I've wondered what you've been up to Paul!

Good to see some pictures, that grass is giant. How tall is it?

You have a very nice cacti collection. Are the barrel cacti hardy or do they need a cover to keep them dry?

The bamboo up against the house has gotten bigger too, do you think it will still need to be bent down or are they getting thick enough to stay upright?

Nice Job!

Bill

Bill- In the pic the grass is perhaps 9 feet, it's over 10 now. The barrel types that I grow are 100% hardy, nothing in that bed gets winter protection. SOme of the larger Opuntia types are taken in since they're still in pots... My plan is to, eventually, cross these with some of the bullet proof. I tried my first this summer which is humifusa x stricta (I think). Interested to see if the seeds take!

The boo's are still able to bend to the ground, AND, as a bonus I can bend the spectibilis down on top of the test bed for extra protection!

Thanks!

Paul,
thanks for sharing.
That is a huge Miscanthus! I just have M. sinensis, and after seeing yours want to try the gigantic one.
Lots of great yucca and cacti. I've set aside space for some in the future but am still doing research, so I enjoy seeing what can be done.
I also want to try bamboo again. more research....
My Musa basjoo have also been a bit disappointing this year. Not bad, just not what I'd hoped for. For what its worth, yours look better then mine do here at 35oN latitude.
The needle and S. minor palms looks fine, but of course I'd like to see more of them.

🙂
--Erik

Erik- Get M. gigantus, it's the most rewarding plant that I grow!

Here are a few more pics of some various Magnolias I'm trying... Most of these are borderline/not-hardy:
Magnolia tripetala:

Another M. tripetala showing the large leaves up to ~2 feet (sorry for the focus):

BBB:

Cactus bed overview from the East:

Needle, it almost looks like a palm:

Magnolia 'biloba' - gets leaves to ~2':

More interesting than exotic is the only Canadian native Magnolia, M. acuminata. This one is grown from Canadian seed so should be fully hardy!

Bonus pic: heptacodium, the Crape Myrtle of the north!

Cactus bed looks terrific!

How did you protect your Needle last winter?+ looks good!

Jim- The needle was in a 'Palm House' which will be insulated this coming winter... I add water jugs and mini-lights to keep the temp above -15C.

Thanks!

And hey- I am starting to come around about the seedling leaf thing in Trachycarpus. I looked over 100 T. fortunei (B.C. source) and the number of ridges is fairly consistent. Of the 100 seedlings I counted 98 had 4 ridges, 1 had 3 ridges, and 1 had 5 ridges! I'll just have to do the same counts of other species to convince myself!

I think in some cases there could be a genetic weakness/under-developement....
but it's pretty reliable so far as far as who's a 2 ridger and who's not-some ????'s
as far as hybrids go though.

Garry's findings with Winsan are very interesting too!

He is in a unique place to observe these palms as he basically can walk out his front door
and whoop,dair it is!

Have you tried any Tesan yet?

Very unique growth habit, will be very interesting to see a mature plant up close.

Nicely done Paul. 8)

Paul thanks for posting those pics. I really liked the desert theme you got going with the cactus and yuccas. La nina is predicted for this this winter. I hope our plants survive what should be colder than normal temps.

John

It could be colder than normal here and be warmer than last year 😀

Forecast from here to the Northeast is warmer than normal this winter-

that would be a welcome change!

Welcome change? What are you talking about? I had a much warmer than normal winter last year... I really hope it's not colder than normal, I dread the next -30C (-20f) event.

😆 😆 😆
I relied on the El Nino this time last winter; all we got was above normal precipitation from it, while that AO I had never heard of before brought the temps here down. Still, it was a zone 7 winter despite being the coldest in many years. So, I tell myself that even with Lan Nina, it has to be better than last year.
W has schemes for winter protection based on life in Michigan, but that is for another thread. As for this thread, again, well done. With all the watering I'm doing lately, cacti and yucca seem very appealing about now....
--Erik

It could be colder than normal HERE and be warmer than last year 😀

Forecast from HERE to the Northeast is warmer than normal this winter-

that would be a welcome change!

PAUL,I HIGHLIGHTED THE WORD IN THE SENTENCE THAT HELPS EXPLAIN WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT-HOPE THIS HELPS you UNDERSTAND. 😉

I focused on this part: "Forecast from HERE to the Northeast is warmer than normal this winter-" because I hope it's right!

I do hope you're warmer than last winter Jim... As long as it doesn't mean that my area has to be colder!