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!

@ungarden interesting to hear your update too! I would love a tree fern but they are so pricey and I worry about rooting.

Don’t be put off by my schefflera, I am actually thinking of enlarging a border and sticking a new, bigger one in there.

On Musa, I planted a few tiny ones last year and they have multiplied without any winter protection. I now have many clumps and I’ve started dividing them by relocating some pups away. They are really fantastic value as they give such amazing leaves and multiple pups (up to five per plant from last year). I do give them lots of feeding every week and they are easy growers.

I bought another musa, a smaller 2ft tree fern and a Schefflera yesterday, and planted the rest of the bamboo, iris and agapanthas. I've done so much of the grunt work myself I'm being a little more extravagant with the planting.

I'm doing wet shady woodland on one side and more jungly on the other sunnier side.
So for my shady side I'm getting over my 70s aversion to dwarf conifers, starting to think they'll work nicely with my stumpery and the ferns.

@ungarden You’ve inspired me to spring into action! I’ve dug up a new bed (ouch my back) and started moving things around. I’ve grouped the nandinas, moved some trachys, bought a new Schefflera (it will go in a different, sheltered spot to the old one) and a trochodendron because it looks so weird and prehistoric. I’ve dug up kniphofias and other plants and shrubs and given them to neighbours. I’ve also moved some colocasias to the new bed, hoping they can survive winter under cloches.

I still have to dig up and move various other things including more kniphofias, pampas grass (I don’t know what I was thinking 🤨), two small chammies, maybe move a Tetrapanax that is squeezed between other trees, lots of pruning, getting rid of nasturtium on steroids before winter, enlarge another bed, mulch the whole garden… now if it can just stop raining for a few days 🤞

I'm going to have to google quite a few of your plants @Koulibiak 😂 love trochodendrons - but I'm wary about the hardiness and I'm not sure I have enough room for one.
I still haven't planted the Schefflera - it's only frost-hardy when it reaches 1m tall - so it's looking like it's going to live inside over the winter and I'll plant it outside in the spring and hope it gains height next summer, its growth rate is meant to be pretty fast.
I have had some challenges with companion planting with the Trachycarpus wagnerianus - nothing looks right beside it except more Trachycarpus wagnerianus in varying heights and I don't have room or want more, I've looked at pinterest etc but nothing clicks - so I finally settled on Ilex balls and grasses - funny how some plants are hard to place - a bit like furniture in a room I suppose.
I ended up with 3 bananas - I like them planted in a large triangle, let's see if they make it through the winter! I'm definitely more interested in design than botany - so I don't think I'll ever be a real gardener - much to dh's relief!

You could try Musa sikkimensis too. I have tried to protect the stem over winter with some success but it's a bit too much bother really. It's nice to get a plant which gets quite high and doesn't have to start afresh each spring.

I could show you photos of my Musa basjoo flowering and fruiting in my London garden. It can happen.

I left my ensete in the ground last winter with no protection but for a bit of bark chips around the base. It has come back big and strong this year, so I think in a mild winter in London, it is hardy.

I’ve got Musa sikkimensis as well, they are lovely as are basjoo. But ensete is more spectacular with thick, long, two tone leaves.

Ok, I’m well into my autumn jungle maintenance now.

Having dug a new bed, I’ve moved some palms (trachys and chammy) and banana pups to the new bed, as well as lots of colocasias which I’m going to protect with cloches over winter and hope for the best. TBH while I love all the colo varieties, the one that is truly spectacular in my garden is the standard one I grew from corms over winter, ie esculenta. So if I lose the fancy ones, at least I know I can rely on a few corm grown ones next spring.

I bought a few verbena bonariensis (the name makes me smile every time, it sounds like “good for nothing” in French), and I’m going to add some Persicaria, salvia amistad and alstroemerias which I’ve ordered. Then I might add some ferns. Then sit back and let everything grow until spring. 🌴🌿🌱

My neighbour gave me some verbena bonariensis and I wasn't sure I wanted them, so I put them in a big pot and slipped it in front of the bamboo and behind the agapanthus - and I love it. I like that they are so delicate and that there isn't much colour mostly green - it somehow elevates the flowers.

I'm enjoying my ilex topiary balls around the eating area and randomly placed around the garden - like full stop - even trimming them gives me an odd sense of calm.

I've stopped planting for the year - or at least I'm trying to. I'm waiting to see how the other plants come along before I start again in spring. My garden is west-facing so I have a north side and a south side - I'm thinking of a watered-down version of prairie planting for part of the last 3 metres of the south side, not too much colour - tall grasses, with the odd flower making an appearance to break things up.

I wasn't going to mention taro because it seems too tropical to be planted outdoors. Reading something about it in a paper and seeing a beautiful specimen in the gardens of a university I would now suggest it.

Colocasias and Alocasias have enormous heart-shaped leaves. I don't know what the gardeners at the university do in winter but the one I saw looks several years old. Maybe they dig it up and put it somewhere frost free over winter.

They also have Tetrapanax, which is known as the rice-paper plant. It's not as nice as taro though.

@SuePine69 , the one taro that is reliably hardy in most of the U.K. is Colocasia pink China.

Most people dig up their other varieties of Colocasia and Alocasia and dry store them over winter (or treat them as houseplants in some cases). However, I’ve seen some YouTube gardeners who have been successful leaving them in the ground with a thick mulch and/or cloches.

Since I’m quite lazy and don’t fancy digging things up, I’ve bought cloches and I’m ready to protect them as soon as needed, but it’s been quite mild down here and everything is still going strong. Colocasia esculenta are still putting out new gigantic leaves, so I’m waiting for them to calm down before putting them to bed for the winter ☺️.

In other jungle news, my brugmansia has just started flowering today for the first time! I planted it this year as a plug, and it’s now about 3ft tall with a hard trunk. I’ve heard some of them are pretty hardy with protection, so when it’s colder I’m going to wrap it in fleece and hope for the best. And I will take soft wood cuttings and try and propagate it for use elsewhere. It is such a cheerful plant, and seems impervious to slugs and bugs.

I highly recommend checking out "little garden of big dreams" on Instagram. She does the tropical garden look so well, her garden looks like it was transplanted across the world from Bali! You might get some planting ideas. It's based in Ireland not the UK but a similar climate anyway.

Gunnera's now on the banned list. Nurseries are not allowed to sell it, though you can still grow it.

Not all types are banned in the UK.

Gunnera manicata (if such a thing exists in cultivation), gunnera tinctoria and their hybrid, gunnera x cryptica (usually sold as G manicata) are all banned.
That's all the large leaved gunnera. Small ones like G magellanica are still available but small leaved gunnera rather miss the point.

Ohhh great thread. I am planning one for next year thanks to picking up a couple of interesting plants at a yard sale. Had some nice pots this year and want to start ground planting next year.

So far I have green and red banana, pink cordyline, some ferns, persicaria, fatsia japonica spiders web, cannas and a canary island date palm. I also have a list much bigger than my small garden can contain of things I want to add.

@SprigatitoYouAndIKnow welcome to the jungle! You are pretty much describing my garden 😂. Except I started with ground planting and will add pots next year - I got some nice large ones from home bargains in the autumn sale, so I’ve got the winter to decide what to put in them. What worked well for you?

We have a small polycarbonate greenhouse, so the plants are moving in there for winter. I will be bubble wrapping it too. Hopefully everyone, or most will survive. Didn't really think this through, as it would have been much better to wait till spring, but got carried away with plant excitement 😄. It's a loooong time to wait.

I also want it to merge into a jurassic area with monkey puzzle, gingko, dawn redwood, wollemi pine, ferns and cycads. Unfortunately I got the trees online and didn't notice the advertised size, so they are tiny twigs.

Ooh I love a monkey puzzle tree. But they get enormous- 25m high - and I don’t have the space.

Your Fatsia should be fine outdoors over winter if planted in the ground, they are tough as old boots. Ferns too (unless tree ferns?). My small pink cordylines did not survive winter outside last year, so overwintering them is probably a good idea. Red and green bananas - I assume both are Musa? - may need overwintering this year if very small, but they are pretty hardy after the first year.

Make sure you plant the canary palm well away from the house. I planted a twig 12 years ago, it’s gone from this to that 😂

@Koulibiak it helps that I miscalculated size online and most of my extra large trees are currently twigs. I genuinely do have a small garden, so current plan is to win the lottery before they get too big and move somewhere they can spread their roots. As plans go, I agree it is flawed, I just have no willpower around plants I want.

Is anyone else chomping at the bit to start gardening again 😂 I hadn’t realised how much I enjoyed it. Now that the garden is in winter mode, with everything wrapped up or dormant, I feel like a daily part of my day is missing. Thankfully I planted lots of bulbs so I’m hoping to see crocuses/ early irises in a few weeks, then daffs, tulips and allium.

I’ve resorted to buying cheap house plants from the supermarket to keep me going. My plan is to grow them through the winter, divide them and move them outside in the spring. I will also start Colocasia corms soon as they take a long time to get going.

I already have a plant wishlist ready for next year - aeonium, begonia luxurians, farfugium and more cannas - the leaf obsession continues.

What are your jungle plans next year? And what jungly things grow well in pots? I need to start planning what I will do with my pots after my bulbs are done.

Sending lots of warm thoughts to everyone worried about their jungles tonight! We’ve only had a bit of rain here, but I know many places will be very cold tonight. I hope damage is minimal for less hardy plants 🤞🌈

My bananas and tree ferns are wrapped up - everything else will have to battle with the elements. We had a big frog die in our pond following the last freeze - really hope it was natural causes but it was upsetting. Looking forward to seeing everything come to life again in the spring - I'm going to plant more snowdrops in the fernery/stumpery to bring some cheer to the garden and we have finally booked in a contractor to build a patio - not happening until March though. I'm hoping to finish the planting this year and maybe focus on other things - like the front garden.

@ungarden, can you tell me more about your ilex topiary balls? My garden needs punctuation and I’m craving some round shapes to contrast the big leaves and spikes. I also have a path that needs framing, and I keep thinking they would look lovely in the frost we’ve got today.

Did you buy small or large ones? Are they in pots or did you plant them in? How fast are they growing?

Any advice would be very welcome 🙏

I bought 4 small ones (20-25cm) and 3 bigger ones (35-40cm) from Garden Express reasonable price but that company takes an age to deliver. I like varied sizes sitting together like a wee family.

All but two of them are in the ground - I plan on moving them in April but I'm waiting on my patio being finished because I'm also getting a pathway of long rectangular stepping stones and I haven't quite decided on how I'm going to place them and I don't want to limit my choices with an Ilex stuck in the way but I love a small collection of topiary balls placed to give some structure to wandering pathway - iyswim.

My biggest fear was trimming them and keeping the ball shape I thought about cages (so expensive) but have now watched videos and you start at the top create a monk top and then trim from that down - it works fine - bought a pair of scissor-type shears to help.

The ilex are meant to be the most frequently returned plant to garden centres - they apparently are very easy to kill - my 7 (which I've had for 9 months) are still happy - one was even used as a toilet by my dear departed dog - it still survived. They don't like being thirsty but we have an automatic water system set up - I couldn't manage the tree ferns otherwise so we just created two systems one for normal plants and one for thirsty plants. They don't grow very quickly (could be the settling in thing though) - but that's good too because they'd be impossible to keep in shape.

Another idea is to get a Yew ball - Garden Express sells those quite cheaply too - recently saw one irl and they look fantastic - deep green, intense foliage they apparently easier to keep alive too.

I have found ilex really easy but I'm quickly coming to realise that a lot of gardening is just luck. Sure follow all the advice and right plant, right place etc but it's not always easy to figure out where the right place is - they seem to like my garden wherever I put them.

Thank you @ungarden that’s really helpful. I’ve had a bad experience with Gardening Express so I will look for another supplier - I’m sure I’ve seen them in garden centres. I also like them grouped like little families, Japanese style. my dream would be to have a cloud tree, but £10k😱

How many garden taps do you need for your dual irrigation system? Or do you have a tap splitter? That’s another thing I need to start thinking about. My garden is really small, it’s no biggie to water when I’m around, but I’m worried about holidays, especially for things in pots.

This morning I started my Colocasia corms. I will report if successful in a few weeks.