Very nice 😀 Was that the purple form of cordyline i seen? It never ceases to amaze what you can grow "up north" with a little luck, ingenuity, and mabey sacrificing a lamb or 2 LOL.

I have to say, the sequioa blindsided me. I didnt think someone would try one even in zone 6 let alone 5. But then again, theres people who grow ginko biliba in Edmonton Alberta ( actualy rated zone 2), they get below -30C every winter. Or actic tropical, who grows butia in utah. Or the guy who grows trachycarpus in bulgaria, who i belive doesnt protect em.

Yea Cordyline Australis(possibly red star),the one you probably saw is a new planting(this year),I
also have one that has died back a few years in a row now but always returns from the roots.

The Sequoia has really kicked it in to high gear now,I think it's grown about 6"
so far.

With this heat the Basjoos and Orinoco's are growing anywhere from 4-6"
a day.

I spent all weekend in the garden.
he biggest surprise was seeing that the Cordyline australis is alive! 😀
I bought a small one as an annual and planted it in poor soil last June. It looked fine all summer, but I ignored it after the first frost as, of course, they are annuals.
Today when doing some tidying up I saw that it is alive and sending up some new foliage. Amazing. I'll buy some more this year and treat them with more respect.
As for watching plants grow, the champ today was the little traveler's palm W bought off ebay, shipped from Hawaii. It is in a pot on the patio. It suffered a few weeks ago from lows in the lower 40s.
It loved this weekend and grow a new leaf just over this one weekend.
Her tiny Royal palm, also in a pot on the patio, also grew noticeably this weekend.
--Erik

My basjoos are JUST starting to get goin, its been cloudy fer the last 2 days, but were forcested to get some heat, humidity, and some sun, so i should see some growth this week. he fertilizer works witht he weather, when its warm, and moist, it kicks into high gear, and it also stops working in the winter, and continues in the spring hen it heats up.

So far, this year is awsome:D

Yea,the fertilizer is affected by soil temps,then plants ability to use it;active growth.
The 2 go hand in hand 😀

Be interesting to see how big your root hardy Cordyline gets this year Erik,mine too!
I wonder how many times they can sprout from the roots before they decline.

Mine also changed their growth habit,no more long fat leaves,much more slender like a small yucca.
I will double cover this next winter to see if I can save more foliage,they are VERY sensitive to moisture
and cold together as the bud area and new leaves are very tender.

I bet if you used an inulated wodden box, witha heat cable, or even a compact flouracent bulb for the worse part of the winter will make it survive, and even possibly thrive the winter. If im not mistakin, i belive the bigger they are the more hardy they are also.

I havnt even heard of these growing back from roots. Banana, bamboo and yucca, ya. Makes me wanna try one up here. There onsale fer 2 bucks a 2 foot spike, i should grab a dozen of em and try my luck LOL.

Based on these cordyline regrowth reports, maybe we've been too hasty ripping them out.
I still remember Erik's soil temp of 40F in the middle of winter under all that snow, which is obviously in its "cold tolerance".

Great you've got a traveler's palm!
That'll be fun to watch.

Barb

A buddy of mine, came on msn ( from NC), and was all excited abou this plant hed jsut seen. Said it was the collest plant hed ever seen, he called it a multi banana. So me, not thinking, thought he was licking toads, or somthing of the sort. So he shows me a pic of a travelars palm, and i laughed at him.

THis kid can name off hundreds of medicinal herbs, aroids, aserids and all kinds of plants, and plant info in general. I told him a bit about it, and hes trying to get a few for his house ( indoors of course). Goes to show that theres always more to learn. 😀

Jim-
I read in another post of yours that you are growing itinerans this year. How are they doing and when did you plant them? Also how big were they when you planted? I wonder if they live up to all the hype though...

I was curious enough about the species myself that I've ordered a pair. They come 18" and bare-root and I'll get them on Tuesday. The seller is very reputable and I know they are real itinerans for sure. I've bought other bananas from her in the past (basjoos, etc) and she is a great seller. I have a 60% shade spot picked out for them to go once they are re-rooted in pots for a week or so. I can't wait to see what these do...

A buddy of mine, came on msn ( from NC), and was all excited abou this plant hed jsut seen. Said it was the collest plant hed ever seen, he called it a multi banana. So me, not thinking, thought he was licking toads, or somthing of the sort. So he shows me a pic of a travelars palm, and i laughed at him.

THis kid can name off hundreds of medicinal herbs, aroids, aserids and all kinds of plants, and plant info in general. I told him a bit about it, and hes trying to get a few for his house ( indoors of course). Goes to show that theres always more to learn. 😀

😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀

Kory

Mt Itinerans arrived March 7,I think I planted them around the first of April.
They take a beating early in the year(esp this year!)we had 14 days(or so)with humidity below 30%
and lots of warmth and cool/sun.
They were less than a foot tall when planted but are coming around now.
I have one planted in a slightly shadier spot and one in more sun.

I have read a lot of seemingly conflicting info about shade vs sun and cool vs warm growth.

We'll just have to see for ourselves. I will try and get a pic of them soon but like I said,sun and wind
have been tough early on for all the nanars-like to see what you get when they arrive 😀

I just noticed Barb's comment. Sorry for the delay in replying.
Soil was 40oF going into winter, but then hit 31oF and stayed there quite a while. Warmed up in late January--after W had to deal with frozen pipes (I was conveniently in Belize 😆 )
We got back to soil (4") temps of about 31oF in February. I'll start a winter wrap-up thread soon.
Anyway, the Cordyline coming back was a surprise. I'll have to get a bunch more and treat them with more respect.
Barb, the traveler's palm is doing great. Loves the heat. Personally, I don't like anything, even in pots, unless it is at least zone 9 hardy but W is determined to grow one (+ Royal palm) in containers. So far they are doing great.
--Erik

Thanks for the info Jim. I'll post pics here of what I get when they come. I've read some conflicting info as well. My plan is to put one on either side of a planter in the front yard. One side gets about 60% shade. The other side, about 60% sun. A good experiment I suppose...

My in-ground basjoos got a bit beat up by wind/weather this spring also, lost quite a few leaves. They really coming around now though. The ones I planted early are still a bit slow but their pups have taken off like there's no tomorrow though. 7 new pups coming out of only 3 in-ground plants. I still have several potted bananas which need homes in the ground (hopefully I'll get the time this weekend).

I think without question the best thing to do with Basjoos is to overwinter in ground
(definitely save some pups just in case),my Basjoos pups that are coming back from
last years roots are living up to the claims
of growth I had heard of,growing 5-6" a day.

If you try and save them over winter in pots they will put all their energy into regenerating
a new clump when planted because of the stress,the new clumps are their future so it's
really just a survival mechanism.

At the rate my Basjoos are going now(last years didn't do anything until June)they will be bigger
than they got last year(or the year before)by the end of June-easy!

BTW-
Last year we only had 7 +90 degree days(none in July!)
so far this year we have had 4 and it's not even summer yet-

Go Bananas!

Jim- As I said in my previous post, I'm posting what I got as m. itinerans. They measure almost 2 feet tall overall as promised by seller. I potted them so they can get established in the shade for several days before they go into the ground. As I do with all the bananas I re-pot, cut pups, plant in ground, etc, I used my trusty root hormone powder liberally. The stuff seems to really work, it has not failed me yet! Let me know what you think of these bananas and how they compare to what you got as "itinerans". Sorry if the pics are not great, they were taken with my cell phone...

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Bonus pic: Notice my red yucca is flowering.

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They look about right,you may want to stake them as they may not have had any exposure to wind
and may snappo on you.
Mine are just starting to get some nice sized leaves going -for how small they are.
I will take some pics today.
My Hesperaloe is getting ready to flower too,I think the stalk is almost as tall as me now!

Just a hair over 2" of rain last night!