aroidgrower

Here is what I suggest for northern tropical growers.
Over the years I have been trying to breed hardier easier to grow tropical plants. I live in a zone 6 which mean on average we get to 0F or -10F. One trick that I have found to be a cheap and easy way to raise your zone up 1 or more zones. First you have to know which plants can handle this treatment. I found it to be plants with bulbs tuberous or rhizome these plants have natural storage devices for energy and usually a natural dormant cycle. It seems that as long as the storage device tuber bulb or what have is not frozen it survives. By putting 4 to 6 inches of chopped up leaf compost on top of the crown of these plants I can raise my zone up to 7. Now if I have plants such as Musa basjoo or Ensete which have large trunks I can mulch them up 1 to 2 feet sometime adding un-open bags of leaves around the base of the plant filling in the center with leaf compost. This often protects part of the trunks and come spring I will have new foliage straight out of a trunk rather than the tubers producing a new shoot underground. This can usually add 3 months of growth to a plant with a shorter growing season.
Now for even more protection I can use my old greenhouse plastic over top of these mulched beds and keep out zone 8 and 9 plants with bulbs tubers or rhizomes. The plastic should be secured down tight so that high winds do not take off with it. When spring the plastic will start to heats up the soil fast and the plants are usually up a few months early many with well established roots.

Another great things about this is in the spring the extra leaves are removed so plants do not suffocate usually anything over 8 inches should be moved off of the plants. I usually just take a leaf blower or a pitch fork and move any large layers off that maybe to much. The rest of the leaves are left on. I then add nitrogen and some lime on top of the leaves they rot quickly and start to lay more flat after Aprils rains. This mat of leaves keeps out most would be weeds that would regularly take over. The leaves decompose into very rich soil and over time my beds become full of dark rich soil which the plants really love. I also found that the mulched up leaves help retain moisture to the roots. Their is not enough that can be said about using this technique for norther tropical plant growers. Many people have asked about installing a greenhouse for storing their Cannas Colocasias Bananas and so forth. I tell them that if they do this with the plastic it is cheaper and easier than any greenhouse and unless the plant is extremely sensitive it will almost always works better than any greenhouse.

So if you want to leave your tropicals out get better soil reduce weeds have your plants months ahead of everyone easel's then you should look into this. It has worked great for me for the last 15 years.

Here is how it works.
In zone 6 our frost line is 4 inches which means 4 inches of leaves should put your tubers and rhizomes blow the frost line. Composted leaves are shredded so that they have air between them but can also rot. The air helps insulate the ground while the leaves start to compost they also give off heat from the microbes eating the leaves. Adding the plastic causes the suns raise during the day to thaw out the soil and raise the temperature of the ground under neither. When night comes and the temperature drops the trapped heat is under the leaves and the plastic and can take all night to cool down.
It seems to work best when the plants are together in one large bed that way the whole area can stay warm rather than small spots. I can before and after pics of this entire process. The leaves are given to us sense we post a large sign that reads LEAVES WANTED. Amazing how many people are always looking to get rid of leaves in the fall. I usually have so much I just store them in huge piles on the back acre to rot and sell as compost.

Darkman

Leaves are very good protectors. Even in my zone 8b I use your methods. Saturday I planted some Winter annuals. On Sunday when the forecasted lows were to be in the mid to low twenties, I covered them with pine straw, leaves and then a layer of 6 mil plastic. I'll uncover them Wednesday after the freeze threat is over and you won't be able to tell a freeze happened.

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aroidgrower

Here are some pics of the beds above this season. I will list any plants that did not survive out.
The Colocasia Diamond heads did not stay out. Due to me digging them up. I have not yet tested them.


This is in the back acres were canna hybrids and other hybrids are tested and mulched. Most everything stay out all season mulched.



Everything in this photo stayed out.



In this photo their are some larger Alocasia portora that I took in though I have had it return from the ground with mulch the same for Alocasia odora 8 years now. The ones not taken in lose all trunk growth. I have a few with 6 feet of trunk that I rather keep in during winter.

palmtree

Great pics! Its hard to believe you arent in a zone 10, especially with some of those pics! Thanks for sharing! Im getting tons of ideas for my yard next year!

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BananaLee

This is amazing!!! This gives me so much more cool ideas!! Thanks a million!!!

Dean W.

Thanks for the pics and the detailed information.

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raygrogan

Great. So about when would you remove the plastic in the picture behind the building? March? April? After the last frost or after last real freeze? What happens if you are late and the plants start growing under the plastic?

RayS

Awesome pics and instructions, many thanks from another zone sixer!

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Ray

aroidgrower

I usually remove the plastic in April our last frost date is May 12th but we are usually warm and safe near the end of april. If a late frost does hit it will damage the leaves but it will not kill the plants. I have had many plants begin growing under the plastic due to the extra heat generated by the sun. In most cases they are fine once the plastic is removed some leaf damage will happen but most species are quick to recover. I am mostly dealing with Musa Canna Colocasia Alocasia and similar plants ones that can handle some foliage damage with out much worry. I have been able to get away with out using plastic on many of the beds and just a layer of leaves but for the extra work the plastic really works well.

nannerfunboi

im nervous to try what u have aroidgrower..here in ut we have a bit more cold than u..
but plants ive bought from u have done fantastic 2 yrs going now!!! so
thanks much!!!
i will be getting some of your big thai giants again this yr..ive cleaned up
some spots in the back flower gardens..and will make room for them..
last yr your thai G got huge!! 2 of them had leaves over 60" long !!
and they bloomed as well..
thanks to all for your experiences..im truely a newbie in most of the tropicals..but its beginning to look more and more like a jungle out there in summer..

mbfirey

Your gardens are always an inspiration for all of us...
I'll be ordering some of those plants from you once you get a full list up...or your website running again.

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aroidgrower

Great to hear both have done so well with the plants. My new website should be up soon it has been almost 1 year of work being done to it and I cannot wait for it to be back up. Hopefully in the next few weeks. Thanks.