SCOTT: Mike, we chatted with Terry on a recent podcast about banana trees. It seems he, like myself, has gone for the tropical backyard look. So, I thought I’d mention a few plants that can bring the desert look into your landscape.
MIKE: Scott, you and Terry have taken on a tough task being in the Midwest. But it is doable with the right plant selection, say a mix of annuals and hardy plants.
SCOTT: To me it’s all about foliage and blooms, the look of tropicals with non-tropicals is the trick.
For example, a sort of forgotten plant the Yucca, either the Filamentosa or Excalibur, is perfect. And while it blooms for only two weeks, the sword style blue-green foliage carries the feel of a tropical location! My Yuccas this year gave me a record 14 blooming stalks. Usually, I get four to five a year…
MIKE: Yup!!! Yucca plants are very hardy in the Midwest. But just because they flourish in hot sunny locations of the Southwest USA, it doesn’t mean you can just drop them in the ground. But once they take root, you can almost ignore them. One trick to ensure the Yucca plant will survive its’ first winter, is to make sure to give them the moisture they need for a robust root base in the fall. One might want to put some composted soil in the hole you are placing the Yucca in as you plant. I prefer Bumper Crop with “MYCHORHIZAE.”
SCOTT: Yes, once you plant a Yucca, they can be hard to remove, but they are great in a hot sunny area. It’s that one main long root reaching for water that makes them survive (and hard to remove).
MIKE: That is called a tap root, Scott. I’m also going to recommend that after the Yucca is finished blooming, to not pull the flower stalk out from the center of the plant. You will leave a hole in the nerve center of the plant. Just cut the stalk with pruning shears to about 10 to 12 inches from its base.
SCOTT: Another option is the Dracaena. Little along the lines of a spider plant, looks wise, but with red in it. Now this one, you can bring indoors for the winter easily.
MIKE: I know people that plant them in their soil and leave them all summer long, until after the first killing frost, then dispose of them. Other folks trim them before the first killing frost, put them in a large container of potting soil and place them indoors in an east or west exposed window for the winter.
SCOTT: Plus, there are others, like Sky Rockets, hardy hibiscus and a less popular variety, the Croton. Now these are most likely to be treated as annuals in this area, but their look is Hawaiian Tropics. The foliage can have a large leaf; multi-color patterns or thin curvy wavey looks. There are a few varieties we carry at Black Diamond.
MIKE: I suggest heading to your local garden center and checking these all out. They are most likely blooming now and you can get the idea of their look for your design.
Your Midwest Garden Podcast guys, Mike O’Rourke and Scott Sandstrom, share gardening advice with readers throughout the growing season. O’Rourke, retired from Black Diamond Garden Center and known as the Garden Guy for many years, discusses landscape issues with Sandstrom in a casual conversation designed to educate listeners, and now readers, on a wide variety of topics.