huntington. Really pretty spectacular, though I'm sure it's very tender. Do you know of any other hardy members of the genus? T. tiliaceus doesn't return from the roots after freezes here. I'm testing Thespesia populnea, planted it right outside my greenhouse to give it some extra warmth in winter. It grew 8' last year (and didn't flower) but no signs yet of life after the freezes...Bob Riffle I think said in his book that this one would return from the roots...we'll see.

They do flower best in full sun but we have one that gets later afternoon shade and it flowers. They can take a few years though before they start.

I'm not familiar with that one The only other I am familiar with is T. elatus, Cuban Mahoe, but have never seen it availble, either.

Thespesia populnea has just about the same hardiness as T. tiliaceus. I have never noticed either being more or less hardy than the other.

We got a Thespesia lampas a couple years ago. It is like a shrubbier, smaller version of T. populnea.

[mnorell]

That's a beautiful Thespesia lampas. I've never seen it before.

I also wonder if there are any other hardy Talipariti, Thespesia, etc. such as T. hamabo. It's very interesting and a bit odd to me that T. hamabo has developed a hardiness to cold through a deciduous habit, while all its brethren may be completely tropical in their requirements and tender to cold.

I had another odd experience this winter...a Hibiscus hybrid (I think rosa-sinensis x schizopetalus) that I bought as H. capitolo 'red pom pom' survived the winter in markedly better condition than did any other rosa-sinensis in my landscape. We had 24F and a 15-hour freeze, plus a few other freezes, and this specimen simply defoliated but with absolutely no damage. It has now leafed-out perfectly. Meanwhile macho ferns, Alpinia, Cordylines, etc. a few inches away were heavily damaged or killed to the ground. All other hibiscus rosa-sinensis were killed to the ground. So perhaps this one has some extra hardiness built in???

Here are some photos of the Talpariti archboldianum at the Huntington, in their conservatory. A really impressive plant with quite large flowers.

[Eric in Orlando]

That is a cool flower. And interesting about the leaves producing nectar, too.

'El Capitola' is a cultivar that is often sold here. It is a very vigorous strain, much more drought resistant and nematode resistant than many other Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. There is also a salmon orange colored form called 'Salmon El Capitola'

[Sandy Loam]

On 2/27/2009, 4:26:54, mnorell said:

Isaac--

 

Regarding the Viburnum--

 

The nomenclature (and the trade) is very mixed up with this...Dirr gets into this a bit in his new book but doesn't address the broad-leaf form. Here's I think how it actually lays out:

 

1) I think Dirr says that Viburnum odoratissimum is only around in one standard form, and that's the commonly encountered "sweet viburnum."

2) What you have labeled as V. odoratissimum v. awabuki (and Tropicos and Grin both still have it listed this way as well) is actually a broad-leafed form of what Dirr calls Viburnum awabuki. I purchased one of these a few years ago at Clegg's in Baton Rouge as "V. macrophyllum." I usually refer to it now (just for my own convenience) as V. awabuki 'Macrophyllum.' It certainly doesn't look at all like a V. odoratissimum to me!

3) The narrow-leaf form of the above is either just the plain V. awabuki or the Korean variety, V. awabuki 'Chindo' introduced by J.C. Raulston. Hopefully someday someone will really examine these species/varieties and get it straight...it seems hopeless, there is so much confusion.

 

Now where did you get your broad-leafed awabukis? Clegg's hasn't had them for two years and I haven't seen them anywhere else. My one specimen thrives here and looks oh-so-tropical in the humid sunshine. It's planted all over Tampa/St. Pete and southward, I always love seeing it there...but please let me know if you know of another source in Louisiana. I have many friends who want this shrub but only the (also-beautiful) narrow-leaf form is available here in Natchez. I think I'm going to take cuttings and attempt to root them this summer...if anybody's done this with success please post it here, it needs to be propagated around here!

 

Anyone grow Choisya ternata successfully in the south? I had one 'Sundance' a year ago that dropped dead, it may not have been from heat...and am trying several others this year. They're in flower now and it is very fragrant, and a beautiful shrub for the landscape.

 

Also many of the species Camellias have beautiful foliage. Aside from the large-leaf C. sinensis, I love C. furfuracea. That one is sweet indeed, very tropical-looking. Also C. chrysanthoides.

 

Brunfelsia 'magnifica' (a Monrovia name i believe) is also gorgeous in foliage, longer-blooming than the type, and very cold

 

-hardy (partial leaf-drop only in low 20s).

After seeing this post, now I am wondering which variety of viburnum awabuki I have.  I have attached a photo in case anyone wants to attempt to identify it. 

 

 

 

[Sandy Loam]

.... I should also mention that  I bought four of these awabuki viburnum in the spring this year, but they have hardly grown at all.  The one in the photo is shade-grown (no surprise about the slow growth), but the other three are growing in relatively sunny conditions and have not grown either.  By comparison, my viburnum odoratissmum (standard "sweet viburnum" ) grow at lightning speed when they are planted in a sunny spot here.  There is no comparison in growth rate between these two species ---- or have I simply not given these viburnum awabuki enough time to grow?  They have had a full summer growing season. During this same time period, my sweet viburnum have grown by leaps and bounds, requiring constant pruning.  Is there anyone out there who can advise on this?  Thanks.