Mandy

Hi all, I have a 3/4 acre garden in New Zealand, it's in the north island and coastal so I'm lucky not to get frosts but we do get down to 4 degrees c in the winter (night time temps). I have been trying out various heliconias and am happily surprised with the variety I can grow, would love to hear anyone with a similar climate to see what varieties they can grow. I have schiedeana, subulata, tortuosa, Borgeana and am trying Champneana splash outside for the first time. I grew the last one from seed and it was growing happily in my shade house with no heat last winter so I am risking it in the garden with large rocks to help it get warmth around its roots. To be safe I asked my sister not to plant hers out just yet. I have got seedlings of Orange gyro, giant lobster, champneana maya sunrise and wagneriana who even inside I am having to work at his well being. I have loved reading everyones posts thanks

Abnshrek

Hello, Welcome & Happy Growing.. :^)

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I'm a Nannerhead :^)

from the sea

what else do you grow? and welcome!

Mandy

Hi Stephen, thanks for the welcome. I grow mainly tropical but also with any of the cool climate fruits we want including olives. I have bananas, 4 types but my favorite is Blue Java icecream and Australian pineapple lady finger. A lot of citrus, custard apples and macadamia nuts. As far as ornamentals, I grow ceiba speicosia (sp) which flowers well for me, Ficus damaropsis, bauhinias, broms, calatheas, alocasia/colocasia and xanthosomas, cordylines, doryanthes palmeri, kohleria, dypsis baronni and other palms, brugmansias,the list goes on as I'm a shocking collector, I blame my husband for giving me a book on tropical plants. I am putting all sorts of orchids and other epiphytes into the trees at the moment and working on a glade for my heliconias. I avoid things that would need a lot of extra care and also use some of our beautiful natives like puka trees, Whau, poor knights lily and once again, anything that takes my fancy> I am not a minimalist gardener but go for more of a jungle effect with more formality at the top around the house, these days a machete is one of my more used tools. Please tell me about your garden, you are zone 11 where as only some zone 11s will grow in my garden due to heavy clay and cold, sodden winter roots

from the sea

i don't have many ornamental plants, i have sugarapple, soursop, lychee, carambola, bigney, longan, custard apple, 8 different kinds of bananas, avocado, breadfruit, jackfruit, sugarcane, pineapples, and tons of seedlings fruit trees. i am working on making my yard into a fruit forest.
there is a few things you can grow that i can't grow,like olives or anything like that.

Mandy

sounds wonderful, I also have avocados and a jackfruit but the jackfruit has only just started to come away after about 6 years, I think because it was an empty section with only gums and they don't provide shelter. I am growing a longan from seed and have a pineapple but have never heard of a bigney. I think a soursop would be more suitable for your lovely climate but I will give it a go as I love them. I grow all sorts of gingers which you would easily grow too. You must have lovely fruits all year round, have you got papayas?

Kat2

Don't be so sure you can't grow olives. They're doing it in Deland. Olive Production • Agricultural, environmental testing and consultation service, and installation of raised bed gardens, and sale of premium-blend compost

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from the sea

I grow Chinese ginger and shampoo ginger I am wanting to grow galangal ginger.
I have a few but they are small.

kat2 i bet they would grow but we dont get a many chill hours so not a good chance of fruit