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Ozarks Gardening

Canna questions and other big leaves

19 years ago

The cannas should be in soon at Wal-Mart and Lowe's if they're not already. I'm wanting some taller varieties that are good growers. What has done well for you?

I'm going to try to make a garden room for my younger kids this year. I thought it would be fun to use big leaves and make it look kind of jungley (did I spell that right?) One side will be the north side of my shed and has large leaved hostas already there. I already have elephant ear bulbs too. I want to screen in a rectangle shaped area for them to play in. What else should I add?

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Comments (6)

FourSeasons
19 years ago
Christie:
Some thoughts are ornamental bananas, any kind of palms you may be able to find and some ficus. Try caladiums, too. When I lived in the islands, philodendrums (sp?) were also all over the place....straight green and varigated and there were some varieties that grew really big leaves. How about orchids, gardenias and bird of paradise for color? Bromelaids are also very common...have some fun with pineapples, too. Oh yeah -- lots of ferns!! Do you have a warm sunroom or greenhouse or something? Gosh! I am so envious....the possibilities are endless! Did I mention any kind of hibuscus? You might also experiment with papayas....Don't know if the grocery store papayas will seed, but those will give you big leaves, too....Have fun! Let us know how it goes.....Even better -- send pictures!
helenh
19 years ago
On one of the local garden tours, someone had made a structure out of ordinary limbs. I think they may have been from storm damage. They covered it with gourds. The vines had big leaves and grew fast making it interesting and attractive.
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The damage on the lower leaves is just transplant shock (for lack of a better term) -- probably actually sun and wind burn. My potted cannas always grow a little in the basement or garage before I put them outside for the season, and the first leaves usualy fry. No problem, they are such rampant growers they recover very quickly. The loss of deep pigmentation you describe could just be the foliage maturing and getting more chlorophyll and spreading out the other pigments over a bigger surface area as it expands to full size. Or, perhaps it needs some more fertilizer and they're getting pale -- a shot of miracle gro or similar couldn't hurt.
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Canna pot size sounds good. When mine start a seed pod I trim it back to ~ 2" above the next leaf. Don't know if that's right, but mine continue to bloom most of the summer. They will bush out/spread in time. My dwarf canna (1 plant) got so root-bound it split it's 10" plastic pot the second year. You might try raising the sweet flag on a brick 'til it gets going, then sink it again. Yes, time and fertilizer if you haven't. Give that pickeral time, it's one of my best doers. Again you may try putting it just under the water 'til it gets going, then drop it. Mine hang out at about that 3" over the pot level and thrive. My pond only gets about 4 hours of sun/day. Don't know about the others :) But, if you're anything like me, you can't wait to have lots of lush plants...so you buy a few more...then just one more...then all of a sudden you have 3 ponds and 2 veggie filters just to hold plants and you're starting a local pond plant exchange!!!
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Cameron, I started the Inula from seeds obtained from Gardens North a few years ago. If you want a few seeds, just send me an e-mail. I did get a new one this year from a private garden centre. The leaves are spectacular on that one as well - more ridging, leaves much wider, but not as long - and I am waiting to see how it performs next year. So far so good. Newbie in NJ, Yep! I just think it's a nice plant in the gardens. It gives architectural structure, foliage is resistant to disease and pests and retains it's beauty for the growing season, great for late season pollinators, etc. :O) It also won't fall in the many winds we have here due to tropical storms coming up the coast. Oh yes, PV is growing it on her balcony. LOL! The shrub in the front is a variegated Forsythia known as Fiesta. The stems are a maroon red and it grows slowly. Mine has never flowered, but I grow it for the foliage.
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christie_sw_mo
Original Author
19 years ago
No greenhouse yet. Maybe someday. I have a patio on the south side of my house that stays pretty warm and it's a good place to start seeds. I have some dwarf papaya seeds on their way from a trade so that's good news that they have big leaves. Bananas are a great idea. I've never grown those before but I think they're supposed to grow fast. Which other ones that you mentioned would get tall enough to screen in one season? I know the caladiums wouldn't but that would be pretty to grow around the base.

I think the kids would love the gourds and I bought a package of mixed gourd seeds at Lowe's earlier this year. Sounds like a perfect place for them. Big Lots has cheap trellises in their ads pretty often. Do you think gourds would be too heavy to put on a flimsy trellis?
jodonne
19 years ago
How about Loufa?!?!? It grows like crazy and has the big sponges on them. My mother covered a fence with the stuff one year and with all the flowers and sponges on it it looked great. One of my gardening memories from growing up. It was like a big fort underneath!!
christie_sw_mo
Original Author
19 years ago
Well now I'm excited about growing the gourds. I think my assorted seeds are supposed to have loufa. Do I need to start them early or just wait until after frost?
ceresone
19 years ago
why not plant the tall sunflowers, and let the vines grow up them? my sunflowers had trunks on them last year, like small trees

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