Moving tropicals outside

[Than]

I have an alocasia macrorrhizos, a hibiscus schizopetalus and a delonix regia in pots. All of them young, less than a year old. I am wondering when it is safe to leave outdoors at night, temperature-wise. Night temperature right now in my yard is about 13C (55-56F). Would that be too cold for them? I am sure they won't die but could they go into shock or stop growing? They have spent the winter indoors and never experienced below 18C (65F). Always sitting on heat mats when indoors.

I also have Terminalia Catappa but in this case I'm pretty sure I should not expose to 55F. I'll wait till the minimum is about 65F before I leave outside 24 hours.

Edited April 27, 2022 by ego

[Alan_Tampa]

Those temperatures are fine. 

[Alan_Tampa]

There was a big tropical almond in Tampa for years. Saw way below 55 many many times. It was near Bayshore Blvd. 

[Silas_Sancona]

5 hours ago, ego said:

I have an alocasia macrorrhizos, a hibiscus schizopetalus and a delonix regia in pots. All of them young, less than a year old. I am wondering when it is safe to leave outdoors at night, temperature-wise. Night temperature right now in my yard is about 13C (55-56F). Would that be too cold for them? I am sure they won't die but could they go into shock or stop growing? They have spent the winter indoors and never experienced below 18C (65F). Always sitting on heat mats when indoors.

I also have Terminalia Catappa but in this case I'm pretty sure I should not expose to 55F. I'll wait till the minimum is about 65F before I leave outside 24 hours.

Those temps should be fine.. All my stuff is started outside, inc Delonix, etc. and we only recently started seeing consistent nights above 60F.  What i would do, if you can, is transition everything to a spot which gets bright indirect light, but no full sun ..say a covered Porch / Patio. Stepping them into direct sun at that size can burn them ..so you don't want that..  They'll adjust to more sun later.  Exactly how i have everything set up here.. ( Our sun will kill anything small in one day this time of year )

[Than]

5 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Those temps should be fine.. All my stuff is started outside, inc Delonix, etc. and we only recently started seeing consistent nights above 60F.  What i would do, if you can, is transition everything to a spot which gets bright indirect light, but no full sun ..say a covered Porch / Patio. Stepping them into direct sun at that size can burn them ..so you don't want that..  They'll adjust to more sun later.  Exactly how i have everything set up here.. ( Our sun will kill anything small in one day this time of year )

Oh I have already transitioned them to full sun. Every day I take them out, first it was in shade, then weak sun and now full sun. 

Do your delonix and alocasia grow in these temperatures?

[Silas_Sancona]

1 minute ago, ego said:

Oh I have already transitioned them to full sun. Every day I take them out, first it was in shade, then weak sun and now full sun. 

Do your delonix and alocasia grow in these temperatures?

No Alocasia for me, but my Delonix do ..Both seedlings i started this spring ( outside ), and Delonix pumila / D. decaryi  specimens i have had going for about 4 years.. Reminds me, need to start more seed of both ( hopefully they're still good )..

Know folks here who grow Alocasia / Colocasia in the ground ..in bright, all day filtered shade, or next to a pond,  if in sun.  No issues w/ cooler nights this time of year ( actually better for the plants then the 82- 89/ occasional 90F nights to come in July August )

[Xenon]

I would keep the Alocasia macrorrhiza indoors until nights and days are WARM WARM (65+ degree nights and hot days). It's very tropical in requirement and won't grow when it's cool (while also being prone to rot)...not surprising considering it's from Borneo. 

I lost a small A. macrrorhiza 'Lutea' and had another variegated one knocked to the ground despite protection while all of my other tropical stuff (NewCal palms, mango, etc) were fine. I'd put it in the same category with the more tropical Heliconia. 

Alocasia odora (and any of it's hybrids like calidora and 'Regal Shields') and A. gageana are muuuuuuch more hardy 

Edited April 28, 2022 by Xenon

[Than]

13 hours ago, Xenon said:

I would keep the Alocasia macrorrhiza indoors until nights and days are WARM WARM (65+ degree nights and hot days). It's very tropical in requirement and won't grow when it's cool (while also being prone to rot)...not surprising considering it's from Borneo. 

I lost a small A. macrrorhiza 'Lutea' and had another variegated one knocked to the ground despite protection while all of my other tropical stuff (NewCal palms, mango, etc) were fine. I'd put it in the same category with the more tropical Heliconia. 

Alocasia odora (and any of it's hybrids like calidora and 'Regal Shields') and A. gageana are muuuuuuch more hardy 

There are many alocasia macrorrhiza here in Athens and nearby towns. They are in pots outside all year round. They see temperatures of 2-3C and survive. They do look cr@p in March but they don't die.

[Xenon]

4 hours ago, ego said:

There are many alocasia macrorrhiza here in Athens and nearby towns. They are in pots outside all year round. They see temperatures of 2-3C and survive. They do look cr@p in March but they don't die.

Can you post pictures? I really doubt they are true Alocasia macrorrhiza. Sounds more like an Alocasia hybrid or Colocasia gigantea 

[Than]

6 minutes ago, Xenon said:

Can you post pictures? I really doubt they are true Alocasia macrorrhiza. Sounds more like an Alocasia hybrid or Colocasia gigantea 

It's not a Colocasia, I can tell the difference. I asked a couple of horticulturalists and they said macrorrhiza. I'm not sure though. I'll take photos later today.

[Xenon]

2 minutes ago, ego said:

It's not a Colocasia, I can tell the difference. I asked a couple of horticulturalists and they said macrorrhiza. I'm not sure though. I'll take photos later today.

C. gigantea is supposedly a hybrid of A. macrorrhiza and C. esculenta. It looks more like an Alocasia to me but it's super hardy and spreads like a weed in my climate. 

[Than]

4 minutes ago, Xenon said:

C. gigantea is supposedly a hybrid of A. macrorrhiza and C. esculenta. It looks more like an Alocasia to me but it's super hardy and spreads like a weed in my climate. 

Oh, I had C. esculenta in mind. Hmmm, I'll post photos in an hour or so. I'm curious too now.

[Than]

Here's one 

[Xenon]

Hard to tell from the photo but it looks like Alocasia odora or 'Calidora'

[Than]

Here's one in my neighborhood. It looks poor due to the very cold winter we had. Has seen snow twice this winter. 

 

[Than]

And here's mine. I'm not sure if it is macrorrhizos. I got it from a farmer in Bali. 

 

[Xenon]

13 minutes ago, ego said:

And here's mine. I'm not sure if it is macrorrhizos. I got it from a farmer in Bali. 

 

 

Yours is a legit macrorrhiza imho, notice the wide open sinus ("V" shape where leaf meets the petiole) and the angular "arrowhead" leaf shape. 

 

[Than]

3 hours ago, Xenon said:

Yours is a legit macrorrhiza imho, notice the wide open sinus ("V" shape where leaf meets the petiole) and the angular "arrowhead" leaf shape. 

 

I am impressed you can tell the species apart; they look identical to me. I guess mine being a true macrorrhiza means it is more cold tolerant so I'll keep it indoors for another 10 days. After that night temperatures will be above 167C (63F) and day temperatures above 80F

[Than]

On 4/28/2022 at 1:19 AM, Alan_Tampa said:

There was a big tropical almond in Tampa for years. Saw way below 55 many many times. It was near Bayshore Blvd. 

You mean Indian almond? Terminalia catappa? I thought those are totally tropical since they only grow near the sea in tropical countries.

[Silas_Sancona]

38 minutes ago, ego said:

You mean Indian almond? Terminalia catappa? I thought those are totally tropical since they only grow near the sea in tropical countries.

Same plant. Supposedly at least one or two specimens somewhere in San Diego as well..  Tougher tree than some had thought.

[Alan_Tampa]

Yes, Terminalia.  

 

it is fairly tropical, but its growth rate makes up for some of that tenderness. I'm not saying it is all over tampa or anything,  just there are and have been a few. 

Further south it becomes more common. 

[Xenon]

1 hour ago, ego said:

I am impressed you can tell the species apart; they look identical to me. I guess mine being a true macrorrhiza means it is more cold tolerant so I'll keep it indoors for another 10 days. After that night temperatures will be above 167C (63F) and day temperatures above 80F

I have A. odora, A. gageana, and A. macrrorhiza and together they are probably the most commonly confused and mislabelled trio in the tropical plant industry haha. I still find it difficult to tell the difference too especially when young and through photos (and feels like guessing game at times). Fwiw, I've never seen established/healthy A. macrorrhiza (and its popular form 'Borneo Giant') north of Central Florida-ish in mostly zone 10 +/- areas while the others are common throughout the US Deep South. 

 

Edited April 29, 2022 by Xenon

[Than]

24 minutes ago, Alan_Tampa said:

Yes, Terminalia.  

 

it is fairly tropical, but its growth rate makes up for some of that tenderness. I'm not saying it is all over tampa or anything,  just there are and have been a few. 

Further south it becomes more common. 

Wow that's awesome news. Tbh I have no clue about how to winterize it. The minimum temperatures here are about 35F and sometimes the temperature doesn't go above 42 for few days. I doubt it will take that. I'll keep it indoors in the winter probably.

[Than]

20 minutes ago, Xenon said:

I have A. odora, A. gageana, and A. macrrorhiza and together they are probably the most commonly confused and mislabelled trio in the tropical plant industry haha. I still find it difficult to tell the difference too especially when young and through photos (and feels like guessing game at times). Fwiw, I've never seen established/healthy A. macrorrhiza (and its popular form 'Borneo Giant') north of Central Florida-ish in mostly zone 10 +/- areas while the others are common throughout the US Deep South. 

 

Yeah I guess. I live on the border between 9b and 10a. I am planning to winterize it indoors. I have seen many videos where people chop of the leaves, remove the bulb from the soil and keep it in the garage all winter but when I tried to do it the bulb started rotting immediately. I cut the rotten part and planted it again on a heat mat and it sprouted within 3 days! Then it did perfectly fine under grow lights and on the heat mat but of course it is still tiny. When it becomes big it will be difficult. I may have to keep it in the pot but chop off the leaves to be able to keep it indoors.