Alocasia Macrorrhizos

This is one impressive beastie which will have your neighbours peering over the fence all Summer. There are many variations of Alocasia and you should make sure you get the right species as a lot of places label any of them how they please.

I have experimented with this plant somewhat and can safely say that it hates full sun. It does like it hot however, but sweaty hot rather than dry hot. Plant it out in the Summer and bring it in for the Winter.

I subjected mine to an unheated greenhouse 2 Winters ago that went down to -4c inside. The foliage melted (as expected) and I was left with a stump. I left it in the greenhouse over Summer and it shot back through the same stump. So it looks like it is pretty hardy to low minus figures at least !!!!

It likes to be fed and watered a lot in the Summer. One of it's funky features is the way it can shrug off water. Mist it, spray it, throw a bucket of water over it... this plant sheds every drop... it is awesome to watch :D

Clivia Miniata

Another awesome underplanter to tree ferns is the Clivia species. There are a few variations, but the C. Miniata is the most commonly available.

This can be planted out during the Spring, Summer and Autumn and brought back in for the Winter. You can plant it direct or sink it in pots.

The dark, thick foliage is very rich and contrasts very well with the brown trunks or light green fronds of ferns. During the growing season it likes to be kept moist and shaded. If the Summer sun hits this plants leaves then they will fry and never recover.

Clivia flower in the Spring, red, yellow or orange clumps. They spread mainly through suckers which can be separated into new plants, though I think they look nicer as a huge clump. They prefer to be on the dry side for Winter, so bring them in and forget about them.

Agapanthus Africanus

Commonly available and root hardy this particular type of Agapanthus is perfect for both ferneries and palmeries. I'm not so interested in the flowers, more the dark shiney broad leaves they produce. These look fantastic when set in large clumps around rocks between palms or tree ferns.

If you want Agapanthus to flower you need to give them good sunlight. If you don't want them to flower (like me) give them shade. They do not like boggy ground even though they look like lillies. They don't like dry ground either so ensure good moisture by clumping them close to each other.

In the Winter the foliage will usually die back at around -5c. The roots will remain intact though, even at -10c. In the new year they will spring up more leaves fairly quickly and sucker roots will spring up new plants.

You can keep them in pots if you like, but they spread faster if you leave them in the ground outside. Agapanthus are still fairly expensive in garden centres, which is a little irritating as they are always planted out as medium to large sized groups in any planting scheme.

Gunnera Manicata

This bog plant from Africa is a real beast once it establishes itself. If you want to see a full sized one head over to Tatton Park’s gardens in mid Summer. It takes time to get there, but within 5 years you should have something which stands an easy 5 or 6 feet into the air.

Gunnera is related to the Rhubarb. Unlike the rhubarb it has very stiff leaves with a weird nobbly texture to them. This nobbliness extends down the huge stems to its massive corm. These nobbles seem to work together to channel rainfall down to the corm. It’s really wonderful to watch, as this technology even works when you take your hose and spray underneath the leaves!!!!

Gunnera can take strong sunlight, but may burn around the edges if it is dehydrated. It will need good sunlight if you want massive leaves. Keep Gunnera in the shade and you will get smaller, darker leaves which stay near the ground. Each year it will send out massive cone-like flowers which don’t look too pretty, but add to the jungle effect of the plant.

The leaves will melt at -2c, but this is not a problem as corm plants act like bulb plants in that they suck the foliage energy back into their centre, so the leaves would die back anyhow! The corm can take -10c easily unprotected, but if you are paranoid you can fold the mushy old leaves back over the corm to hide it from settling frost.

This is a good choice for the massive jungle look, but you really need loads of room to let it do its stuff. Shop around though as you can get good sized ones for good money. Look at the size of the corm rather than the leaves. Leaf size is dependent on time of year, water and sun.

Calathea – Perfect Fernery Choice

There are absolutely loads of variations of Calathea. Some grow low, some shoot to 3 feet. They are primarily indoor plants, but there is no reason why you cannot use them outside in the milder weather.

Calathea require low light. Too much and they will shrivel. They also like humidity so the best place for them is in a fernery setting... with your tree ferns for example.

They are pretty cheap houseplants, so you can buy a whole bunch of them and pot them up together in a standard plastic plant pot. Then dig a hole in your fernery, put some gravel or wood chip into the bottom of the hole, then sink the pot into it. Simple as that and an instant interest among your fern collection.

Calathea spread underground, so once they get too big break them off into clumps and start all over again. I have also noticed that from time to time the whole plant will appear to die off. I have no idea why, but give it time and new leaves will emerge and it will look as good as new.
Remember to bring them in for Winter :D

Crinodendron Hookerianum

This beautiful shrub is nothing short of spectacular when it bloom in the early Summer. The red of the drooping flowers contrasts perfectly with the dark green foliage.

I bought mine surprisingly enough from Morrisons in one of those funny tubular cartons they sell baby shrubs in. 5 years later and it is 7 feet high and 6 feet wide.

To get good flowering you need to put it in good light and feed it Azalea food (acidic plant food). Southern sun will black spot the leaves but it doesn't really bother it. Too much shade and the flowers will be sparse.

Written text about this plant says it is frost damaged at -5, but i have seen no evidence of this. Mine has sustained -10 without any issues, even as a newly planted baby.

This has to be one of my favourite shrubs and it is definitely worth tracking down. Grow it as a centre piece rather than stuffing it up against a fence and you will be the talk of the road.

Phormium Cookianum

The other 'true' Phormium. Unlike the Tenax however these curl and droop their leaves. Again, there are hundreds of colourful flavours now and garden centres still command a high price for them.

Unlike Tenax these don’t seem to attract mealy bugs so much... dunno why? They need room to move though as they get bigger and bigger and bigger with each year and will soon crowd any neighbouring plants out. If they are happy they will shoot out massive spikes carrying rather uninteresting flowers on them. These spikes are easy to walk into, so watch your eyes :D

In heavy frosts they curl their leaves up which can easily make you think it is being damaged, but I have never seen any damage on mine. They have suffered -10c at least with no protection and in pots, or even bare rooted !!! No amount of sun or cold can harm these guys and they look great too once they have gained in size.

Phormium Tenax

Very popular plant which now comes in a whole array of coloured varieties. The blue/green Tenax is the true type however which will steadily grow huge vertical sword like leaves to 15+ feet. Wind can knock these down and too much Winter damp can turn them yellow, but who cares they can survive anything these guys.

Your only problem is mealy bugs on small ones (which the garden centres usually sell). Mealy bugs sit where the leaves join at the bottom of the plant and chew away at it. The first you know about it is when your baby Tenax starts falling to pieces. You can easily spot them if you pull the leaves slightly apart, but sprays will not help you as they do not penetrate where the mealy bugs live. Once past the baby stage though they will shrug off any mealy attack without worry.

P. Tenax looks great behind leafy foliage or behind / in front of an open fence design. Watch out though as they do get really massive and you should take this into account when planting them out.

Rheum Palmatum - Ornamental Rhubarb

No-one really thinks of a Rhubarb plant being used in a tropical design. There are a number of giant varieties which offer instant huge red, green and copper foliage and every couple of years or so gigantic flower stems which shoot up 14 feet or more... a real staggering sight!!!

The leaves on this variety are soft and slightly hairy. They tend to droop down unless watered well. Like most bog plants they exist as a blobby rhizome which initially sends out mini leaves to gather the energy to make big leaves. This guy get really massive so give it plenty of room. It likes strong light in order to flower, but too direct and the leaves will burn.

The leaves die off in Winter, but the rhizome is ultra tough and you need not offer any protection. There are all kinds of variations of this plant and most garden centres will treat them all as the same thing, so maybe a specialist store is the best place to track one down.

I have another variety which I cannot put a name to. It is similar in leaf structure, but the leaves curl inwards rather than outwards and stand erect rather than flopping about in a bunch. The flower spikes are also way way taller. If I find out what it is i'll let you know as I think it is far more striking and doesn't consume so much room as it likes to stand upright.

Beschorneria Yuccoides

These are rather curious beasties. They are a nice bluish grey in colour and slowly form a fleshy rosette of thick drooping sword leaves until they hit about 2 feet then they shoot out a huge 8 foot flower which is either pink or red, followed by loads of suckering babies, then the main plant dies off and the suckers start the process all over again. Left to their own devices you will eventually have a huge colony of them with flowers shooting out in all directions... very nice to behold!

They really don’t care about the cold (mine have been in -10 unprotected), they don’t care about wet weather in Winter and their only enemy is slugs and snails. I think these pests only attack when they have nothing else to eat in the garden. They drill holes through the chunky leaves which can make them look very tatty. The slugs also really like the flowers and will eat all of the petals if given a chance before they bloom.

I love this plant. It is like a Yucca or Agave, but faster growing and no spines to stab you in the leg. It is a real pity that the main plant dies off after flowering as they are pretty fast growing and could (if they didn’t die off) grow to a formidable size in a relatively short space of time. Hmmm, i wonder if severing the flower before it blooms would preserve the plant? Most garden centres sell this plant, though rather highly priced, so go dig one out !!!

Cordyline Australis `Torbay Dazzler`

There are only a couple of 'true' Cordylines native to New Zealand. All other variations are man made (same with phormiums). Most of these variations will turn to mush when the Winter rains start on them. However, I have had some good success with the 'Torbay Dazzler' type. This is a pretty striking beastie which grows relatively quickly and looks beautiful in the sun.

Unlike the common green Cordyline (which must be in just about every garden in Britain now) this one grows a slender trunk and slender leaves. Watch out for slugs and snails though. They don't eat them, rather they slime all over the part where the leaves meet the stem causing them to rot. This is only an issue when they are small.

Like this picture shows you want to make them a feature plant. For Winter protection all you need to do is tie the topmost leaves together into a point and leave it alone. Mine has withstood -7 last year without any harm. They don't like Winter rain as this, combined with the slug slime, starts the basal rotting off.

In wet Winter weather the leaves will show some brown circles. This is just a reaction to the cold and damp. Don't worry about it the Summer will drop these leaves and give you a huge number of new ones to glory at.

Aspidistra Elatior - Outdoor Candidate?

Highly popular in Victorian times as a house plant. They are also popular in hotel reception areas. Popular as indoor plants because they require virtually no light to thrive. Indeed, with these guys your worst enemy is sunlight. They seem to shrivel up should a stripe of sun cross their dark foliage... just like vampires... the only difference being they don’t drink blood :)

Well, I have been experimenting with these plants as outdoor candidates this year and they seem to be a lot hardier than one would expect. I have had a big chunky one (waaaay too heavy to drag into the house) sitting nicely on my back patio within a fat plastic pot enduring night-time temperatures as low as -5 so far without any noticeable foliage damage whatsoever.

Apparently they like dry Winters (which we never get in the NW UK) but their roots are so dense that i would be surprised if Winter rain had any real effect on generating root rot.

I must say that spiders love these guys. When i re-potted it in the late Summer I must have seen 200+ spiders run madly from it across the floor... only little ones though, thankfully!