A Midwestern Tropical Garden

Chili Grill and jalapeno peppers

Peppers are a tropical plant that I enjoy very much. This year I've chosen to plant the variety Sonora - available from Gurney's and other places. I raised mine from seed. Its probably too late for that, but you can still get the plants from Gurney's or other places. Sometimes Lowe's carries them around here. They are slightly bigger in length and girth than some of the other varieties and fit nicely in a roaster.

One fantastic way to prepare the peppers is to stuff them with cream cheese mix and roast them on the grill. A handy way to roast them is using a Chili Grill . This is basically a flat piece of plate stainless steel holes drilled in it and legs to support the chilis above the heat. The Chili Grill web page has both grills and recipes for your dining pleasure. Yum!

More on Cannas

The spring is progressing rapidly! I've got my Wyomings potted up and growing. Also, I've been busy potting up Tropicanna, President, Pretoria, Longwood Taney, Longwood Erebus, Longwood Ra (don't have Longwood Endeavor yet, anybody want to trade?), Lucifer, and Australia. Everything is sprouted and ranging from about 1 inch tall to about a foot tall. They will be ready to kick the garden off to a great start when frost-free weather hits. For now, window ledges and some outside days have to do...

The cannas I started from seeds are also doing well - they are about 6 inches tall now. It will be fun to see the flowers from these - the leaves look very much like their Longwood parents!

Heliconia Seeds

Here are some pictures showing seeds of a few different species of Heliconia that I am going to plant over the next few days.

Heliconia schiedeana - Hardy Heliconia

Heliconia latispatha - Golden Lobster Claw

Heliconia tortuosa - Red Twist Heliconia

The scale at the bottom of all the images is calibrated in mm.

Heliconia need to be rooted in a moist peat-based potting mix. I plan to use 50% peat and 50% vermiculite. The mix should be kept damp and at a temperature of between 70 and 85 degrees fahrenheit. My propagator maintains a temperature of 75 degrees, so this should be perfect. Germination time should be 1-2 weeks. I'll let you know how it goes!

Tropical Seed Germination Info

Germinating tropical plants can be a fun and interesting challenge! Jungle Seeds provides an excellent and comprehensive summary of how to get many different kinds of tropical seeds to germinate. Click here to download a copy.

In addition, Jungle Seeds sells tropical seeds of various types. Although they are from the UK, they will ship internationally!

They also have an interesting article on growing bananas from seed. This is a topic near and dear to my heart and I will write more on this later, but the Jungle Seeds article is quite inspiring - especially the red-leaved bananas!

My Orange and Purple Flowerbed – Electric and Tropical!

I’ve got a spot in my front yard where I like to put an old whisky barrel half. It gets sun most of the time during the day, and I want to plant something that my family and the neighbors will enjoy – even if it’s a bit unusual, as we take our daily walks.

This year I’ve decided to go a somewhat offbeat route regarding color schemes. I’m blessed with a good supply of Canna ‘Wyoming’ rhizomes. If you aren’t familiar with that particular Canna cultivar – it’s a very tall plant (grows to about 6-8 feet) and is topped with beautiful orange blossoms. The foliage is purple. Using this Canna will be perfect for my summer bed.

I want to achieve a three-layered look, with some tall Cannas in back, an interesting intermediate layer planted in the flower barrel, and some annuals down in front.

The book Exotics are Easy was a useful read in planning this bed. Short articles with lots of pictures let you make quick work of choosing species and cultivars for your garden projects. Multiple authors present several styles - all of which are refreshingly different. I highly recommend it for flowerbed planning purposes!

Ultimately, I decided that I will use five Wyomings in a semicircle on the west side of the whisky barrel away from the road. These magnificent plants will form an excellent backdrop for the bed. I’ll plant them about 18 – 24 inches apart and space them about a foot from the edge of the barrel.

For the intermediate layer, I want to maintain the tropical look, but with some unusual plants that will contrast the Wyomings nicely. I’ve chosen an Alocasia x amazonica cultivar called ‘Polly’ as the centerpiece. This is an unusual elephant ear that has green scalloped foliage with large silvery-white veins. It’s a dwarf version of the African Mask alocasia. Dwarf, so it doesn’t overgrow the pot, and showy to contrast the Cannas behind it. In order to provide more interest for the eye, I’m also going to use a variegated spider plant Chlorophytum comosum ‘Vitattum’ that has a white stripe down the center of each leaf. This is a common houseplant, but works well in containers outside as well. The beautiful lime-green sweet potato vine Ipomoea batatas ‘Sweet Caroline Light Green’ will fill in the barrel and spill over the sides.

On the east side of the barrel and for the bottom layer, the intensely-colored Zinnia elegans ‘Zowie Zinnia’ gets the nod. This new cultivar is being marketed by the Burpee Seed Company this year. Seven or eight of these arranged in front of the barrel should make an outstanding orange and red connection to the Wyomings in back.

I will pot the Canna and Alocasia rhizomes up about the middle of March. Zinnias will be planted from seeds on about the first of April – I like to use Jiffy 7 peat pellets for this because they are so easy to transplant. The spider plant is already rooting. It is an offshoot from an established plant at my place of work. Local greenhouses always have lots of sweet potato vine. If you can’t find Sweet Caroline, try the old favorite chartreuse - Marguerite.

New Cannas!

I've been experimenting with growing some Cannas from seed. They are just poking their heads up above the potting mix now! Should be ready to plant outside on about June 1. I'll post some pictures as they grow!

Cannas don't come true to their parent when you grow them from seed, but it is interesting to see what you will get. New colors, leaf forms, and other surprises await when you go this route.

Canna seeds have a very hard outer shell on them. In fact, some think that in centurys past, people used to use them as shot for hunting. One species, Canna indica, even bears the common name Indian Shot because of this. In order to get them to grow, you must scarify them first. Basically, this means that you need to file or cut a notch in the outer coating. Use a triangular file and cut down until you see the white endosperm material. Soak the seeds for a couple of days in water (changing the water daily helps too). Then plant them in a soilless potting mix at a depth of about 1/2 inch. Keep them at a temperature of 70-75 degrees. It takes about a week or so for them to germinate. Fertilize with Miracle Gro as you water. Keep the potting mix moist. When they finally do pop their heads up above the growth medium, put them in a warm, sunny spot and enjoy!

After all danger of frost is gone, they should be planted outside - either in a container or in a well-prepared garden spot. They will blossom all summer long if you keep them watered and fed.

Heliconia - a most beautiful tropical plant!

Heliconias are one plant that can be tough to grow in the Midwest. I was first exposed to this genus during a trip to Singapore.

They are beautiful plants - well worth the effort. Most take about 18 months to flower, so will require wintering over to get the most out of them. Winter in a cool, well-lit spot in your home. Water sparingly, and mist occasionally to provide the humidity level that they love. There are hundreds of named cultivars out there. The book by Berry and Kress is an excellent way to fine those that will look the best in your garden. I highly recommend it!

Purchasing heliconias is easy. Here are some links from my list of favorites that offer seeds, rhizomes, and whole plants.

Aloha Tropicals
Top Tropicals
Eldon Access Plants

A Midwestern Tropical Garden

In this blog, I will outline my ideas for growing the perfect Tropical Garden in the temperate Midwestern United States. I will describe the plants I use, tropical garden design aspects, and other interesting ideas.