Anyone into rare or exotic?

[Italia]

is the first picture a type of elephant ears plant? i have a elephant ear plant i think its leaves are a little dark. what type of banana plants do you have? right i have a sweet plantain banana tree that is almost ready to be picked and one that is growing plantains right now. in the back of my house i have wild bamboo growing but it isn't on my land. your garden looks relaxing.

The first pic is of a purple stem colocasia fontanessi. It is a crazy plant. I have seen it move its leaves to try and get out of the sun! At first I thought I was imagining it but nope it was moving! I have some abyssinian bananas and a mottled purple one not sure what it is called though. I have never been able to get fruit from my trees. The ones I have now are only two years old so they are still pretty small. They take to much water. I am thinking of selling them and just using the banana canna for the big leaf look. They are much more hardy and wind proof unlike my bananas that are always torn up. The minute they look great here comes a storm.

I really love bamboo. I have eight different kinds. All clumping of course. I do believe that their is a special place in hell for people that plant invasive bamboos.lol

 

[theuglyduckling]

The first pic is of a purple stem colocasia fontanessi. It is a crazy plant. I have seen it move its leaves to try and get out of the sun! At first I thought I was imagining it but nope it was moving! I have some abyssinian bananas and a mottled purple one not sure what it is called though. I have never been able to get fruit from my trees. The ones I have now are only two years old so they are still pretty small. They take to much water. I am thinking of selling them and just using the banana canna for the big leaf look. They are much more hardy and wind proof unlike my bananas that are always torn up. The minute they look great here comes a storm.

I really love bamboo. I have eight different kinds. All clumping of course. I do believe that their is a special place in hell for people that plant invasive bamboos.lol

to bad you dont live in pr the banana trees grow fast and in like a year they start to fruit. yes they do not have a strong structure they usually fall once they do start growing fruit and once the fruit are ripe enough to eat the tree has already fallen down. the one that has the sweet plantains is already touching the ground and the one with the plantains is almost to the ground. you can cook with the banana leaves too. people usually wrap things in the leaves and cook with it. oh and after you take the fruit off the tree if it hasn't fallen yet it will regrow another one right next to where the one died. if it didnt fall you can cut it like a little more than half way and another will regrow.

lol i have no idea what type bamboo is planted i just know they are green and like 20 feet tall. they are all over pr like on the side of the high ways and stuff.

 

[Italia]

to bad you dont live in pr the banana trees grow fast and in like a year they start to fruit. yes they do not have a strong structure they usually fall once they do start growing fruit and once the fruit are ripe enough to eat the tree has already fallen down. the one that has the sweet plantains is already touching the ground and the one with the plantains is almost to the ground. you can cook with the banana leaves too. people usually wrap things in the leaves and cook with it. oh and after you take the fruit off the tree if it hasn't fallen yet it will regrow another one right next to where the one died. if it didnt fall you can cut it like a little more than half way and another will regrow.

lol i have no idea what type bamboo is planted i just know they are green and like 20 feet tall. they are all over pr like on the side of the high ways and stuff.

I used to work with someone who lived in Mexico. He said that they chopped down bananas in 12" slices and would plant seeds in them such as strawberries and others and set into the ground for a good moist start. I wish I lived in an environment that did not freeze. I am so envious that you can have fruit in one year. For me in Texas, I would have to wrap the plant over winter and provide a large amount of water that is not normally provided by our location here.

 

[theuglyduckling]

I used to work with someone who lived in Mexico. He said that they chopped down bananas in 12" slices and would plant seeds in them such as strawberries and others and set into the ground for a good moist start. I wish I lived in an environment that did not freeze. I am so envious that you can have fruit in one year. For me in Texas, I would have to wrap the plant over winter and provide a large amount of water that is not normally provided by our location here.

oh thats a good idea about the planting strawberries in it. never thought about planting things with it. im kinda surprised that people are able to grow them in other place that arent tropical. you should try coconut trees.

 

[Italia]

oh thats a good idea about the planting strawberries in it. never thought about planting things with it. im kinda surprised that people are able to grow them in other place that arent tropical. you should try coconut trees.

It is funny you say that. I got married in Kauai and in the airport leaving they had coconuts that were sprouted! I wanted one sooooo bad. My new hubby asked" well how tall do they get?" So I answer "oh around 60 feet" His reply was that their was no way he is going to drag that in and out of the house when it freezes.lol I have lot's of tropical and no greenhouse yet. At one of the gardens in Kauai I heard about a dwarf coconut but have been unable to find it here. I really wish I could. I use the oil for my lotions I make. I bought a coconut at the store and sat it in a parlor palms pot. I can hear something round inside of the shell when I slosh it around a bit, but no signs of life that I can tell. Any tips? It would be just for fun. Coconuts from what I read only live a few years in a captive environment and will not fruit.

 

[theuglyduckling]

It is funny you say that. I got married in Kauai and in the airport leaving they had coconuts that were sprouted! I wanted one sooooo bad. My new hubby asked" well how tall do they get?" So I answer "oh around 60 feet" His reply was that their was no way he is going to drag that in and out of the house when it freezes.lol I have lot's of tropical and no greenhouse yet. At one of the gardens in Kauai I heard about a dwarf coconut but have been unable to find it here. I really wish I could. I use the oil for my lotions I make. I bought a coconut at the store and sat it in a parlor palms pot. I can hear something round inside of the shell when I slosh it around a bit, but no signs of life that I can tell. Any tips? It would be just for fun. Coconuts from what I read only live a few years in a captive environment and will not fruit.

i think i have seen the mini coconut tree in az at a home depot store that i went to. it had coconuts on it and i told my mom, but she thought i was just making it up. lol yes they get very tall but it takes awhile to actually get that big. im not sure how to get yours to grow anything because i just take the coconuts that fall and place them where ever i feel like planting them and they start to grow a couple months later usually like four or five months later. we also leave the outer covering on it the stuff that covers the coconut shell. but you should leave it in the pot and not cover it with dirt just leave it how it is. oh and make sure to water it and make sure it has some sun too.

 

[Italia]

i think i have seen the mini coconut tree in az at a home depot store that i went to. it had coconuts on it and i told my mom, but she thought i was just making it up. lol yes they get very tall but it takes awhile to actually get that big. im not sure how to get yours to grow anything because i just take the coconuts that fall and place them where ever i feel like planting them and they start to grow a couple months later usually like four or five months later. we also leave the outer covering on it the stuff that covers the coconut shell. but you should leave it in the pot and not cover it with dirt just leave it how it is. oh and make sure to water it and make sure it has some sun too.

"where ever I feel like planting them" you are so lucky to have dirt! Dirt, rain, no freezing geez,you do not know how good you got it. The only dirt I have here is stuff I bring in. I have raised beds and use our horse manure.
I have heard stories about planting coconuts when a baby is born and when he/she is older it will provide for them and their new family. The story I read was told in a very beautiful way and I am in no way doing it justice.

 

[Italia]

to bad you dont live in pr the banana trees grow fast and in like a year they start to fruit. yes they do not have a strong structure they usually fall once they do start growing fruit and once the fruit are ripe enough to eat the tree has already fallen down. the one that has the sweet plantains is already touching the ground and the one with the plantains is almost to the ground. you can cook with the banana leaves too. people usually wrap things in the leaves and cook with it. oh and after you take the fruit off the tree if it hasn't fallen yet it will regrow another one right next to where the one died. if it didnt fall you can cut it like a little more than half way and another will regrow.

lol i have no idea what type bamboo is planted i just know they are green and like 20 feet tall. they are all over pr like on the side of the high ways and stuff.

Supplementing with silica will help the strength of your ban nan nays. I was just thinking. I use this for my bamboos to stay strong in the wind.

 

[theuglyduckling]

Supplementing with silica will help the strength of your ban nan nays. I was just thinking. I use this for my bamboos to stay strong in the wind.

what is silica?

and the dirt idk how or why it is so fertile but i guess im lucky. the only thing is that idk how to plant garlic sense doesn't garlic need the winter?

 

[Italia]

what is silica?

and the dirt idk how or why it is so fertile but i guess im lucky. the only thing is that idk how to plant garlic sense doesn't garlic need the winter?

You can find silica at garden supply stores of hydroponic shops it is a great supplement. I am unsure on the garlic. I planted mine for the first time last year and just left them to naturalize and do their thing. Maybe just plant a few cloves and see how they do. Garlic is pretty cheap so it would not put you out more than a few bucks to try.