Cautleyas – a must for any tropical garden.

If you like jungle looking plants, luscious green foliage topped with contrasting colours like red and yellow, these plants should definitely be in your green space.

I bought a Cautleya from an NGS some years ago and it’s not until the last couple of years that’s I have realised how much I am in love with the ginger family (Zingiberaceae).

My very first, Cautleya spicata robusta is an easy to grow exotic looking plant that requires very little care.

Cautleya spicata robusta

Cautleya spicata robusta

They come up from no where and spear year on year. The black plastic pot was my first ever plant. I thought I’d lost it and then boom!

Like I say the last couple of years I have taken to time to find other ginger plants that I simply had to add to my collection and needless to say more Cautleya.

Cautleya cathcartii ‘Tenzing’s Gold’

This is a delicate yellow flower with no where near as much red in the bracts or on the foliage.

This is also much smaller than C. spicata robusta. This is Cautleya cathcartii ‘Tenzing’s Gold’.

Cautleya spicata ‘Crûg’s Compact’

I really love this miniature plant, it’s form is more upright, it still has red bracts and lovely bright yellow flowers.

This is Cautleya spicata ‘Crûg’s Compact’. You can see it’s shape below.

Cautleya spicata ‘Crûg’s Compact’

Another recent addition to my yarden and collection this year is a decent sized plant, a very upright form. Much more of an orange flower. T

This is Cautleya spicata ‘Bleddyn’s Beacon’.

Cautleya spicata ‘Bleddyn’s Beacon’

The following plant isn’t performing as well as the other species, sadly it has been knocked but I will persevere. It has a lovely purple tinge to the underside of the foliage.

I am happy to see that there are new shoots appearing next to the main stem. Watch this space. I don’t think I’ll have any flowers to share this year.

I also grew Cautleya lutea in my parents garden last year. It grew and flowered but didn’t make a reappearance. Needless to say it will be added back to this list.

I leave them in the pots all year and when frosts hit them the stalks just collapse. I chop them up and add them to my compost bin.

I give them a weed and too dress, then await their return the following year.

They are fairly easy to propagate too, I simply divide either in autumn or in spring and pot them up.

I believe you can also propagate from seed, I have never noticed any but will keep an eye out for these in the following month.

What are your thoughts on Cautleya? I find them really east to grow and give me that amazing jungle feel that I am trying to achieve.

Quick update

Thank you for your patience and hope that you have all been enjoying your plants.

Here is an unknown species of Hedychium which is just starting to flower, let’s hope that all the buds have time to flower before the frost.

I have already put these beautiful succulents in to the greenhouse.

I grew this plant from seed and it had been a really slow grower. But it’s really put some growth of late. It is Solanum betaceum.

Other plants that are growing surprisingly well are the Tetrapanex (which you may remember my friend David gave to me), Begonia luxurians, popping in on the left is a Xanthosoma violaceum, which really has spread this summer.

It’s crazy how well some plants have done this summer! This is another perennial that has grown so well, grown much taller than me and has produced lots of flowers and continues to do so. This is Impatiens tinctoria.

I have been lazy taking some tenders in, partly because they seem to be enjoying the moisture and mild climate (also living next door to a laundrette and their dryer tubes helps). Here the Ensete murelii or Abyssinian Banana seems to be growing strong. The Zantedeschia ‘Hercules’ is slowing down for winter, yet the Gynostemma pentaphyllum is showing no sign of slowing down. I love how the plant grows so fast in a season and covers the ropes to give a real jungle feel.

Soon I will collecting these little bulbils that the Begonia grandis ssp sinensis ‘Red Undies’ produce and sow them in the greenhouse to ensure I have some babies in case they do not make it through the winter.

The Abuliton ‘Variegated Salmon’ is still growing well and producing these beautiful flowers. I will soon need to dig it up and put it somewhere safe over winter.

The Mirabilis Jalapa continue to flower along with the Salvia and Zinnia. You can also see the Arundo donax variegata and various Hedyhiums growing in the background along with a smaller growing Cautleya gracilis which is turning yellow.

I am hoping to give this bed a good mulch like I did last year and leave all the tenders barring the Abuliton in the ground.

Other stars of the show have been these Dahlia ‘Sandra’ which I couldn’t resist buying as they share the same name as my mum.

I have grown Dahlia ‘Bishop of Leicester’ over the past few years and always put on a good show. They tall have dark foliage and bright single flowers that the bees adore in the summer.

I hope to be growing and dividing plants over the winter and will keep you up to date as often as possible.

Wrap up warm, enjoy the milder days and most of all love your plants!

Wordless Wednesday

Scorcher storm

Another really hot day, and many plants are suffering. I’m finding it hard to keep up with watering. Even after the precautions I made.

I’m happy to see this Cautleya gracilis lutea start flowering. It is much more delicate to its more robust counterpart.

Impatiens never used to have a space in my heart never mind my garden, here are two that I have purchased this year and are doing brilliantly.

Impatiens auricauma x bicaudata.

Impatiens balfourii.

I’m hoping that this sown Solanum quitoense will grow bigger and better. The leaves are stunning and so alien.

These are Canna brasiliensis seeds lay on top of a Musa Basjoo leaf.

The bees love the open flowers of this Dahlia ‘Bishop of Leicester’.

This is a Hedychium, I believe it to be H.densiflorum ‘Stephen’. I look forward to it seeing it in all its glory.

When I bought this Abuliton ‘Varigated Salmon’ my mum really dislikes it. Until that is when the flowers came. Now this is a prize plant in my parents garden.

A spot of bright colour provided by this Zinnia.

Another plant I have grown to love are Begonias. This is B. Josephii

Here I have B.evansiana.

Amongst the begonias is this stunning bulb, known as the pineapple lily, the Eucomis bicolour.

As I finish writing this the lightening spreads through the sky, the breeze returns and now the rain comes.

Hot & exotic

It was a very hot and humid day today. I’m sure many of the tropical plants are loving it.

I still am not quite sure what this plant is, it’s growing well. Hopefully it will flower soon and will shed more light on the species.

I’m happy to see that the Cautleya spicata flower buds are starting to open.

Enjoy your green space.

Downpour

For a day where I thought I’d be spending lots of time in the yarden, I spent little time at all doing anything really.

Let’s hope I spend more time in my green space tomorrow.

Gardening in the sun!

Today I have been busy in my parents garden. It’s great to see all the cannas and hedychium over wintered well and showing.

I have planted a multitude of dahlias (even one that’s got my mums name!), some more cannas and hedychiums. I also planted Cautleya lutea and Mirabilis Jalapa.

My mum loves her lilies and we have a friendly compeition along with our friend and neighbour to see how many blooms and buds we have.

As you can see she’d love it if this wall was full of them! More planted with dahlias in between.

Here are some pictures of plants I grow in my tiny tropical yarden.