Daniella Only somebody who lives in Jersey is allowed to call it crappy! Having been there many, many times, and having a sister in South Plainfield and a cousin in Cherry Hills, I would certainly disagree. Although the sight of the refineries on the turnpike could use some help! I think that the Heliconia are probably Andromeda. Many years ago, I helped a friend clear out an old garden bed, that was completely overrun with weeds and crappy (there's that word again!) looking plants. There were a few struggling Heliconia scattered about, so I brought home about 10 of them. In the ensuing years, I have, literally, pulled out thousands of them, to keep them under control. A closer look: This spring, I reduced the bed considerably, because it was so much work. I added a taller, clumping variety, that was labeled "Assorted Heliconia". Gotta love HD! Next, I would like to get a Hanging Lobster Claw. Just for the heck of it... Cordyline Red Sister and a Variegated Ginger: Deb, I hope this is not rude of me... to share my garden photos in your thread. I just get carried away. Mahalo, Bob

Heliconia's may range from 2' to 25', and yes what venezuela said I believe is right. there are clumps and runners. I would recommend growing some natives in your yard if you plan on growing hedges or shrubs or planting anything; perrenial herbs, trees, groundcovers, potted plants, palms, ferns, grasses, vines, flowers, etc.. Also natives are not much high maintenence (sometimes when I encourage the growth of natives, ppl say No right away because ot the thought of the high maintainence), and if you truly want something Hawai'ian then there are the native plants. Native plants have been over looked by the introduced species. However native plants are not the easiest plants to get. Places like the Home Depot sell native plants, and there are several private nursuries on O'ahu, and private growers like myself that propogate and give away native plants. I am hopinng that the native plant community will grow through the years, and native plants will make their way to a good recovery. The native plants need our Aloha for their survival. 90% of all Hawai'is natives you will not find anywhere else in the world. Also many of them are endangered. That means our native flora is among the most unique, in fact this proportion of endemic and indigenous species exeeds that of anywere in the world. In our garden we Have a mixture of Heliconia, gingeres, and costas, along with 92 native plants species, and several potted specimens. At the Home depot you can find plants like: Brighamia insignis, Hedyotis littoralis, Gardenia brighamii, Peperomia blanda, Dianella sandsicensis, Myoporum sandwicense, Metrosideros polymorpha (I am strongly against the growth of alien Metrosideros due to the possibility of hybridization), Sida fallax, Plumbago zeylanica, Hibiscus arnottianus, Hibiscus clayi, Hibiscus kokio, Hibiscus arnottianus immaculatus, Hibiscus waimeae, Abutilon menziesii, Vitex rotundifolia, Ipomoea pes-caprae, Bidens torta, B. amplectens. B. cosmoides, Munroidenron racemosum, Pritchardia sp., Dodonaea viscosa, Acacia koa, Nototrichium sandwicense, and others. More and more native plants are becoming available. More public interest should increase the availability of these plants. Also I have some native potted plants that I have to clear out of my garden for room so I can propogate more plants. Let me know if you are interested in acquiring any. Mahalo and Aaaaloha! Malama o ka Aina! Matt Garma Here is a link that might be useful: Native Hawaiian Plant Pictures

Where exactly are you. I see Austin as part of your name, Is that where you live? I can think of a whole lot of tropicals you could grow if you are willing to put in the time and effort. First of all, with your set up and ability to move large pots of plants into a greenhouse, I would definitely do some heliconia. You could even grow some of the big Bihais and Caribaeas, like Jacquinii. Both of these produce the well known upright lobster claw inflorescence. Very dramatic. I would think you could plant some plumeria in the ground around your place. They can take full sun. You might have to amend the soil a little to make it more acidic but it would work. They are easy to dig up in the fall and go completely dormant. No care needed. I would look into a jade vine for your greenhouse. It would need to be permanently planted in the ground but the blooms are considered to be the most beautiful in the world. There are so many gingers that would work for you in the ground we would need to have a conversation; but some of my favorites are the Hedychiums(butterfly gingers) All are fragrant, most are hardy in zone 8 and could be planted the ground. An AeAe banana would look good in the greenhouse. Google it. Variegated leaves and variegated fruit. Stunning banana. Potted orchids in the greenhouse in redwood baskets. Nice. Steve

After spending many thousands on tropical plants, I now found by far the best supplier. The prices are 50%-75% less than anyone else. The quality is many times greater than anyone else. You have to have a $200 minimum order, but the selection is so vast it is easy to spend that. You have to go to a website in Thailand first called Plant Group. You e-mail what you want and they tell you if they have it in the Big Island Hawaii location to ship to the U.S. You can e-mail Trish at Filimoehala@hawaiiantel.net and I can send you more information to contact the manager in Hawaii directly. I was so happy with the plants from them I can't say enough great things about them and I would love to help them in any way I can. They had everything I wanted, cut them nicely and labeled them well.