Tropical Garden planning

[ChicagoPalma]

I'm going to start a tropical garden with some landscaping, problem is, my backyard is too cramped with a pergola, garden, possible pool, and there is just not enough room. So I'm planning to do a small section as a tropical garden that is not too large but not too small, so it will also be easy to protect. I'm also planning to landscape the front yard and sprinkle on some tropical plants. So I'm mostly going to do the front yard this year. I already have most plants picked out for this, including mums, african marigolds,  Elephant ear "Thai Giant" , Mexican fan palm or windmill palm, hydrangea, bird of paradise white & orange, canna lillies, and musa basjoo. Happy news, only one toothpick for four months in the front yard! Plants who regrow from rhizome or bulb will be heavily mulched. I will remove the elephant ear bulb every year and plant it back in April/May. I will possibly start landscaping in April and plant the musa basjoo and bulbs in late april after the last frost date. If you guys have any suggestions and tips and advice, that would help.

[Las Palmas Norte]

3 hours ago, ChicagoPalma said:

...If you guys have any suggestions and tips and advice, that would help.

Deep pockets help. 😁 Start small at test the waters with a couple of trial plantings first. Expand as you learn about your hobby. Keep us posted.

[PalmatierMeg]

2 minutes ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

Deep pockets help. 😁 Start small at test the waters with a couple of trial plantings first. Expand as you learn about your hobby. Keep us posted.

Excellent advice

[MarcusH]

I'm not a plant expert but elephant ears are hardy in zones 9 and up so digging them out before the freeze makes sense . Canna lilies are hardy down to 0°F zone 7.  You will have a lot of digging and replanting going on plus winterizing your palms peww you sure are on a mission.  Everything I can suggest to turn your yard into the tropics would turn into winterizing your plants and palms .  

[ChicagoPalma]

Possibly I might just put some c9 lights around or near the area and cover with a tarp of frost cloth. All plants with a rhizome will just get cut to the ground, possibly some c9 lights on the ground and a tarp or frost cloth to cover it. If that doesn’t work, I’m going to have to buy new plants for the yard ever year.

[ChicagoPalma]

Most Plants should survive every winter except African marigolds and maybe Bird of paradise.

[Little Tex]

my bird of paradise got obliterated by an 8b winter, normally I protect them anyway but I was out of town.

[ChicagoPalma]

1 hour ago, Little Tex said:

my bird of paradise got obliterated by an 8b winter, normally I protect them anyway but I was out of town.

I think you can probably just cut them to the stem and mulch them heavily during the winter. They can regrow from a rhizome I think.

[ChicagoPalma]

20 hours ago, MarcusH said:

I'm not a plant expert but elephant ears are hardy in zones 9 and up so digging them out before the freeze makes sense . Canna lilies are hardy down to 0°F zone 7.  You will have a lot of digging and replanting going on plus winterizing your palms peww you sure are on a mission.  Everything I can suggest to turn your yard into the tropics would turn into winterizing your plants and palms .  

I might only have to dig out the elephant ear. What im going to do is I let the elephant ear go through one minor frost to kill of any leaves , then i cut them all off, and dig out the bulb and store the large bulb and some roots until spring when I plant it back. Either way the elephant ear thai giant will get giant ever year and regrow faster.

[ChicagoPalma]

20 hours ago, MarcusH said:

I'm not a plant expert but elephant ears are hardy in zones 9 and up so digging them out before the freeze makes sense . Canna lilies are hardy down to 0°F zone 7.  You will have a lot of digging and replanting going on plus winterizing your palms peww you sure are on a mission.  Everything I can suggest to turn your yard into the tropics would turn into winterizing your plants and palms .  

Canna lillies will be fine and will survive the winter, bird of paradise might as well if it can regrow from a rhizome.

[Little Tex]

54 minutes ago, ChicagoPalma said:

Canna lillies will be fine and will survive the winter, bird of paradise might as well if it can regrow from a rhizome.

Canna lillies will need to be dug up no way no how will they grow back staying the the ground that cold. Your temperature will start to freeze rhizomes, Bird of paradise cant even survive well in 9a, again, just use pots, and you can have all these plants and more, you can even just dig a hole for the pot and pull it out when you need to over winter them.

[Allen]

8 minutes ago, Little Tex said:

Canna lillies will need to be dug up no way no how will they grow back staying the the ground that cold. Your temperature will start to freeze rhizomes, Bird of paradise cant even survive well in 9a, again, just use pots, and you can have all these plants and more, you can even just dig a hole for the pot and pull it out when you need to over winter them.

Canna lily and elephant ear will come back in ground in zone 6 in many cases.  Unmulched our elephant ear and canna at ground level all are coming back from our -1F and 88 hours below freezing.  Normally I recommend 6"-1 foot of wood mulch in zone 6. 

[Little Tex]

5 minutes ago, Allen said:

Canna lily and elephant ear will come back in ground in zone 6 in many cases.  Unmulched our elephant ear and canna at ground level all are coming back from our -1F and 88 hours below freezing.  Normally I recommend 6"-1 foot of wood mulch in zone 6. 

yeah but chicagos -22? as an indiana native im suprised the tulips came up

[Allen]

28 minutes ago, Little Tex said:

yeah but chicagos -22? as an indiana native im suprised the tulips came up

He will need to plant by house - yes in Chicago.  Safest practice to split off a few of each and overwinter spares in garage or under house as EE and canna will make multiple bulbs each year and need to be divided anyway.  

https://www.briansbotanicals.net/product/colocasia-pink-china/

Read reviews

https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/161422/#b

Edited March 10, 2023 by Allen

[ChicagoPalma]

6 minutes ago, Little Tex said:

yeah but chicagos -22? as an indiana native im suprised the tulips came up

-22 hasn't touched chicago land for years. Also I might consider the suggestion where you pull out the pot for the bird of paradise.

Edited March 10, 2023 by ChicagoPalma

[Palmlex]

1 hour ago, Allen said:

Canna lily and elephant ear will come back in ground in zone 6 in many cases.  Unmulched our elephant ear and canna at ground level all are coming back from our -1F and 88 hours below freezing.  Normally I recommend 6"-1 foot of wood mulch in zone 6. 

Last winter (2021-2022) I had a minimum of 16F, which makes it a zone 8 winter and my Cannas never came back.

[Allen]

24 minutes ago, Palmlex said:

Last winter (2021-2022) I had a minimum of 16F, which makes it a zone 8 winter and my Cannas never came back.

Pretty unlucky!  I have had lows much worse than that for years with numerous varieties of canna and not sure any have been lost.  And we have wet winters.  I have dwarf, regular and giant varieties.  I have relatives in N TN with much worse winters with canna and they never do anything and they have been there forever.

Here is a read on cold hardy canna.  If you take the time to read you'll see they are coming back in zones 5 too.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/1789135/9-things-i-ve-learned-about-canna-in-zone-5-storage-planting#n=99

Edited March 10, 2023 by Allen

[Jack Lord]

I am in 7A, a bit warmer than Chicago. I let the first frost whack my Musas, Cannas, and Elephant Ears/Taros. I then cut them down to the ground and cover the stumps with mulch or leaves. I don't have the energy to dig them up every Fall They come back every year without a hitch.

I would think with some exta mulch and maybe a layer of something else, you could do the same. The great thing about Taro is you can get tons at the grocery store.

Edited March 10, 2023 by Jack Lord

[ChicagoPalma]

6 hours ago, Jack Lord said:

I am in 7A, a bit warmer than Chicago. I let the first frost whack my Musas, Cannas, and Elephant Ears/Taros. I then cut them down to the ground and cover the stumps with mulch or leaves. I don't have the energy to dig them up every Fall They come back every year without a hitch.

I would think with some exta mulch and maybe a layer of something else, you could do the same. The great thing about Taro is you can get tons at the grocery store.

Mulch, tarp, and some heating wire/lights is what I plan to use.

[Palmlex]

3 hours ago, ChicagoPalma said:

Mulch, tarp, and some heating wire/lights is what I plan to use.

The combination of mulch and heating wire/lights doesn't sound particularly safe to me. Maybe you could get away with using more mulch?

[Jack Lord]

11 hours ago, ChicagoPalma said:

Mulch, tarp, and some heating wire/lights is what I plan to use.

Not sure how about the size of your protected areas. Maybe set a layer of burlap, then mulch, and finally leaves.

I agree heating wires and mulch might be risky.

[Allen]

4 minutes ago, Jack Lord said:

Not sure how about the size of your protected areas. Maybe set a layer of burlap, then mulch, and finally leaves.

I agree heating wires and mulch might be risky.

yes you don't need heat.  Mulch and tarp is fine.

[ChicagoPalma]

I was planning to possibly use like a low heat one, but either way I might get away with just a lot of mulch and some tarp or frost cloth.

[ChicagoPalma]

Good news! Two weeks before I go to Mexico, I might steal a couple seedlings and seeds and pack them in an extra partially empty bag. The species won’t be invasive or species that are not in the US so I will be able to bring them. After Mexico, I will start landscaping.

[Quasarecho]

My advise would be to NOT try crossing the border or bring in on a flight any plant material. The potential trouble will be more than it's worth.

Regarding Cannas and other tropicals. I'm South of where you're at and I have to dig Cannas and Elephant's Ear and bring into the garage after the frost. I have been successful with Musa Basjoo left in-ground near the South side of the house, mulched heavily and covered with  small tarp. 

Good luck with the garden!

[Las Palmas Norte]

3 hours ago, ChicagoPalma said:

...The species won’t be invasive or species that are not in the US so I will be able to bring them. ...

Huh? 

[N8ALLRIGHT]

3 hours ago, ChicagoPalma said:

Good news! Two weeks before I go to Mexico, I might steal a couple seedlings and seeds and pack them in an extra partially empty bag. The species won’t be invasive or species that are not in the US so I will be able to bring them. After Mexico, I will start landscaping.

Rethink this. You're not going to get anything there that you can't get ( order) here. U.S customs at best if they search you will pitch your seeds or plants, more likely levy a fine. I know it's fun to collect seeds,I do so myself. Just collect in Florida, California, Texas etc and save the headache and possibly $$$$.

[ChicagoPalma]

I may have said the wrong thing or said it in the wrong way or just didn’t think it through. 

[ChicagoPalma]

4 hours ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

Huh? 

 

4 hours ago, N8ALLRIGHT said:

Rethink this. You're not going to get anything there that you can't get ( order) here. U.S customs at best if they search you will pitch your seeds or plants, more likely levy a fine. I know it's fun to collect seeds,I do so myself. Just collect in Florida, California, Texas etc and save the headache and possibly $$$$.

Yeah I forgot to do some research, my fault.

[Little Tex]

14 hours ago, ChicagoPalma said:

 

Yeah I forgot to do some research, my fault.

My Grandpa has dual citizenship and he freaked out when they left the pit in the avocados he got in santa rosalia. Normally at the grocery store they ask if hes taking them to america and they cut it open and put a pepper where the pit was to keep it fresh. But recently they left it in. He got it across even though he was mad, so I should try and get it haha!

[ChicagoPalma]

Welp, we got hit with snow overnight, but it should melt in a couple days so we can at least get a day in the 60s with high humidity and without rain. My windmill will definitely enjoy the day with warm weather so it can recover.

[ChicagoPalma]

Good news, it will be a warm spring break staying in the 50s here in Chicago.

[ChicagoPalma]

Good news, my palm tree seeds have now a little root, also my windmill seeds I got are washingtonia seeds because it should take them longer to start to sprout because I forgot to stratify them and they sprouted over a month. They also don't have the kidney shape. So I might reorder and get some authentic ones.

[Las Palmas Norte]

3 hours ago, ChicagoPalma said:

Good news, my palm tree seeds have now a little root, also my windmill seeds I got are washingtonia seeds because it should take them longer to start to sprout because I forgot to stratify them and they sprouted over a month. They also don't have the kidney shape. So I might reorder and get some authentic ones.

That, was very confusing.