Time to Trim Gingers

Florida had a mild winter. Well, West Central Florida did anyway. It was even milder than last year and last winter was mild. Anything that didn't get trimmed in the fall actually put on new growth due to our warm soil and gloriously warm winter sunshine.

Shell ginger (Alpinia zerumbet var.) in my front garden BEFORE I trimmed it.

I started my spring pruning in early February. I know we are supposed to wait, but I had big faith we wouldn't have a freeze at that point. It seems pretty safe to start trimming in protected areas. You know, the places under large oak trees where plants are mostly insulated from the cold anyway. My shell gingers in the front garden as well as the back garden are rarely affected by cold because of the trees.

If you haven't already trimmed your shell ginger plants, now is the time to do it. Buds for their late-April/early-May bloom will be forming soon so you probably don't want to wait any longer.

After their trim.

Here's a link to a step by step how-to trim these gingers I wrote previously with lots more info on these lovely perennials. Enjoy your spring garden and your spring clean up. I am loving our Florida cool nights/mornings this week. I hope you are too!

Happy gardening,
Meems

Are You Ready For Fall?

I know I am eager for that first true Florida cold front.  It's been a long, endless summer this season. I'm ready for less humidity and cooler temperatures. I can hardly remember what it feels like to garden without pouring sweat. 

'Postman Joyner' caladium, 'Siam Ruby' ornamental bananas, variegated shell ginger (Alpinia), and Cordyline in back garden.

The change of seasons doesn't necessarily mean a change in fall foliage in this part of West Central Florida. These are the colors my fall garden is displaying this year. I know, it's kind of like cheating since these are the original colors of these foliage plants. We just have to make due sometimes and this is how I do it for fall and now that I think about it for spring and summer also. What are some of your favorite fall foliage plants?

More on Autumn here:
Delicious Autumn 
To Capture the Sunlight
Peaceful Passage
Autumn's Calming Scenery
Morning's Hopeful Glow

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How-to Trim Shell Gingers

Layers of Florida-Friendly plants keep my front garden lush throughout the year.

Variegated Shell Ginger plants are the middle layer in a sweeping, meandering bed in the front garden situated among clumps of happy neighbors like Giant Liriope,  Philodendron (Xanadu), Azaleas, Variegated flax lily, Cordyline, Begonia and Caladiums (in summer).

Brightly colored, striped foliage of Variegated Shell Ginger leaves.

Variegated Shell Ginger provide a wonderfully tropical feel with their elongated bright green and brilliant yellow streaked leaves carried on thick fleshy, erect stalks. Gingers are an easy-care Florida-Friendly plant. Site them in partial shade or filtered light for best performance. Too much sun for them requires too much water to keep them healthy and stresses the foliage.

Mature Variegated Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet) reach heights of well over 6 feet (non-variegated gets taller). Alpinia grow from underground rhizomes. New growth emerges throughout spring and summer which increases the lushness of each plant. Old stalks decline and need to be removed for optimum appearance and growth.

Shell ginger prior to pruning.

In my garden, I trim shell gingers to maintain their size in relation to the rest of the landscape. I typically trim ginger approximately three times a year. Once at the start of spring, once mid-summer and again mid-fall.

Assess each stalk to determine the height you desire.

Individual stalks of Shell Ginger can be soft pruned. It's easy to do with a hand pruner.

Make a clean cut to the stalk just above the point where a leaf is connected at the height you prefer the plant to be. New leaf-growth will come from this point on the cut stalk. You'll want to prune prior to your plants setting buds during bloom season. See here for the unique blooms these plants produce in mid-late spring. 

Ground level stalks of Shell Ginger

Each plant is eye-balled one-by-one to determine which stalks stay and which ones need to be eliminated. At ground level it is easy to see the mess dead stalks make. Don't be shy. They will return thick and lush.

To thin them out remove weak, yellowing stalks at the base of the plant.  Remove all the dead, brown foliage at the same time.

New stalk emerging from rhizome.

Look for new growth marked by reddish foliage spiking from the base of the plant.  Pruning old growth encourages healthy new stalks to emerge from the underground rhizome.

After the spring clean up process of pruning old stalks and removing dead foliage.

Here is the 'after' affect at the ground view where only healthy and baby stalks remain post-pruning.

Shell Ginger (variegata) that is properly cared for will last for many years in your zone 9-11 garden. 

Happy pruning, Meems

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Expectation or Surprise?

In every garden there are those specific, faithful plants in which the gardener anticipates the arrival of an annual bloom time. We know it is inevitable. It's like waiting for the seasons to change. You know the expected time it will transition you just don't know the exact day the change will appear.

Often these are the very plants that faithfully supply hardy foliage and steadfast characteristics throughout the year. We love them for that. We depend on their stalwart performance as we pay little attention to them due to many other endeavors going on right around them. But they are easy and carefree and don't insist on being the center of attention. Their supporting role is to be noticed occasionally as the backdrop or a specimen in an otherwise multi-layered setting.

In the case of Variegated Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet) it is the elongated yellow and green striped leaves that make my heart go pitter-patter. In my filtered, high-shifting shady areas they stand out brightly against varied textures and layers of greenery.
Then one spring day, seemingly out of nowhere, a bud is staring me in the face. It's as if all of a sudden, in an instant ~ a blink even ~ this beautiful burst of wrapped up energy has emerged. Was I too busy caring for all your neighbors to notice or did you really sprout overnight? Elation fills my emotions as if this were the first I'd ever seen this favorite of the perennials bloom.

But of course I have seen them bloom before. Every year when these exotic blooms appear they catch me by surprise. As if I didn't really expect them when I most certainly do. I anticipate them to fill the air with their lightly fragrant flush of musky ginger each May.

So tropical yet so resilient to the elements. The towering oak trees overhead protect from brutal afternoon rays as well as occasional frost and freeze making these Florida-Friendly gingers a perfect fit in my garden.

Is your anticipation mounting for a favorite perennial to bloom?
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Quick Tips For Growing Variegated Shell Ginger:
**Be prepared to wait as it takes a few years of maturity for them to initially send out their exquisite flowers.
**Plant them as a background or middle layer that fits in with a 5-6 foot setting.
**Add plenty of organic materials to sandy soil to make this plant happiest
**Can be grown in the ground or in a container
**Rhizomes can be divided to transplant

Those Drippy, Exotic Blooms Are Back

Like clockwork it is the glorious month of May when we look for these drippy blooms to appear.

When the Alpinia zerumbet, Variegated Shell Ginger was initially planted ~~ eons ago (read:ten years) ~~ the luscious blooms were not even a factor in their consideration. Little did this gardener know they would indeed bloom.

At that time the decision was made to situate them as a mid-level layer curving around the length of the front border that hugs a large stand of oak trees.

Gingers were selected based on the need for a perennial in that area to take the place of my then habit of switching out annuals every season.

This lovely specimen met the criterion for my LOVE of foliage with their outstandingly large leaves ~ each one reaching out 18" - 2' from its stalk and 6-8" wide~~ coupled with their eye-catching, stripey foliage. Consideration for height capabilities and Florida-Friendly low-water needs along with their ability to thrive in shifting shade were characteristics that also grabbed my attention.

It took a few years but, once maturity was realized, to my utter delight and surprise each beautiful spring a slender, arching bud forms at the end of nearly every stalk of green lushness. (Look closely at the above photo and you will see an evil creature lurking between bud and leaf.)

When those elongated pendants pop open a waterfall of bulbous pods cascades from the mother leaf.

Opulent, creamy white pods with pinky tips echo the color variations from the buds' covering they are borne on as well as the stems of each new stalk on these wonderfully tropical plants.

Planted in large groupings in the front border and clusters of them repeated in the back gardens adds continuity and impact while brightening the understory of oak trees. Many additional ginger plants have been gained by digging up an entire plant and dividing the rhizome for transplants.

If the drippy pods were the final result of these blooms this gardener would be completely giddy.

Instead, as if insistent to exceed the previous glory in the blooming process, as time passes, each one of those puffy, bulbous pods individually bursts open to reveal yet another phase.

Hidden inside, waiting its turn to appear, is an exotic ruffly bloom colored in yellows and oranges resembling a seashell.

Can you tell the variegated ginger is one of the all-time favorites in my Florida -Friendly garden! It ranks as one of my must-have perennials. The drippy, exotic blooms are just a bonus adding to the dramatic effect these plants add to the landscape.

Summer Squash for Winter Meals

Rarely is it necessary to bundle up with coats, hats, and gloves in central Florida. That's just what I did today to venture into the garden for a couple of hours.

I've been thinking lately each time I drive in and out of the driveway that I really need to take some photos of the red pentas in the front garden. Rooted from cuttings (back in July) and planted into the front lawn renovation project they are glowing brightly just in time for the new decade.

From this angle the 'baby' Giant Spider Lily Crinum augustum 'Queen Emma' is showing off her deep magenta colors and broad leaves. She was just a 'pup' separated from the mother back in July also and my has she grown.

So with threats of freezing temperatures for the next three nights I headed out to the veggie garden to cull the beans, squash, and a few tomatoes. The carrots, greens, lettuce, broccoli, and peas should be fine.

First, though, taking a walk about the garden and capturing how things are looking today... just in case it all turns wilty and mushy this week.
It was decided not to panic over the reports and threats of hard freeze warnings. But we would enjoy some sauteed squash for dinner and rejoice that our vegetable garden is producing good food in the middle of winter.

The garage became our make-shift greenhouse for all the tender cuttings rooting in 4 and 6 inch pots. They are snuggly waiting out the next few days to see what really happens. But only a few container plants were moved into the shelter of the back patio.

Including my one blooming orchid.

We're taking our chances on the rest. I think. I may change my mind tomorrow and move more plants under cover. Tomorrow night is supposed to be the worst.

I'm counting on the screening over the lanai to hold off the lowest numbers predicted.

... And the canopy of oak trees to blanket the understory and fool the frost.

Likely some of the most tender tropicals will not fare so well. We'll hope for the roots to stay warm and healthy and for a quick recovery in a few weeks when the earth warms up.

I can't be sure about the stray goldenrod that keeps reseeding and blooming since this is my first year of going through winter with it.

Tomorrow or the next day everything may look quite differently. We will let the chips fall as they may and hope for some cloud cover tonight.

Stay warm, dear gardeners! At least we don't have snow!

Caladium Bulbs for Florida Summer Color

It was discovered many years ago that Florida shade can be a challenging place to design with color. Flowers, in general, can be fickle and demanding at best in this humidity.

There are many alternatives to blooms offering us splashes of highlights and spots of color using foliage. With varied textures, forms, and hues of light and dark contrasts we've chosen other available resources to lend a lush, tropical effect here.

Above: Shiny dark leaves of bromeliads hugging the base of the roughly-barked oak trees is a favorite combination. And tucked in between the Lilyturf, Liriope muscari variegata border is a jammed-packed layer of White Queen caladiums. Even further in the background are the yellow and green leaves of Variegated Schefflera, arboricola shrubs and Purple Queen, Tradescantia pallida spilling over a barrier wall. No flowers except for randomly scattered self-sown impatiens.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE flowers. The Agapanthus towering over the caladiums beneath them should be one of the seven wonders as far as I'm concerned. If only there were more choices of such hardy sorts that are happy in shade or sun. They are a rare breed for certain.

Click to enlarge any photo**
You can find Caladium plants in all the nurseries as well as big box stores right now in our area. Buying them that way could get costly unless you are looking for only a few.

Around here hundreds of them go into the ground each year so it proves to be more cost effective to purchase them in bulk. Typically I order my bulbs in February but don't have them shipped to me until the end of May.

After all these years of experimenting with many different varieties my (almost conclusive LOL) favorite is the dwarf strap leaf Miss Muffet. It probably has something to do with my desicive affection for chartreuse. The speckled magenta splashes and center vein are just the right combination surrounded by that perfect shade of lime green.


I find it is quite effective to plant caladiums in large groupings of the same kind but sometimes they are mixed in with other varieties. In this case some past choices of Fanny Munson and Carolyn Wharton are continuing to pop out of the ground each spring. They make their way in between the Xanadu, Pentas and the Oakleaf Hydrangea tucked up under the Saw Palmettos in the front garden.


A concentration of White Wing caladiums at the feet of variegated Shell Ginger, Alpinia zerumbet are a stand out especially in the morning and evening light.


The tall and extra large white leaves are June Bride. Since they get a bit too large for my liking the choice had been made not to add any more of them. There are several that keep coming back each year and we don't mind.

Click to englarge any photo**

One of the best benefits of planting caladium bulbs in this climate is the fact they can be left in the ground all year. Most of them will return every spring for many years over.

I don't really follow the planting rules or recommendations. All my bulbs are planted very closely together and never in a straight line.

Caladiums will last all summer long and even into the fall season given the right conditions. They require no fertilizing either. In fact, fertilizer can alter their coloring in some cases.


Caladiums are just so easy to take care of that sometimes it feels like I'm cheating when it comes to my summer Florida garden.

This year I added Red Flash behind the ribbon of Agapanthus and Miss Muffets in the center island. I am happy with their height being a little taller than the Miss Muffet and the leaf face is a little broader than most varieties. AND if you're looking for a caladium that is sun tolerant Red Flash is one that will do well in sunny places as well as partial shade.

Scarlet Pimpernel is green with a deep red center and veins. I've noticed the green varies with the amount of sunshine given this variety. They are so hardy I have some that have returned for over ten years.

The only pink variety at Hoe and Shovel is Rosebud. It was a substitute for a first choice Caladiums 4 Less ran out of this year. They refunded my money and sent me this alternative. All of my bulbs come from them or Caladium World. Both grow all their bulbs in Lake Placid, Florida.

The Rosebuds have worked out quite nicely tucked in with the pink pentas and the pink coneflowers over in the 'wildflower' flower garden. My wildflower attempts haven't been too successful... but that's for another post.

In a climate where tulips and alliums are not an option, caladiums have superior performance qualities for long lasting affects and durable summer foliage. They were listed as one of the six plants I can't live without that Steve Bender of Southern Living hosted in April.

While you're at it check out Gardening Gone Wild's July Design Workshop for some great photos of garden designing with bulbs.