Anyone else planting a jungle/tropical garden?

[Koulibiak]

I would love to hear ideas for what plants have worked for you, especially big leaves and ground covers.

As for me: I started with my jungle planting last year. I already had a good sized phoenix palm and a huge, if slightly ugly, cordyline with about 6 trunks). I love foliage plants, so decided to carry on with that. I’m in London, sw exposure and mostly sunny (though trying to establish a leafy canopy to add shade).

One year on, there is still so much work to do. On the positive side, some of my bananas and even the Ensete maurelii seem to have survived winter unprotected. I’ve got some Musa basjoo already sending leaves up and at least one has clumped and now has 4-5 shoots (from a plug plant last year). My other palms (3 chusan palms last year and now I’ve added 2 chamaerops humilis in pots) are all still so tiny. I have to remind myself my phoenix was tiddly when I brought it home on foot from Morrisons many years ago!

But overall the garden still looks bare so I’ve been planting lots of ferns, Heuchera, polemonium etc. I’ve also got some cannas, crocosmias, pineapple lillies and Kniphofia, and am trying to grow Colocasia (not very successfully so far - got three types and wondering when to give up 😄) and have now planted ginger lillies and eremurus (which are very weird looking when just bare roots, and probably all wrong for my garden, but I’ve taken a punt as they are so spectacular).

I’ve got a Tetrapanax that barely got through winter, my dog ate most of my Sambucus nigra and aucuba, and I just planted a Schefflera to add to the canopy but it’s about 20cm tall right now so I’m not holding my breath. My Kniphofia are a snail nursery!

Ive found it challenging buying plants in nurseries as they are mostly geared towards cottage style gardens, with a very small selection of jungle/foliage plants. Buying online is a gamble - I’ve had some good experiences and sadly many negative ones with diseased plants.

It would be lovely to hear from other jungle gardeners with plants that have worked for them, and positive experiences with online sellers. Thank you 🙏

TLDR; please give me your tips!

@Koulibiak I think I might buy a Musa this summer - it's likely going to live in a container anyway - so it'll gain some height whilst I get the garden landscaping arranged

Also for inspiration, I’ve learned a lot from watching George’s jungle garden videos on YouTube.

I haven't read the full thread as I am too excited! We have a paulownia - it's fabulous, very tall with huge leaves! Also euphorbia, banana,t Rex and of course gunnera and lots of bamboo. Lots of ferns including tree ferns. It's fab. We started 10 years ago so it's coming on now!

We got lots from Desert to Jungle. Rob, the guy who owns it is great - knowledgeable and helpful. They have a website....

@poetrylover how often do you coppice your Paulownia? And do you only keep one branch of the new growth, or more? I’m just curious, I don’t think I have room for one but they’re very intriguing.

Climbers - have you thought of Campsis radicans? If you could get it going that would go really well I think? And one year I grew Cobaea scandens from seed. I think it would be too late for you this year, but it's great fun. I think some people struggle to get enough sun for it to flower early enough but it did well for me on a south-facing London wall. Or Ipomoea lobata? Google unusual climbers.
I think a real jungle feel is all about getting layers. Not particularly tropical in themselves but ferns and Lamium are lovely as ground cover under other plants. And maybe having some plants trailing from wall containers to mimic epiphytes.

Doing some catching up :-) We are in the midst of converting our courtyard garden to tropical planing. Already in: star jasmin and a clematis armandii; a campsis (well two but one is not taking off so im ruthlessly deleting…!); a fatsia; cannas; Eucomis; lilies; nerines; Dalia; hostas and ferns. Plus Spanish flag and cup and saucer plant seeds planted with a sense of hope…

Oh, and I have a space planned for a banana: when is the best time to establish one? Late soring im
guesssing?

Has anyone mentioned Gunnera (sp?) , giant rhubarb yet ,if you can create a damp area? Also hosta and even true rhubarb would look interesting with big leaves and some left to go to seed.

@LifeofBrienne thank you, I’ve got more googling to do! It’s always nice to learn about plants I’ve not considered yet.

@Isthisjustnormal I think May is a good time to put Musa in the ground, they usually grow quickly from June/July to October and it gives them enough time to build up before the winter.

@Doingmybest12 I don’t have the damp soil or room for gunnera, and hostas are a lost cause in my snail & slug paradise. They are lovely plants though, just not for my garden.

@Koulibiak To save a bit of Googling, @Isthisjustnormal and I have suggested some of the same plants with different names! Cup and saucer flowers = Cobaea scandens, and Spanish flag = Ipomoea lobata. The year I grew the former I started them on my windowsill in Feb. They looked like giants next to the other seedlings and were trying to climb up the curtains by the time it was warm enough to plant them out.

Oh I’ve found my people! I have a jungle garden that I didn’t even know I had 🤣
I think I’d describe myself as a confused gardener as I tend to buy and plant things I like without a specific theme, although my back garden is definitely jungle-y and I want to layer it up and make it more so.
Reading with interest!

We coppiced it properly last year for the first time. The leaves are huge so while in autumn they fall and it's a bit mad, they are easy to clean up!

I’m so glad I started this thread! DH has no interest in gardening so it’s nice to discuss with people with a similar interest. Thank you for all the contributions and suggestions - keep them coming! 🌴🌱🌿

There is one fast-growing tree fern: cyathea cooperi - 1 metre per year. I have one in a container so I can move it around. Naturally it's called Sheldon. It likes moist roots and shelter from sun. -5 degrees will kill it.

My garden is a bit jungle-y. I have 4 banana plants, 2 in ground (still wrapped & 2 in pots (kept in an out building over winter). I have 3 cordylines- 1 of which has grown massively over the last 12-16 months. Tip : I got it from Morrisons, a couple of years ago for about £36 - when I popped in the other week they had them again - I can’t believe the size it’s grown to! I have a Chamerops Humilis palm, very slow growing but still a statement plant, a yucca plant, a few decent sized Acers & quite a few hostas, which were massive last year. Have also got 3 fatsias, 2 of which I picked up at a local garden centre a couple of years ago, really cheap as they weren’t looking their best so I got them for about £5! And some ferns which are always good for filling in any blank spaces, the few I have really filled out last year. A couple of ‘grassy’ plants.
I’ve just topped up with some compost & sprinkled /dug in some chicken manure pellets around the bases of each plant - I did the same this time last year & like I said I had the biggest leaves last year. I’ll probably do it again later in the year. I’m no gardener by any means, but I do enjoy my garden & I would get more plants but I’m not allowed!

How are the jungles going?

The fair weather has really helped here, I can see my cannas’ new shoots just poking out, and some bananas already have a couple of leaves. I’m feeling impatient for tropical plants to be available again in nurseries, I wish I could get going and planting now! But of course the weather is going to turn cold again, so it’s probably for the best.

This week I’m going to apply Vitax to try and boost growth. Also need to fertilise the lawn as it’s not looking great. Then do some mulching to try and ward weeds off and retain moisture. I also have some containers that need filling. One of my Japanese maples did not survive the winter so I need to replace it. Any excuse for a trip to the garden centre!

@seeyouyesterday , how do you protect your hostas from snails and slugs? I’ve never managed to keep them healthy.

@Koulibiak I just used crushed egg shells last year, however it didn’t deter all of them, still ended up with some hole-y leaves, the hosta I have in a plant pot managed to evade them. I do remember watching something about a garlic wash you can make & apparently you can make beer or larger traps - a waste though if you ask me & it sounds rather grim!

We lost so many hostas and have given up on them. Slugs are aplenty here though so I am hoping my frogs and toads might start feasting soon. 😊

Oh and we tried everything. Sheep’s wool, traps, shells. Once I got desperate and picked them off one night with a carrier bag. Them came back. Apparently nematodes are good…..

I think short of getting ducks I’m never getting rid of snails. But then I’d have a fox problem.

I’m just planting lots of furry plants and ferns. Strangely they don’t seem to like crocosmia either, and palms are impervious to them.

I recommend checking out your soil type first. I tried a jungle garden in mine (love them!), but chalk soil is really no use! Palms thrive, but position is too exposed for bananas, and too dry for the majority of ferns.

I love my garden, I do, but sometimes, I look at it & I think, we’ll that would be better there & that there! And I have moved things, apparently you can as long as it’s not been in the ground for longer than 2 years & it’s better to do it when the plant is dormant, so basically in early spring. Because everything wasn’t bought at the same time so most of the time I didn’t plan it & just planted where I had space! I think I’m banned from garden centres this year - DH says no more plants! I’ll just have to try & creep one in somewhere & act daft ‘oh we’ve had that years!’

I’m itching to unwrap my bananas though, I’m hoping they’ve survived this time, last year I had to cut to them ground but they came back no problem.

Try bigplantnursery for online stuff - you often have to wait as things are out of stock but theyre good plants generally.
I cant claim to have 3xotic garden, but I do have a big conservatory that Im trying to make feel jungly. Colocasia is beautiful but constantly drips water from its leaf tips - it likes seriously humid air.. Try growing it beside water, not nessiceraly a pond, even just one of those big plastic bowl-shaped containers.

Stuff not yet mentioned:

Tree dahlia
Canna
Ginger
Porcelean berry
Melianthus
Dalmeria
Fig tree