| better late than never awards
Posted by Alex-Atlanta  on 11/9/2009, 11:12 pm
24.98.254.48 | Message modified by user Alex-Atlanta 11/9/2009, 11:32 pm
Some palms and subtropicals are notorious for just "sitting there" for a 1-3 years before taking off with growth. Supposedly, there roots are doing all the work during the initial years. I've experienced that phenomenon this growing season: here are my "better late than never awards" for 2009 (in classic David Letterman style):
10. Tetrapanex "Steroidal Giant" -- OK, I confess. My first two orders of Steroidal Giant died. It's the first time that I've demanded a replacement from a mail order nursery. Honestly, I did everything right. The people at Plant Delights are very accomodating. Well, third time's a charm. In the two growing seasons I've had this remarkable plant it's shot up like a skyscraper, refused to lose all of its leaves even when temps got into the teens, has spread quite vigorously (allowing me to share it with friends) and has amazed all who've seen it. Tony Avent has a gift for humorous names for some of the plants he sells, and his catalog is a scream with its political incorrectness,
but he was dead on accurate when he named this plant "Steroidal Giant."
9. Trithrinax Campestris -- The palm with the sharpest tipped fronds in the world. I bought mine from Phil Bergman at Jungle Music four years ago. It shrugged off the cold but it never really grew much until this summer. It went from producing an average of 1 frond during the growing season to producing 5 this summer.
8. Keraji (citrus) -- I believe it was Tom M. who said Keraji was his family's favorite citrus to eat. I purchased one at a SPS meeting a year or so ago. Unlike most of my other citrus (other than my Thomasville C. described below), the Keraji just sat there looking pretty all summer with no flush of growth -- until a month ago when it sent out about 12 inches of growth on every limb. Because the new growth is likely to be fairly tender when the freezes hit, I'll give this beauty a lot of protection this winter.
7. Phillodendron (sp?) -- Who would have thought you could take a tropical plant (from Home Depot) and stick it in the ground and have it survive unprotected lows in the low to mid teens for two winters and come back bigger and more vigorous the following Spring? It was so aggressive this summer that I actually had to cut it back twice.
6. Manihot -- I confess that I've been green with envy when I see how some people have been able to grow very massive Manihots (Will in Athens, TN and Randy in TN are my inspirations). Mine just puttered along barely surving the winter until this summer. It shot upwards and sideways allowing me to prune it into a very nice tree with a rounded crown. Even if it dies back to the ground, I know it will be back with a vengeance in the Spring.
5. Washingtonia Filifera -- At least in the Southeast, for some reason Filifera struggles when it's very young, and it looks pretty ratty too. My gangly youngster hit four years of age (in the ground) this summer and finally took off. Washingtonia Robusta is very rewarding with its fast growth and ability to refoliate after winter freezes, but the grandeur of Washingtonia Filifera is incomparable. My young Filifera is not quite at a point where it looks "grand" but it seems to be making it past those awkward adolescent years where it looks so bad in the Southeast.
4. Black Bamboo -- Patience pays off on this great bamboo because after about 3 years in the ground it starts sending up 15 foot shiny ebony canes. Boy does it run though. It's crept under a fence into a neighbor's back yard and they haven't noticed it yet .... Ruh Roh!
3. Sabal Uresana -- Sabals for the most part seem to be really slow. I've had a Uresana in the ground for 4 years now and it's grown some, but it wasn't until this summer that it really started taking off. It even seemed to regain that cerulean blue color that the fronds had when I first planted the tree. An underutilized gem.
2. Longleaf Pine -- Famous for being in the "grass stage" for years and then shooting skyward in growth. I'm in year two of the vertical momentum phase (Not me -- I wish -- my Longleaf) and loving every minute of it!
1. Thomasville Citrangequat -- Mine has been sitting in a perfect spot doing absolutely nothing for 3 years. Well, I should give it some credit. It's pretty. And it shrugged off the mid teen lows with no protection, but no appreciable growth to speak of and certainly no flowers. And then this summer: Bang! Zoom! The central trunk shot up from three feet to nine feet tall. No kidding. Plus some nice lateral branching. Is it too much to hope for some fruits in the next couple of years?
Alex Woollcott
Atlanta, GA (Buckhead area inside city)
Low zone 8a (09 winter low - 12 degrees F)
Current obsession: citrus, bamboo, eucs
Other passions: birding, surfing, kayaking
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Now if only you posted some before and after pictures, the post would have been perfect. I share your sentiment...filifera are awfully slow to take off in the SE but when they do...wow they look great. All of mine sulked all Summer and now they seam to be growing a bit. I'm looking forward to next Spring.