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!

Hello jungle gang! Ours is starting to get going (bearing in mind this is our first year of switching our tiny courtyard garden from classic British to jungle ;-) ) Baby banana (red tiger) is settling in; canna are doing well and my ferns are looking lovely! Spanish flag is really taking off too. Did anyone see the coverage of the balcony gardens at Chelsea? There was a fab tropical garden there: I’ve been adding nastersiums to the garden based on it as they were perfect as such a sprawling wave of colour. The pond sounds lovely @ungarden We have a barrel pond at our allotment and it’s a source of constant entertainment! Our garden has a wall mountaineer fountain instead. The sound of water is definitely a jungle thing ;-)

@Isthisjustnormal the tiny jungle sounds lovely!

On nasturtiums, I love them too (the round leaves are a nice contrast to other foliage) but they can grow absolutely huge and smother everything, and mine got a serious case of black fly in late summer last year. I still use them to fill in empty spots, but as soon as they get big and leggy I take them out. Fortunately they are very easy to remove, so just be prepared to pull them out if the need arises - I’m ruthless with them now. Plus they self seed so I know I’ve got an endless supply.

Yes, I grow them at the allotment, as a sacrificial/companion plant, so am used to having to be brutal with them (and as all parts of the plant can be eaten, at worst just munch my way through ‘em: although agree maybe not if covered in black fly! ).

@Isthisjustnormal apologies, sounds like I’m teaching my grandmother to suck eggs!

can I at least recommend the Alaska ones - the variegated foliage is lovely and they have proved hardy (through self seeding) in my garden. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00AJK1QKO?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder_k0_1_12&amp=&crid=YAHTYBHBRTJM&sprefix=nasturtiums%2B&th=1

@Koulibiak : not at all: I have to admit I had forgotten their tendency to black fly as I’ve not had that issue for a few years, so I am hoping to escape it again! Those Alaska ones are gorgeous! Here’s the inspiration photo from Chelsea: don’t they look fab? No blackly on them ;-)

Yes they look fab. Mine always have foliage taller than the flowers, so the flowers are sort of underneath and a bit hidden. I wonder if they cut the top leaves to give them that look?

I found my people!
Jungle garden has been going about 6 years, lots of trial and error - but I detest bringing in non hardy plants, and want to have good structure in winter, even a huge agave in the best drained part of the garden.
We've used lots of fatsias, trachycarpus, nandica, and yuccas as the back bone with 2 huge jelly palms - then in spring the ferns, hostas, t rex and crosmica pop up before the bananas, cannas and gingers.
Last year was the first year with alocecias and I only managed to over winter 2 :(
The pink china in pots has all died, only the ones in the ground have survived and popped back up.

Biggest issue seems to be grass! I want it all gone and husband wants it. So I simply cut the edges a good few inches when his back is turned🤣

We've put aim Fatsia's in an area we put our wood chippings on and they love it and the leaves are huge and glossy.

@WhyCantPeopleBeNice welcome to the jungle! Your garden sounds splendid. I also avoid non hardy plants. I had to Google jelly palm, they sound great. I’ve got some palms (phoenix, trachys, chammys) but no jelly.

How do you keep crocosmia under control? I planted a few bulbs last year and I think they did a good job of protecting tenderer plants (ensete, Colocasia) from wind and frost. But they have now multiplied and are really tall. Maybe I will need to lift them and put them at the back of borders in the autumn.

@ManilowBarry I have a variegated Fatsia that has got gigantic leaves now, easily 50cm across. It’s like it’s on steroids. It’s making my standard Fatsias look sickly in comparison 🤭

My plant of the week is Eucomis (pineapple lilies). They’re not flowering yet, but the leaves alone look lush and jungly, and the snails leave them alone. Plus the flowers look hilarious and last forever. I’m already planning to plant more next spring.

Welcome @ManilowBarry : that’s a lush looking Fatsia! Ohhh, jealous of your Eucomis @Koulibiak a I planted a massive farmer gravy eucomis bulb and realised just a few days ago I’ve seen no growth at all, so guess it was a dud :-( My plant of the eeek are my spider plants! We have so many I chucked a few outside as summer throwaway and they are all growing away nicely somewhat to my surprise. Does anyone in here do much locating of houseplants outside over the summer? I’m debating moving one of our three monstera outside but Dh loves them and I’ll be in trouble if they struggle! I’ve also heard aspidistra can manage outside all year round (seems credible tbh - I have two which I inherited from my granny and have survived a good 50 + years of her then my benign neglect!)

@Isthisjustnormal I had the same problem with my Eucomis last year - planted three bulbs, only one grew. This year I bought 10 of them from a different seller (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01CQZ0AII/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and every one of them is growing.

I can’t help with house plants - I’ve also heard that aspidistra is hardy, and that monstera is happy outside in summer, but haven’t tried either.

@Isthisjustnormal I have been known to put my houseplants outside when they have annoyed me. The citrus went outside 2 months ago!
I have a Fatsia on the kitchen window and it has shown no signs of doing anything this year - I'm thinking it's time it went outside, it might be just the tonic it needs because it's certainly not enjoying life as a houseplant.

The redesign of my garden continues - decided on reclaimed bricks/handmade bricks for the patio, laid in a 45 degree herringbone pattern then limestone and brick for the steps up into the garden and then limestone for the rectangular stepping stones through the garden (with a break halfway along for a seating area that will feel like you are immersed in greenery). I'm sure I'm mixing a million different styles here but it's how I like to decorate inside too - mixing the new with the old. Figuring out the planting is next, I think I need to take a trip to a good garden centre - online images just don't work for scale.

@Koulibiak There is no controlling Crosmica!
We have a mix of orange (I think it's called Emily) and Lucifer. The Lucifer is much slower to spread but more upright and a firm favourite. With the orange one it's great as a filler and each time I add a new bed to keep costs down - but we also dig chunks up and give away each year when the village has their annual open garden.

This years is the 23rd and everything is so far behind, the cannas are only just peaking through in a few places. I wish we could do it in late July or August but the organiser knows their garden peaks in June!!!

I've had a good afternoon pottering and sorting out the untropical veg patch, the one good thing with the open garden is it forces me to do all the little jobs. The potting area is an absolute disgrace 🤦

@ungarden I love an unconventional garden - mixing styles and materials I find is key to really getting something unique, we've repurposed a few odd things like the old copper water tank, old house bricks etc. Blends with your home and makes for a healthier garden - the same with mixing tropical and traditional plants, half the fun is finding something that doesn't just grown but thrives. A seating area surrounded by plants sounds heavenly

I had a tropical style garden in the NW when I still lived in the UK and one plant I rarely see mentioned but is very useful for this style of planting is mahonia soft caress. It’s thornless, evergreen, has big strappy leaves and produces scented flowers in autumn when most tropical gardens are losing their colour. It’s also bone hardy, suitable for shade (often tricky in a tropical garden) and can survive on benign neglect. I grew mine in a large pot and it was never any bother, it would probably be even more straightforward in the ground.

@CanaHouse I like the foliage but I have a strong aversion to yellow (& orange) flowers. Red is a bit challenging too. Actually flowers in general which is why jungle-style planting appeals to me. I'll give way to white blossoms and recently I have fallen for a deep purple iris that the previous owners planted.

Is it just me who sticks to certain colours when it comes to planting? What palates do other people enjoy?

@CanaHouse I wish I could grow Mahonia SC! Last year I planted 7 in different areas of the garden- then watched as each and every one of them withered and died. I moved them to other areas - more shade, more sun, dryer, wetter, front garden. They still all died. That’s the last time I ordered from Gardening Express.

@ungarden I think it’s very nice to stick to a colour scheme. My garden is mostly foliage, so lots of shapes and shades of green, but I like a few splashes of orange, yellow and red. So - cannas, kniphofia, eremurus, nasturtiums, crocosmia (and hopefully gingers this year).

What I struggle with are the pastel colours, pale blues, mauves and pinks. I find them draining and sad.

So.. I’ve rehomed my roses and I need to find a new home for my peonies. I’m disappointed with my yarrows, they were meant to be hot colours but have come out very pale. And having just planted Polemonium, I decided I don’t like the blue flowers - I tolerate them for the bees, but chop them off as soon as possible. I may move them to my non jungly front garden to mix with the ferns and astilbes.

I've been growing exotic garden plants for over 15 years in my Northern Exotic Garden. Quite a lot has changed over the years in terms of plant availability, choice and price!
Some great comments so far in this thread. I've made over 500 YouTube videos on exotic gardening so if there's anything anyone wants to know about I'm happy to share any exotic plant growing experiences.

@ungarden Oh I sympathise, my current garden is primarily blues and whites, I’m not keen on yellow either and it’s banned from this particular garden 😆 I didn’t mind so much in my tropical garden because it wasn’t competing with anything else colour wise.

@Yorkshirekris welcome to our jungle thread! I’ve actually watched quite a few of your videos and found them useful and inspiring (and fun). It’s lovely to have an expert join us. You might come to rue the day as I’ve got some questions 😊.

My main one is about the feeding regimen. I’ve got borders that have palms and jungle perennials. I keep reading that palms need a specific palm feeder. But when I feed the rest of my border, surely the palm also gets those nutrients in the soil? How do you feed specific plants in a mixed environment?

At the moment I feed weekly, alternating between soluble feed (miraclegro) and liquid seaweed. I also add slow release fertiliser (growmore )and vitax 6x a few times a year. Is that enough? Or should I do things differently?

Also a plant specific question - do you have farfugium, and how does it do with snails and slugs?

Thank you 🙏

Thanks for the welcome. I just compose a long response and it didn't post! Will try again tomorrow

Welcome @Yorkshirekris : I’ve followed you on insta! My first Dalias are flowering which is pleasing (new to dahlias this year). My pre-jungle garden was purples/whites/blues and a few splashes of orange for contrast. Jungle garden is more brights (orange/red/yellow with some whites and dark purples) , and I’m quite enjoying it so far but it feels quite unlike me!

Here in Melbourne I've put together a temporary sub-tropical garden for the winter in the front garden. It faces full west so is very hot indeed in summer, though we've not had scorchers for three years. Everything bar the salvia Anthony Parker and Jade plant are in pots and it's testimony to the meh summers that I've not had to move anything into shade on hot days - a run of 35 degree days would make this necessary.

I’m curious to know how your jungles are going? It’s been a year of experimenting for me. Things that have gone well:

• bananas and ensete are tall and healthy with lovely big leaves
• colocasia I grew from corms produced massive leaves and look amazing
• crocosmia gave a nice few weeks of red flowers all over the place (though I fear they will be invasive next year)
• my tiny Tetrapanax is now 4-5 feet tall and has really got going
• all palms are looking healthy though I wish they’d gain more height
• one of my sago palms has produced a first flush of leaves! I’m chuffed as I read it can take them years to do so, and I only planted it last year
• My £2 supermarket passiflore is now a 10m+ long mammoth, covering a 8m long pergola and giving lovely shade and flowers over hanging chairs - heavenly
• the pineapple lilies are still going - it’s amazing how long they flower
• I’m getting better at keeping nasturtiums under control, pulling gardenbagfuls out every now and then

Things that haven’t gone so well:

• the tiny Schefflera taiwanania I planted in the spring seems to have died, not sure why
• my gingers haven’t flowered
• the colocasias I planted as plug plants haven’t grown nearly as big as the ones I started from corms
• kniphofias are starting to annoy me - so much boring foliage for so few flowers

Overall I’m very pleased with how things are shaping up and I am starting to feel more confident. In particular I’m glad for my densely planted borders, there’s less room for weeds and the overlay of different foliages really gives a jungle effect.

My main takeaway is that I probably need some bulbs to give spring interest to the garden, otherwise it looks a bit desolate before the big leaves really get going. I’m thinking alliums and parrot tulips would be a good combo.

Please share any jungle tips, suggestions, success stories or miseries! Thank you 🌴🌿

Interesting to hear your updates.
I haven't planted as much as I expected, finding it hard to layer plants - I think I suffer from planting paralysis - terrified of putting them in the wrong spot.
Have gone for loads of grasses, agapathas, iris, and ferns - a few ilex crenata balls for around the sunken eating area - apparently the most returned plant at garden centres but they haven't died yet. A magnolia grandiflora - bought at half price and is settling in well.
Musa - was a slow starter but is starting to look a bit more respectable in terms of height - might even go for a second. Planted a Trachycarpus wagnerianus last week and clumping bamboos,
I want to try a Schefflera taiwanania - have been looking for a biggish one, you've got me worried @Koulibiak
The big tree fern is still looking good - but I worry that it hasn't rooted and I worry that the ground has been too wet - the automatic watering system has been brilliant - but for some reason the baby tree fern is struggling.
Pond finally settled down, had some mossies to begin with but we used doughnuts to get rid and they haven't come back, got blanket weed for a while too - but I love it, not much wildlife but the dog enjoys a good drink.
Not many plants with flowers but I quite like that - when the flowers appear they really stand out.
I've only had two deaths so far - a blue grass - which I hated anyway, the dog liked to pee on it and a fern - no idea why that died.