Do you dream of a beach holiday? I guess you’re imagining a palm tree. Fantasizing about life on a remote island? You probably imagine a walk among birds of paradise, cannas and bananas. Nothing evokes the feeling of the tropics quite like gigantic, lush-leaved plants, and if you live in the tropics or subtropics, you can enjoy them all year round.
The rest of us have to buy them every year and treat them as annuals or, if we know how, save them from year to year. After reading this, you’ll fall into the latter camp, saving you money and making future summers at home feel like an exotic getaway.
Elephant ears cannas and caladiums
A border of elephant ears outside a house in Atlantic Beach, NY (Beth H. Brenner via AP)
If you bought potted elephant ears (Colocasia), cannas or caladiums, bring the pots inside instead of kicking them to the curb. Place them near a sunny window, water often and fertilize occasionally with regular houseplant fertilizer diluted to half strength.
If they are too large for the house or planted in the garden, leave them outside until the first frost turns their leaves brown. Then cut the plants to 15 cm high and dig them up.
Rinse the bulb roots, separate them and allow them to air dry thoroughly. Then place them in peat moss in a box in which you have cut a few holes for ventilation. Milk crates are suitable for storing large quantities. Place the box or crate in a cool, dark place, such as a crawl space or basement.
Check them about once a month and spray them with water if they start to shrivel, and throw away anything that starts to rot. Plant outdoors and fertilize when the soil has warmed in the spring (around the time you plant tomatoes), or give them a head start by planting them indoors a month earlier in potting soil and placing them near your sunniest window or under grow lights, where the soil remains slightly moist.
Potted hibiscus and angel trumpets
A hibiscus flower in bloom. (Chris Petersen via AP)
Potted hibiscus and angel’s trumpets (Brugmansia) should also be brought indoors before the first frost and treated as houseplants near the sunniest window in winter. The plants will likely drop their leaves and may even look sickly, but they should bounce back when put back outside in the spring.
If you don’t have room for the plants in your living space, you can induce dormancy by keeping the pots at 40-45°F, checking them twice a month and watering very lightly when the soil feels dry at finger depth.
Place the plants in a warmer, sunnier spot, prune them lightly and fertilize them about a month before the danger of frost has passed. Then put them outside again.
Banana plants
Tropical banana plants growing on the Farmingdale State College campus in Farmingdale, NY (Chris Petersen via AP)
Potted banana plants should be cut down to ground level when the first frost turns their leaves brown. Store the containers in a dark place at about 40-45°F. Inspect the soil monthly and only water very lightly when it is completely dry. Growth will resume in the spring, but keep the plants indoors until the danger of frost has passed. Fertilize and resume regular watering.
Do not cut bananas back into the ground in the fall. Simply dig them up, place their roots in a plastic garbage bag and store them as you would their potted counterparts. Cut them back to 6 inches in spring and plant them in the garden after the danger of frost has passed.
Then put the money you would otherwise spend on new plants toward a water feature, fire pit or tropical drink ingredients. After all, it’s always five o’clock somewhere, and starting this year, your tropical backyard oasis will be somewhere.
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Jessica Damiano writes weekly garden columns for the AP and publishes award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. That’s possible sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.
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