Moving Tropical Plants Outdoors
Time to bring all my beautiful potted plants outdoors for the season.
I have a rather sizable collection of tropical specimens at my Bedford, New York farm. During the winter, they are all stored in special greenhouses. Once the warm weather arrives, they are all brought out for display - some go to my home in Maine, and the remainder of the plants are placed in various locations here at Cantitoe Corners. It is a big undertaking to move all these plants when the weather changes. Thankfully, I have the help of a strong outdoor grounds crew and some heavy-duty farm equipment to get the job done.
Enjoy these photos.
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- This is the inside of one of several plastic hoop houses where most of my tropical plants are stored during the cold weather. They actually spend about seven months of the year in these temperature-controlled shelters, but they definitely thrive.
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- This smaller hoop house was actually moved last year to a better location near my tropical and citrus hoop houses. Old tree stumps and spare boards are used to make use of as much of the vertical space as possible.
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- All these structures are built using heavy gauge American made, triple-galvanized steel frames and polyethylene panels. Inside, these houses have high ceilings to accommodate the growing plants.
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- Every year, the tropical plants are taken out of storage, cleaned up, and repotted if needed, and then moved to their warm-weather locations. Here’s Pasang pulling out one of the potted palms.
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- Heavier plants such as these agaves are pulled out by tractor.
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- Agaves have rosettes of succulent or leathery leaves that range in size from a few inches to more than eight feet in length depending on the species.
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- I am especially fond of the blue agave. Do you know… tequila is distilled from the sap of the blue agave? Agave tequilana has sugars named agavins, mostly fructose, in the core of the plant that are suitable for the preparation of alcoholic beverages. In fact, the blue agave is an important economic product of Jalisco, Mexico, where tequila is produced.
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- The crew is always very careful when moving these container plants. I also have a large variety of special planters – antiques and reproductions, planters made of stone, lead, fiberglass and resin, and in a wide array of shapes and sizes.
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- One by one, the plants are carefully brought outside.
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- As the plants are removed from the hoop house, they’re grouped by type. Here are several potted bird’s nest ferns. Bird’s-nest fern is a common name for several related species of epiphytic ferns in the genus Asplenium.
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- The bird’s nest fern is known for its tropical fronds that grow out of a rosette in the middle of the plant which closely resembles a bird’s nest. It is also occasionally called a crow’s nest fern.
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- The foliage of philodendrons is usually green but may be coppery, red, or purplish with parallel leaf veins that are green or sometimes red or white. Shape, size, and texture of the leaves vary considerably, depending on species and maturity of the plant. I have many philodendrons that are growing so well here at Bedford.
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- This is a Bismarkia palm, Bismarckia nobilis, which grows from a solitary trunk, gray to tan in color, and slightly bulging at the base.
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- I go through all the potted specimens and decide where they will be displayed for the season. I always try to vary their locations.
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- This is Oxalis triangularis, commonly called false shamrock. It is a species of perennial plant in the family Oxalidaceae.
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- The trifoliate leaves resemble a shamrock and can be green to variegated to deep maroon in color. The leaves close up at night or when disturbed.
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- The large plant on the floor is a staghorn fern. The staghorn fern is an unusual and attractive epiphyte that thrives in the tropics. I adore staghorns and over the years have collected quite a few of these magnificent specimens. Staghorn ferns are called Platyceriums. They are Old World tropicals native to Africa, northern Australia, and Southeast Asia.
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- This day was rainy, so the plants got a good drink once outside.
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- The tall plants are Stephanotis floribunda, or Madagascar Jasmine, an evergreen woody vine. It is a climber that can grow to more than 20 feet with glossy, leathery oval leaves and clusters of pure white, waxy, fragrant flowers. Looking closely, one can see a fruit on one of the plants. Stephanotis vines also produce an inedible fruit, which looks much like a mango.
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- Moving these tropical specimens is a tedious task, but by the afternoon, most of the potted specimens are outdoors.
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- It’s amazing how many plants can fit inside the durable hoop houses. I am so fortunate to be able to store all these plants during the cold season, and then enjoy them all around my farm from now until November.
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