Looks great Jay! I can't wait to see what all that looks like by late summer. Looks like you have an awesome view from the back of the house too. Nice spot!

Question for you, a little off topic. How do you post pictures right in your post? I have not been a member here at this forum for very long, but a long-time lurker/reader. The other forums I belong to, adding pictures is easier, or at least I have been able to figure it out. Here, no luck.

I have 4 trachys right now, soon to be 5. I have one that is nearly 6 feet tall in the ground (nice, but still a little lanky), the others potted, and a (nearly) 3x3' needle palm with a big thick trunk in ground. It looks a lot like a 5-gal trachy. I'm adding basjoos this year, I have a few nice 2+ footers that are just about ready to go in the ground.

Rather than changing around the yard and finding a new spot for the larger trachy I have coming, I decided I'll dig up my one in the ground and put it in a large pot and bring it to work. In it's place, will go a 7+ footer with a massive 3+ foot, 6+" diameter trunk. I finally found the right price on a really big one...

I'm torn, I also have a 6 1/2 foot Christmas palm wintering at work, it has summered by my pool in the past, but it is getting pretty big to move. As much as I love the trachys, I have to say the Christmas palm is the most beautiful tree/plant I own! Too bad they are not at all cold hardy.

I have to hand it to you Jay. You always take great pictures! So when you over winter your bananas, do you cut off everything but a few feet of trunk and bring them indoors? I over winter some bananas but I am always afraid to do that in the event that they dont come back!
Cheers,
Christopher

Lookin good there!

It always blows me away to see how far behind you are to us down here in the spring. It looks like June here now. Everything is in full summer leaf already here.

PTF - I just cut the leafs off, not the trunk. I let the banana decide how much to cut off in the spring. What ever dries over the winter I'll cut off down to fresh tissue. The trunks are 8-10ft tall so some I have to lean over sideways. in the storage room.

Hey Nova! Long time no see! My Wife and I visited the National Harbor last Saturday. It was awesome. Then on Sunday we had palms bananas etc. dropped off. We had a great time that day then went to stay with my brother down in Stafford. The next day We visited the U.S. Botanic Garden. Excellent stuff there. I always notice ya'll are from 2-3 weeks ahead. I envy you. This year we got going pretty good here though.

Jay

Nice job Jay! Your basjoos should be huge this year. And your Robusta should fill out really nicely. What happened to the spindle next to the yucca and cacti? I see you had to cut off the fronds...

Thanks. That spindle was my neighbors until he almost killed it last year. He had it in a pot with no drainage holes!!! I got it to grown two fronds but then I had a mite attack this winter. New spear is clean healthy and growing though. Thanks Ryan.

Jay

Jay,always enjoy your pics! it will be fun to see how both our yards do this year,can't wait to see what the washys do this year! B.T.W.my Rose mallow,(hardy hibiscus)has not come up yet.

Just one little friendly warning:

The Colocasia Thailand Giant is going to take over that space and smother everything around it! - before it's too late you may want to move it. That plant has a wide wingspan. Don't let it's early season wimpiness fool you, it will grow very quickly with lots of warmth and water. Each new leaf will double in size and it will sprout many pups.

Here's what mine looked like by mid-summer, and it started out the same size as yours:

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Great pic Xerophyte!!! That's exactly what I'm going for. I knew what I was getting myself into when I got it. LOL! Besides the purple heart and windmill palm, there's nothing else planted there. The purple heart I will divide up and move around once it warms up so that won't be a problem. Oh, I forgot the little dwarf canna that's right there too. It'll just have to cope. LOL! Behind the gigantea I have stuff that'll be much taller. The banana (13-18ft), some canna intrigue (8-10ft) and some canna 'giant peach' (8-10ft). Nothing will go in front of it. BTW canna 'giant peach' is not the official name we just aren't sure of the actual name. Thanks again for the warning and the awesome pic. Here's a pic of the Canna 'Giant Peach". Let me know what you think it is. It looks somewhat related to Omega.

Jay

Jay

Sorry can't really help you with the Canna ID...I have a few varieties but there are so many cultivars and hybrids out there that without a label it can be difficult to pinpoint a name. Good luck with the plantings! This year I am utilizing a soaker hose to keep some of the water lovers satisfied - and to lessen the time I spend watering LOL.

Last summer with the Thailand Giant, I dug a large hole and lined it with a big plastic garbage bag, then filled it in and planted. The reason: poor to zero drainage leads to a swampy, mucky soil that these plants love. I guess it's like a semi-aquatic planting. The problem was that even this was not enough to totally quench their thirsts!

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