Your photos are inspiring. How do you greenhouse so many tropicals in winter?? I would love to find Jack's Giant. I it in full sun?
Johanna

A friend sent me that picture because she knows how much I love tropical plants. I opened it and then had to reply..."That's Boca Joe, his gardens are amazing!" Just to prove what a small world even the internet is! You have inspired me for the past few years!

Johanna,

It gets about 6 hours of direct sun in early summer, about 3-4 now. It's on the ne side of the front steps.

It's easy to overwinter, remember that all of the cannas and elephant ears, bananas, all have the foliage cut off at the corm or rhizomes. I have it down to a science now. I have learned to overwinter stuff in the smallest pots possible. most cuttings go in a 6.5" square pot, even the now 6' tall alocasias go into small pots. The cannas goes in the giant ziplock bags, the bananas get cut off at about 2-3' and stuck in liquor boxes.

I use my small gh basically as a cool storage place. You can do the same with a bedroom with the heat vent shut off.

even the plants that overwinter in a semi-growing state, get cut back and stuck in the smallest pots possible.

It all works quite well.

Thanks for the compliments from both of you!

Boca Joe

PS here is a link to all of my garden photos.

Here is a link that might be useful: Boca Joe's Online Albums

Joe,

Talk about a voice from the past! We corresponded years ago when we were both on the Hibicus Mail List (you knew me as Gerry).

Could you give more details about how you overwinter your Elephant Ears? I currently have about 20 huge Colocasias, Alocasias, and Xanthosomas growing in 9-12 gallon pots. I've previously allowed them to go dormant and overwintered them in the same pots they've grown in all summer, but that takes a lot of space.

How do you store yours in "small" pots? Do you cut off some or all of the root ball? When?

P.S. I don't have Jack's Giant, but have Thai Giant. The leaves are as large as Jack's but the stems much shorter - only 3-4 feet. I don't know if that's normal for that cultivar or not.

Thanks, Gerry