Preparing Potted Tropical Plants for Storage
As cooler weather sets in, my outdoor grounds crew rushes to complete our long list of fall gardening tasks around my Bedford, New York farm.
This week, one of our main projects is to prepare all the tropical plants for winter storage, including all the specimens potted up in decorative planters. Every spring, I always display interesting plants on my terraces, in giant urns along the carriage road, and on the cobblestone courtyard in front of my stable. At the end of the warm season, these plants are removed from their pots, trimmed where necessary, and then repotted in plastic containers before they are put away in one of four greenhouses here on the property. It's quite an undertaking, but it's the best way to ensure my plants are ready for the cold months ahead.
Here are some photos and tips, enjoy.
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- My gardeners and I select the various locations for all the potted plants displayed around the farm – it’s a little different every year. Here is a collection of potted specimens in the courtyard in front of my stable.
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- Some of these plants are actually “faux” planted – meaning we placed the potted plant in the giant container and planted ground cover around it. This Bismarkia palm is underplanted with Helichrysum petiolare, the licorice plant. Brian places a tarp below to catch any soil or debris while working – doing this saves a lot of time cleaning up later.
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- First, Brian removes the Helichrysum petiolare from the base of the plant.
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- Helichrysum is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to South Africa — where it is known as imphepho — and naturalized in parts of Portugal and the United States. I underplant many of my potted tropicals with Helichrysum – it comes in silver or white but can also be found in a variety of soft hues of green, gold, or variegated foliage. It actually gets its pale coloring from numerous dense hairs that cover the plant, giving the plant a soft texture.
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- Brian removes the plants in sections. They will be repotted into smaller pots and then stored in the greenhouse until next summer.
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- Look at the roots – they’ve grown considerably during the season. Helichrysum can grow as much as a foot or two in one season and spread up to three feet.
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- Once most of the Helichrysum petiolare is removed, Brian pulls out the potted palm. If plants are kept in containers for a short while, it is okay to pot them up this way to save on time, effort, and soil.
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- This palm can now be taken to one of the tropical hoop houses for winter storage.
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- Brian moves onto a King palm underplanted with lotus, another trailing perennial.
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- Lotus has soft silver grey needle-like foliage. It is great for pots and containers where the trailing branches can cascade over the sides.
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- The lotus roots are also very strong and healthy.
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- Look closely – this plant’s roots have tiny nitrogen fixing root nodules. The bacteria live inside the root nodules where they trade nutrients with the plants. Bacteria provides nitrogen and the plant provides sugars from photosynthesis. Not all plants can make nodules, but lotus can.
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- Again, once the ground cover is removed, the large potted palm can be pulled out.
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- Brian and Jimmy take a moment to smile for this snapshot before gathering their strength to lift this giant king palm, Archontophoenix alexandrae, also known as Alexandra palm, northern Bangalow palm, or feather palm. It is a palm endemic to Queensland, Australia.
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- The entire pot is now removed and the remaining soil can now be repurposed.
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- The king palm tree is one of the most popular palms in tropical and subtropical climates. It has a single smooth grey-brownish trunk ringed by the scars from the fallen fronds. The trunk is a little wider at the base and has about 15 to 20 arching evergreen fronds that emerge from the graceful crown. The leaves are bright green above and below and they have about 100 to 150 leaflets that are six to 12 inches long. At maturity, this tree can grow up to 40 feet tall and 15 feet wide.
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- We always save the plastic pots that come with new plants. These pots are very helpful for winter storage and for potting up our bare root seedlings.
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- Here, Jimmy pots up the saved lotus.
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- Here is some of the Helichrysum also getting planted into a pot. These pots will be placed in a sunny area of the greenhouse. Helichrysum is easy to maintain. It prefers warm, dry conditions and well-drained soil.
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- Autumn cleanup is well-underway here at the farm. I am fortunate I have the room to store all these plants for the cold season and visit them in their temperature and humidity controlled enclosures when it is cold and dreary outside. Is it getting cold where you are? How do you winterize your plants? Share your comments with me.
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