Time to Store My Tropical Plants for Winter
October is a very important month here at my Bedford, New York farm. It's when my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew are rushing to get all my warm weather container plants inside the greenhouses.
I have quite a large collection of tropical specimens. Because I live in a four-season region, during colder months it’s vital these plants move indoors where the temperature and humidity levels can be controlled. Plants that spent the summer at Skylands, my home in Maine, are also brought back to Bedford for storage. Most of them are kept in one of four hoop houses designated specifically for these plants. It’s a tedious process to put all these container plants away, but a very important one that helps keep my plants thriving.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Before storing, all the plants are brought to their designated greenhouse and placed outside, so each one can be inspected, and trimmed or repotted if necessary. Then, by size each one is carried into the structure where they will stay for about seven months.
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- This hoop house is located next to my Stable Barn and across the carriage road from my vegetable gardens. It is currently one of four hoop houses at the farm.
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- This hoop house is 60-feet by 26-feet. It is covered with a heavy-duty, woven polyethylene plastic that features an anti-condensate additive to reduce moisture buildup and dripping. It is also covered with a layer that contains UV additives that allow the fabric to maintain its strength. I am very fortunate to have these structures for storing all my tropical specimens.
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- We repurpose stumps from downed trees to use as risers for some of the potted plants. It’s important to make use of both horizontal and vertical space when storing. This is a stump from an ash tree. Notice the damage done by the emerald ash borer. The ash borer, also known by the acronym EAB, is responsible for the destruction of tens of millions of ash trees in 30 US states since it was first identified in this country in 2002.
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- Already inside are these dendrobium orchids. Native to Southeast Asia, the genus Dendrobium is among the largest of all orchid groups. There are more than 1000 individual species that vary in size, bloom color, and appearance. Dendrobiums grow in all climates, from hot, wet lowlands to high-altitude, colder mountains. All Dendrobiums are epiphytes, which means they grow on other plants. In nature, they grow on the branches of trees. Some are deciduous and some hold onto their leaves all year round.
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- Dendrobium orchids have roots that creep over the pot rims or through the pot’s holes, and in nature over the surface of trees or rocks, rarely having their roots in soil.
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- All around the farm, my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew are busy gathering all the plants and taking them to their designated enclosures. Here are two of many sago palms, Cycas revoluta, ready for storage. The sago palm is a popular houseplant known for its feathery foliage and ease of care. Native to the southern islands of Japan, the sago palm goes by several common names, including Japanese palm, funeral palm, sago cycad, or king sago.
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- Last June, we potted up and displayed a group of pretty bromeliads around my pool. These are also removed from their decorative urns and repotted in plastic pots for storage.
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- Brian uses the soil from the container to pot up the bromeliads. If one has room to store them, it is always a good idea to save the plastic pots from the nursery. These containers come in very handy and can be used from year to year.
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- Most bromeliads grow as stemless rosettes of leaves that may be symmetrical or twisted and curled.
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- The leaves may be broad and leathery or fine and wiry. Many are colorfully banded and variegated.
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- Here’s Pasang carrying a bromeliad out to the carriage road, where it will be put on one of our trusted Polaris vehicles and driven down to the tropical hoop house.
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- Meanwhile, Chhiring carefully wheels in a potted Bird of Paradise into the hoop house. He moves this very carefully on a hand truck, so the container is not damaged and the branches of the plant are not hurt along the way.
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- Once it is inside, Ryan trims any old foliage. Bird of Paradise, Strelitzia reginae, is a species of evergreen tropical herbaceous plant, native to South Africa.
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- Next, Ryan grooms one of several stephanotis plants. Stephanotis is a genus of flowering plants first described in 1806. The name derives from the Greek stephanōtís fit for a crown. It is a climber that can grow to more than 20 feet with glossy, leathery oval leaves and clusters of pure white, waxy, intensely fragrant tubular flowers in summer.
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- These are the plant’s seed pod fruits that form after flower-bearing. They look like elongated mangos or avocados, but they are not edible.
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- I also display plants behind my Winter House kitchen in a gravel courtyard. This project of moving the plants is a big undertaking and takes several days to complete.
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- For really heavy potted specimens, we load them onto the bucket of a tractor that is lined with a moving blanket, so the pots do not sustain any damage during transport.
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- Here are more plants under the small pergola next to my main greenhouse.
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- One by one, they’re wheeled inside and positioned carefully, so none of the plants touch. Plants are sensitive and if left touching could cause a defense response reducing growth. Plants can also become more easily infested with pests or diseases if left touching. These are two Australian Brush Cherry topiaries, Eugenia myrtifolia. Each day, more and more plants are brought to the hoop houses for storing. We still have a lot more to put indoors, but I am glad we’re getting it done quickly, neatly, and efficiently. What plant chores are you doing this weekend?
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