Latest pics and other stuff that's going in

Oh yes, Jim, very sick! I can hardly wait for the photos to come.
You are way ahead of me in planting. Soil temps (4"/10 cm) in my area are 56oF ( http://www.mesonet.org/) which I am not used to until much later.
I may have to work hard to catch up to a planter from much farther north. --Erik

Erik
I did not check at 8" but yesterday at 5pm the 4" reading was 65f
lows around 60 the last 2 nights and strong sunshine all day help.
The Basjoos are unwinding like twisting telescopes,I will have to get a pic.
It really is amazing how much soil temps play a
role in growth,you would thing 115f(that's right on the ground next to the nanars)
would shoot those banana pups through
the little greenhouse roofs but the soil temp is the key to lift off.

You're a very sick man, Jim.
Next you'll be ripping up the sidewalk for planting.
Where on earth did you have all that stuff in the house!
Need to see pictures of each leaf unfurling...anything green with sunshine behind it.

That planter up north, Erik, is regretting it and wearing longjohns again! 👿

115 next to the naners...that clear plastic sure works!

Enjoy the good weather folks.
Leg suntan race...mine will have the Stanfield's (longjohns) dimples 😕

I headed out to work this morning (casual Friday, right?) in sandals, shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. Now I'm freezing as a cold front hit!
No, not really freezing, but I guess I got ahead of myself. --Erik

First a couple of reference pics from last year.
First pic is Siam ruby,one of my favorite Banana plants!
2nd is the Abyssinian
3rd is Orinoco(I think)Tetrapanax in front and Brazilian fire tree/Mexican tree fern to the left of that.
Arundo donax( var giant reed grass)behind railing on steps-
4th T.fortunei-right to it's left is Rowe red banana
<a href=" " target="_blank"><img src=" " border="0" alt="Siam Ruby/A.americana"></a>
<a href=" " target="_blank"><img src=" " border="0" alt="Abyssinian"></a>
<a href=" " target="_blank"><img src=" " border="0" alt="Looking East"></a>
<a href=" " target="_blank"><img src=" " border="0" alt="T.Fortunei"></a>

Some pics from today-
Siam Ruby,Bizzy and Agave and 2 very small Thai black banana plants

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ABYSSINIAN-already lost most of it's leaves from the wind but has grown 2" the last day or so.
In the back ground is the overwintered(in basement) Orinoco,you can just make out the center pushing up in only 2 days!
Also behind the banana is- Tetrapanex,Siam ruby,T.ferns and another Orinoco + more stuff.

<a href=" " target="_blank"><img src=" " border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

HEAVILY damaged Fortunei did manage to save a few leaves and should see some sign of recovery this month if all goes well-

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In the background-Rowe red bananas,Orinoco,W.robusta in umbrella g-house.

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Colocasia Thai giant,G.manicata,Arundo donax,whats left of the Wagxforts,Basjoos popping and W.filifera and M.Itinerans.

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<a href=" " target="_blank"><img src=" " border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href=" " target="_blank"><img src=" " border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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<a href=" " target="_blank"><img src=" " border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href=" " target="_blank"><img src=" " border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

CACTUS GARDEN ALL CLEANED UP AND BETTER THAN EVER DESPITE THE CARNAGE!

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THANKS FOR LOOKING!

That last year pic of Siam is soooooo nice.

Cactus garden looks good after all that renovating...

No barefoot pictures yet? 😆

I did all the planting in a bathing suit,to hot/fat to fit into anything else!

Wednesday was 81,Thursday was 89-state high temp and a record for the date 😯

Wednesday was 81,Thursday was 89-state high temp and a record for the date 😯

Thats awesome! Enjoy it while you can, it snowed here last night. 😡

Wednesday was 81,Thursday was 89-state high temp and a record for the date 😯

Thats awesome! Enjoy it while you can, it snowed here last night. 😡

Yuck
Snow doesn't last long this time of year,this time last year we had 5"
it was gone by 4:30pm

Looking great Jim! We got that similar weather this week, just my high Thursday was only 82. We had more overcasty kind of haze mixing in which kept us down a little here. low-mid-upper 70s all week otherwise! Back to reality this weekend with 60s but at least it is full sun and upper 40s/low 50s overnight. I'm 97% confident we have seen our last frost already. I usually put veggies in last week of April to about May 1st. I'm thinking if the 15-day Accuweather still looks good by this time next week, it's game-on for the veggies too! Seeing your bananas in has me thinking also. As you probably remember, I dug all mine up last fall and wintered a ton of them indoors at home and at work. Got even more pups in pots to plant now. My mature basjoos saw mid-upper 30s last fall before I dug them out. I was thinking I'd put them back in, along with all their offspring once I'm confident we won't go under 40f. I wonder... My soil is in the mid 60s now and even higher in places where I have forced the issue.

The new trachy we talked about...
<img src= >

<img src= >

Talk about roots! Weighs 110 pounds, 37" trunk, 6.5' overall height. Not a bad find for about a hundred and a half bucks!

<img src= >

It will fill out nicely this summer. The seller had to cut off 7 of the lower fronds in order to ship it and fit in the box. Only downside I guess. With all the roots intact I think it will take right off. Zero soil fell out of the pot, it's all roots. This thing should be so happy to be in the ground.

Mnpalms,
that is indeed a nice Trachy. Start a new thread sometime to show it being planted, thriving over the summer, surviving next winter....
Jim,
I was going back through your photos this morning. Did say you planted a Bizzy?
--Erik

Kory
That thing is massive!-a giant soil sucker 😆

I didn't know "they" would ship that big,where did you say you ordered it and what
company ships that large?
Did you also say the shipping was like 200?
I really hate digging and mixing soil,it's the one thing I am lazy about with so many
things to plant.I mixed in coffee grounds and Milorganite with about everything I planted.
That Trachy has a nice kink in the trunk,you got a good one-John in Colorado strongly believes that the
Trachys with strong SFH trait like your new one are a few degrees more hardy-good score.

Erik
I did plant my bigger Bizzy,it's just to cool/not really bright enough/ in my house over the winter.
I think I would lose it inside eventually.
One of the things I like about having some plants that are"expendable"is we can experiment a little.
Next year I will go with a more minimalist approach to my protection,shut them down,
don't worry about sunlight use less power/heat and keep them 35-45 with a thermocube-
basically refrigerate and store for the winter!

I'll follow your Bizzy with great interest. I love them (who doesn't? 😀 ) but always assumed I couldn't have one until I retire to Belize some day and can have this in my yard:

<a href=" http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9SaV9PdN66ypJb2IKlBUvQ?feat=embedwebsit e"><img src=" " /></a>

The closest I plan to come is to try my Brahea armata in the ground this winter.
--Erik

That's a real beauty, mnpalms.
Worth the price.
From the look of the roots, it's been potted for a long time; should really take off by the end of summer.

You definitely belong here...spending more on shipping than the plant cost 😆

We all love bizzies...
Barb

The better this Bizzy does this summer,the more protection it gets!