Very nice! The weather is really going to benefit your palms in the next few days and weeks as the warm weather becomes more permanent.
I already began planting. I decided to give my chinese fan palm a try in the ground and I will be protecting that this winter. Also trying a European fan palm in the ground this year, but I didnt plant it in the ground yet.
We got a frost here this weekend. My bananas are brown, but alive. Fortunately the buds on my camellia got no damage (they are very cold sensitive when they are about to flower), and my elephant ear and mandevilla also have no damage (they were protected with a frost cloth). Also planted a frostproof gardenia in the ground and that had no damage whatsoever from the cold, and I left a tillisandia on my tree and it looks fine. It went down to 30F this weekend, which was the coldest temp of the month.
This week is looking warm here, lots of 70s, even an 80 possible. Im going to get at least half my plants outside this week. Rain today, but I still got some planting done. My plumeria is in the ground (it will be dug up in the fall), and the holes are made for my ice cream banana to go in the ground, and for my elephant ear. Well thats about it so far for me.

Hope all your plants flourish, and I cant wait to see how they look when summer comes!

Good luck!

They all look great Jim and SOO happy for you that they made it!!!...I'm only worried about 2 bananas that I planted last year...They got pretty mushy, but I SO hope they come back.

I just got 3 more windmills to add to my collection....1 is already in the ground...I'm excited :)

Thanks for sharing all your pictures..I really like them :)

knotz

Looks great Jim! I can't wait to see those tree ferns grow up. Those things are so cool, have you seen the ones that grow in New Zealand? I have several native/ground variety largeer ferns here which come back every year. Up at the cabin, I have about an acre of them. Tree ferns on the other hand, quite a different story...

And it IS great to be out working in the yard again! I wimped out and dug up my 2 larger basjoos last fall and wintered them indoors and kept them growing and quite healthy. All the pups they produced last summer are in pots and quite mature now and ground-ready also. Some of the pups even have their own pups now too! Sadly I'll probably have to wait about 2 weeks in order to be safe before putting bananas back in the ground.

Finally an early spring! The ice-out in the lakes is even running at least 2+ weeks early, 3+ weeks early up north at the cabin where we had less snow this winter. After the $hit spring we had last year I think we really deserve this.

Thanks T7,knotz,Kory

Yea,I have seen the tree ferns! LOL!

It is so cool to watch these leaves unfold!

Here is a link that might be useful:

Well all looks good for you jim. All my palms spears pulled. I took out the butias. My takils still look good so I hope they come back.

I already bought
2 new windmill palms
musa basjoo
birds of pariadise
ensete marielle
yucca bright star
yucca recurvefolia (2 feet clear trunk)
2 sabal louisiana
sabal plametto seedling
yucca elepantipes
2 types of opuntia (thanks jim)
bannana canna
3 sago palms

10 3 gallon dioon spindulsom

things i am ordering this year

big 100 gallon pindo
2 yucca alofolia
2 cordyline australius
canna
elephant ears

I dont know how you do it Jim-but congrats. I dont know why you got spear pull in the tent-that Cordy looks like its in L.A. enjoying 85F right now!.

Statenisland, In very sorry to hear about your spear pull. But its all a learning experience and Im glad that you arent giving up. I think a really good rule of the thumb is to keep the palms above 20F. Your list of plants is looking really impressive, lots of fast growers which means you will really start to get a tropical feel even this year. Remember not to space any of your plants out too much, because in the tropics plants are usually grouped practically on top of each other.

As for what Im doing... Nothing much today because...
The rain flooding everything here. I dug holes for my elephant ear and blue java banana and sunk their pots in the holes. Turns out I had to take them out of the holes because there was 4 inches of water underneath. Hopefully this nice warmth will dry everything up nicely and allow some of my plants to start growind. Windmill palms are really growing fast so far, and my pindo has grown very little so far, but hopefully will soon. Cammellia is about to burst in blooms and should be covered in them by Easter, or soon after. Also cut my frost damaged banana leaves yesterday. The trunk is very healthy and firm so Im sure it will make a nice come back. I planted some dragon wing begonias yesterday, they are falling a little because of the moist soil, but they will probably come back strong when the weather warms up. This week many of my plants will be outside and by the end of the month (of april), I would like for them to all be outside and start growing.

Good luck!

I think the reason all the spears pulled was

1 the coldest night when it got to 14 the lights were off
2 the soil ia all clay and if if i dig 3 inches down i see water

I really don't want to lose my takils since they grew from seed. The leaves on them look good but the spears pulled on both. hopefully the warm weather will trigger some growth.
The pindos i really don't care, its only 70$ dollars in the garbage :( anyway The new windmill replacements will be planted in a raised bed in the same spot but in sand :.::.:;;;;;. I covered my takils from the rain

I know exactly what you mean when you are taking about the clay soil. My soil is all clay. It just doesnt drain at all and is extremely heavy. When I planted my palms I had to replace a lot of the soil. The only palms I didnt replace the soil for was myt sabal minor and my needle palm since they are native to the southeast which also has clay soil.

Good luck, hope that your takils come back for you!

Jim are you overwintering the ferns in the ground

Jim, should be a nice summer for you. That grass should take off and the butia looking good. Your temps are jumping aren't they!

TZ, smart move by replacing the soil around the palm. I mix in builders sand as well around the root ball to keep it draining well. My soil isn't too much clay but does get muddy.

Yes I am overwintering the T.ferns,they are for the most part slightly less cold-hardy than a Washy(leaves),however the trunk is less cold hardy.
I will let the leaves go in fall and cover the trunks with the styrofoam rose covers.
I will also use x-mas lights and a thermocube that comes on at 35-off at 45f to turn the lights on and off.
This worked well with the Washy and the styrofoam should provide more insulation then the umbrella G-house/tarp/sheet plastic I used on my Washy.

Did you guys check out the link I post above with the picture of the tree fern?-MASSIVE!-it's in Golden Gate Park,S.F.

It's so awesome growing a wide range of plants-the Washys,cactus,Sabals,Needles,bananas,etc love the heat-the Trachys,ferns,T.ferns,G.manicata enjoy the cooler summer/spring/fall weather and the T.ferns love the cool/mild wet spring/fall/early winter weather.
So there is something for all of them and different groups are happy at one time or another!

Stan,I don't have a Cordyline active in the hoop/G-house section,which plant are you referring too?
There are Yuccas,maybe one appears to be a Cordyline?

Brooklyngreg... builders sand is a great idea. I might have to use some in the holes I just dug because the rain filled it up w/ water.

Jimhardy... Sorry I missed your link. Just saw it now. Wow, that has quite a leaf span. Do you know what that one is? I hope your tree ferns winter over well. Looking forward to the results. My tree fern, Cyathea cooperi, is probably one of the worst tree ferns to over winter outside, and are apparently marginial in a zone 8b. Dicksonia is much more cold tolerant. You do have a very wider range of plants. Not bad for a zone 5b!

Good luck!

Yea T7 and the range just got wider!
I planted a W.filifera(Abyssinian yesterday) to go with the Robusta and planted my Bizzy,it did very poorly inside this winter and would probably die next or decline to the point of -least favored throw it in the basement- it's taking up space status!"
I have nothing to lose,so-what the hey(-: -and think how cool it would be to have a Bizzy in Iowa! what a hoot,as the old timers say-LOL
All my bananas are outside,when I looked at them in the sunlight thye were coveerd in WSM-
Bass-turds,I really had those freak'n bugs!

C.cooperi is one of the least cold hardy(upper 20s-30f at best) but for me,I will probably plant one of mine as they all will get a little more protection then they "need."

My Cooperi has been growing like crazy and is now putting out multiple croziers at a time,they will do well in dappled full sun,or eastern exposure and 50%+ humidity or at least nights that are humid,which most* of us east of the Rockies get.

The T.ferns in the picture are Dicksonia antarctica and are probably over a hundred years old to have a trunks like that(-:

We will all be into the warm weather in a few more weeks!
I will take some more pics and post later-\\Thanks for everyone's input/replies(-:

As I write this at 10pm I cant' believe it is almost 80(f) still!
This is like a July night when the temp stays around 80 for the low,the difference is that the humidity is only 38% and was down(humidity) in the mid 20s.
After a high of 89 today a lot of things are jumping into gear,the warmer temps in the basement were causing the Cannas to sprout.
I have really taken advantage of the warm spring this year.
I have never had banana plants in the ground in March before,even the beginning of April is early.
Everything is off to a flying start this spring!

I have planted almost everything I wanted too and will finish tomorrow-for now!
So far I have planted-
Abyssinian(1)
Rowe red bananas(4)
Siam ruby(4)
T.ferns(5)3 D.antarctica-2 D.squarossa
W.filifera(1)
Bismarckia nobilis(1)
Thai black (bananas)2
Itinerans(bananas)2
Dahlias(20?)
Moon flowers(20)
Cannas(Cleopatra,Picasso,Stuttgart,Musifolia)20ish
Colocasia Thai giant!(1)
Orinoco(banana)(3)
12 cactus plants( flowering barrels) 2 pads(Opuntia)
G.manicata(2)
Tetrapanex(steroidal giant)2
4 o'clocks(100s of seeds(-:
Brugmansia......

O.K.enough already,there is still alot to plant/do and I don't know where I am going to fit some of my favorites like the Elephant ears and Castor beans!

I will take some pics tomorrow.
The yard will be insane this year-what am I doing!
Spring fever has hit really hard and I am VERY sick!(-:

WOW, lots of fast growing plants in your collection jim. I think your house is going to be hidden by the tropical forest by the end of the summer:)

Im also really taking advantage of this nice weather. I got even more plants out today. I usually take my plants outside around now, but my backyard is actually getting that "complete" look which usually doesnt happen until early july.
Ill also post some pics tommorrow.

Good luck everyone!

Jim I saw some really big tree ferns at the new york botanical garden. I paticularly liked 2 of them
The hawaiian tree fern is soft and feels like it has fur
The second one i didn't remember the name but it had all blck stems.
While I was there I saw some small trachys outside.
I also was at the brooklyn botanical garden and I saw the trachy it looked bad because they didn't cover it this year.

Black tree fern could have been a Black tree fern:-)\\
Cyathea medularis,they are some of the biggest with 20'+ fronds.
T.ferns are incredible to watch grow,like a Cycad but instead of one flush they grow all spring/summer/fall.

S/IA/Fairfield.html?bannertypeclick=big2">

Here is a link that might be useful: T.ferns

They are very nice plants that really give you a tropical feel. They look so fragile, but are actually pretty strong plants. I thought they would burn a lot in full sun, but mine gets a good 4-5 hours of sun a day and has no problems at all.

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-
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Now some from the yard today-
Siam Ruby,Bizzy and Agave and 2 very small Thai black banana plants

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.

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

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

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

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

THANKS FOR LOOKING!

Very nice. It doesnt look like it will be a lot now, but all t takes is a few weeks of warm weather and everything is really going to fill in.

Good job, looking forward to seeing everything grow in.
Good luck!

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that Im really looking forward to seeing those rarer bananas when they are older. Your neighbors must be really surprised to see such a tropical backyard in Iowa!

Good luck!

Looks like you have done well, with the winter we had this year. My Large Windmill is burnt badly, but new growth is already starting, it was in the low 80's yesterday and should be a littl warmer tomorrow.
I have a few windmills that I want to plant and I was wondering where you got those Umbrella greenhouse and do they work well.

As soon as my sisters brings back my digital carmera I will post my aniual picute of the Windmill in Kentucky

You're a bit of a nut there Jimhardy LOL!!! You're just begging for work huh? I'm not brave enough to start planting bananas yet, not for at least another month. Too many frosts likely to come. It's bad enough I uncovered my basjoo and washie. We were in the 80's the past couple of days, but according the 15 day forecast, below freezing temps coming by the 15th. Everything looks great. Keep up the good work. Can't wait to see what it looks like in September!

jim what's that white fuzzy cactus dead center
I thought old man cactus wasn't hardy

Not an old man,I believe it's a type of
Echinocereus reichenbachii(seem to have lost the name/or it was mislabeled) - here's a picture
of it flowering last year.

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Thanks guys/gals-
Yea,the yard actually looks pretty barren considering the amount of stuff that's in but as mentioned it will not take long,these pics will be a stark contrast later in fall when everything blows up.(-:

It's been so warm here I couldn't resist putting everything in,the bananas usually lose their inside leaves this time of year anyway from sun/wind,so I wasn't that concerned about mild frost we usually see this time of year.I still have all the protection (lights/covers,etc)ready if I need it, so I can cover for short events-still have a gallon of Freeze-pruf that came to late to try last winter.

Here's the latest and the "greatest" so far

First the ferns-
D.antarctica beginning to open spring croziers

D.squarrosa opening croziers

C.cooperi has grown a lot this winter,it's sitting on a railroad tie and is bigger then it looks in the picture/that pot is 15" tall-windy day!

Arundo donax var(Giant reed grass) coming up

Orinoco(possibly blue java)this was a 6' tall section I overwintered in the basement(there is a pic in the same spot from last years pics)
I cut it down because the top was a little mushy-it's already busting out of the center!

Small Rowe red

Overwintered Basjoos opening there first leaves

Canna musifolia from Dennis(statenisland GWF)

Planted my Princeps last week-not fully recovered from WSM damage but well into growth mode-should be beautiful by fall!

My other 2 Princeps-what a beautiful Trachy Princeps is!

Thanks for looking

Very nice pics! Everything is really sprouting by you now. Whats the weather like there? Its 89F right now by me. They were only forecasting 87F. Between the pollen and the heat it is really hard to stay outside for that long, but most of my plants are loving it. My blue java is almost done pushing out a leaf (first mail order banana that I have been able to keep alive, knock on wood). My peace lily is surprisingly not that sun damaged, but my stromanthe is. Overall most of the plants are liking it. One of my hibiscus lost all its leaves indoors (and saw a frost) and now its sprouting back really well.

Good luck and thanks for sharing!

Today I found a Tetrapanex sprouting up in the yard!
Pretty amazing when you consider the mother plant was dug up,has produced 4 pups and that these are rated 7a up.
I can't believe one pushed up outside after the winter we had- a couple of inches of leaves really make a difference,my little ferns were exactly like they were last fall when I covered them up with leaves last fall-

Sounds like they are very hardy plants (even zone 5b worthy).

Good luck!

I like the updates.

You have good sun exposure. What you do in zone 5 is remarkable.

It would be nice to see a photo of the entire area (long view)and then see it in mid Spring and Summer with the vast growth.

That's partly why I even bother posting pics now-
comparison shots later this year will be amazing with how fast some of this grows.
The place I got the Thai giant Colocasia said his grew from 4" to 8' tall!-that by itself would fill up the east side of the yard(-:

Coldest night of the month(41) tonight is supposed to be 34-I sprayed Freeze-pruf on a bunch of stuff as an experiment-
mid 60s tomorrow and 70s the next 9days after that(-:

One of the cactus(small)started blooming today

Your canna is ahead of mine even though your in zone 5b.
Everything looks amazing. I checked today and my bamboo is making new shoots.

My bamboo is growing too(-:
My first cactus to flower this year!

Very nice cactus flower. What is the species? Unfortunately I dont have any bamboo, but if I did, I guess it would be sprouting too :)

Good luck everyone!

Jim nice cactus howa your seedlings doing?

Thanks
Cactus is Pediocactus simpsonii-
The seedlings are doing good,I moved them outside with my 2 baby Takil seedlings-I have 6 more Takil coming-3 more WagxNanus,3 Oreophilus and 3 Geminisectus.
With as rare as these palms are,I want to have as many as is reasonable!-Vic is not the only Trachyhead-LOL

Here are some more pics of the yard and a better pic of the cactus flower-thanks for looking guys!

This T.fortunei is a -2f survivor-incredible!

DOESN'T LOOK LIKE MUCH NOW BUT THIS BABY TRITHRINAX CAMPESTRIS(BLUE NEEDLE PALM)SURVIVED THE WINTER,THIS PLANTS ROOTS GO DOWN 18+INCHES-I JUST NOTICED SOME GREEN PUSHING UP TODAY!

PLANTED MY 2 BRUGMANSIAS TODAY

CASTOR BEAN PLANTS ARE 6 WEEKS AHEAD OF LAST YEAR-THEY GREW 12' TALL AND SOME LEAVES WERE 42"ACROSS

BASJOOS TODAY 4-9

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2 OTHER ORINOCOS-

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everythings come along very well, with all the warm weather.

Yeah, looking really nice!

Not sure if I have ever seen an April like this before,maybe in St.Louis,pretty far south of here though.
We are averaging 70(f)for highs this month,which is more typical of May 1,really nice!
I would be worried about this if the cold hadn't been so persistent this winter.
To have the bananas,etc getting such a head start is unprecedented(-: