The season ends at the Exotic Garden…
Posted on | October 20, 2011 | 6 Comments
This weekend sees the last open day of the season at Exotic Garden and it looks like being a rather cool one, but hopefully with brilliant sun and a blue sky. With our terribly fickle climate, especially over the last few years, it is impossible to predict the weather at this time of year, as some Octobers have been relatively warm, though this year it’s definitely going to be on the cold side but whatever the day brings I will be here to give advice on preparing those tender and not so tender perennials for winter. I will be tacking cuttings as well as starting to bring all those treasured gems under cover for the winter. Many, or should I say most gardeners will not have brought all their borderline plants under cover yet – fear not though, just place some horticultural fleece over your cherished plants which will give them around 2C of protection. I have even used old sheets or net curtains in the past, draped over to keep in a little heat as the ground is still relatively warm. Living in the city of Norwich it doesn’t get quite as cold as out in the wilds of Norfolk, so I usually have a few weeks advantage.
After the resent freezing winters many of us are now rather wary after losing so many plants such as Cordyline’s and Phormiums. Even my standard bay tree took an icy bashing last winter which was a surprise as I have never seen such damage in past winters with dead foliage and peeling bark.
Thinking of Phormiums – my oldest plant, a Phormium tenax variegata at around 20 years old and at least 12ft across sadly had to be removed in the spring as it looked dreadful by late winter, being a mere shadow of its former self. It was quite a job to remove it as it had such an extensive root system! My old specimen was replaced along with several others in late spring which are all now looking absolutely fabulous. This winter though for the first time I will be protecting them, something I have never had to do before in the 29 years I have lived here. Like most gardeners I don’t want to keep replacing them as they can be rather expensive to say the least, especially in these recessionary times. If we are running into a series of cold winters, minimizing winter damage is essential and for a small amount of work and a few pounds spent on materials, it will save a lot of money in the long run. By early November I will be pulling all the foliage up into a point and constructing a simple wigwam of 4-5 canes tied together at the top then horticultural fleece firmly attached to the structure so it doesn’t blow off when winter gales blow their hardest. This will give some freezing wind chill protection and also keep snow from falling into the crowns as well as keeping them dry. Dry plants are far more cold tolerant than wet ones!
All new Phormiums will be protected this winter...
Around ten or so years ago I stopped protecting my large clumps of Musa basjoo as most of the winters during that period never fell much below 2-3C and well within their tolerance. The cold winter before last cut mine down to the ground, something that has never happened here before. They never-the-less lived up to their common name ‘the root hardy banana’ as dozens of new shoots came up with a vengeance along with the older shoots which soon grew back up to around 8ft tall in the summer.
new shoots in the spring...
Last winter, with the aid of plantsman extraordinaire Jamie Spooner, all the bananas were wrapped by bending down the foliage from the tops of all the trunks to form a skirt around each one, then bamboo canes were placed around the clumps about 1ft from the stems then horticultural fleece was wrapped around and finally filled up with loose straw to about a one foot above the stem tops. Over the structure was placed a sheet of plastic firmly secured with waterproof tape to keep out the winter rains. I do not use bubble wrap to protect plants as I have found that it tends to make them sweat on hot days, hence fleece or sacking is preferable as it lets the stems breath and keep dry. This method can be used for any plant that you think will suffer from being frozen solid!
Several people thought I was going rather over the top last autumn, suggesting that the winter before last had been a one off! For the few hours’ work it took, the result was that all the clumps came through the coldest winter in living memory, rising to huge proportions this year with several stems well over 12ft tall with a similar span.
Many plants reach their greatest size in stature and foliage just before the first hard frosts cut them down, though when it does this is the sign that action has to be taken.
Colocasia esculent and fontanesii still looking good...
Some enthusiasts prepare plants early by bringing such plants as Cannas in whole or cutting them down before frosts appear. I prefer to wait until frost has cut them down for me, then I have no qualms about cutting off all the top growth and storing the large root systems in slated trays using composted bark in-between them, then storing them in a dry frost free place for the winter months checking occasionally for any mould which must be removed.
Colocasias and Cannas are stored under the bench for the winter months at 5C
Over the next few weeks and hopefully before any really cold weather appears; my good self and a dedicated team of helpers will be bringing in and preparing all those tender exotics for their winter vacation under protection. My Conservatory and Polly-tunnels are now lined with UV stable bubble insulation and all the heaters, thermostats, propagation benches etc checked and ready for the winter, so without further ado as the sun is shining, I’m going to start bringing in my ever expanding collection of Bromeliads – I’m sure many of them are twice as big as they were last year!
Some of the Bromeliads under cover ready for winter...
This is sadly my last article of the season for this year in the EDP; though I will be back next year when spring arrives with lots of new stories. For those of you on the internet though, you can follow my weekly blog right through the winter. Whatever the winter throws at you and your garden – have a good one and stay positive, spring always returns…
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6 Responses to “The season ends at the Exotic Garden…”
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October 20th, 2011 @ 2:56 pm
Had first frost last night,have put all bananas,colocasias and varius other tender stuff in greenhouses and have packed up cannas, tuberus begonias and eucomis today. Lots of green leaves on plants still, hope this does not create mildew, will light heaters when really cold.
October 21st, 2011 @ 8:58 am
We never had the chance to visit your garden this year, but hopefully next year we can! We visited a couple of years ago and it was most enjoyable. Your garden is inspirational. Have a lovely winter break, and yes, spring will be here soon (eventually anyway!).
October 25th, 2011 @ 9:55 pm
we have also had our first mild frost, so I have been beavering away, still have the cannas and eucomis to bring in. I have given up wrapping my bananas as they still keeled over, but luckily come back from the roots!
I have split the Colacasia and Fontanesii, some are in the greenhouse and some are in the house. Lets see which do better!
October 26th, 2011 @ 10:12 pm
I hope your open garden year was wildly successful, Wilsers, and will think about you putting things to bed for the duration. Isn’t it about time to come visit sunny California? The time changes pretty soon and I know that’s a bad time for you. I bet you have sunny climes ahead with your tours to exotic islands – at least I hope that’s the case. At any rate, our little casita is always open for you, darling boy, and a guest room at the ready. Coco sends his love, xoxoBakey
November 1st, 2011 @ 4:56 pm
What a beautiful tropical garden. How long does it take to move some of the more sensitive plants into greenhouses?
November 2nd, 2011 @ 8:12 pm
Julie – Hope your first frost didn’t affect your plants to much! At least it’s really mild now for a while as I still have a lot to get in!
Marc and Gaz – looking forward to seeing you both again next summer – I will make sure it looks extra exotic for you…
Libby – You have been working really hard getting all your plants in – well worth it though for an excellent 2012!
Baker – Hallo dear friend – It has been a good if not a cool summer, in fact it was the coldest for 20 years! I would love to come and visit you again in California – that would make it four times. Really want to see your new place and see how you’ve both put your mark on it. I will be in the States on March 17th, as I will be talking at a seminar in Philadelphia – I can’t be kept from the US for long! I have some friends in Tucson who want me to visit as well can I have a life extension please to fit everything in!
Phil – Far too long, I have been pulling things in for over a week now and haven’t started on anything in the ground yet! Luckily it is still very mild, so I think two more weeks should do it – then I can relax – a bit!