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. 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.
Before storing anything, 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.
This group is outside the hoop house next to my vegetable greenhouse. Many of the plants are organized by type and by care needs.
Many of the potted plants in this group spent the summer months at Skylands, my home in Maine. Because I do not have a large greenhouse at Skylands, they are transported back to my farm for the winter.
These plants are outside the hoop house next to my Stable Barn. I have five hoop houses in all to store all these warm weather specimens.
This hoop house is 60-feet by 26-feet. All the hoop houses are 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 repurpose stumps from downed trees to use as risers for some of the potted plants or for the legs of tables. It’s important to make use of both horizontal and vertical space when storing.
Phurba and Jose start by moving the plants in the gravel courtyard behind my Winter House kitchen. This project of moving the plants is a big undertaking and takes several days to complete.
Jose also removes the smaller potted plants and places them in the back of the Polaris. It is a rush to get everything moved before it gets too cold.
For really heavy potted specimens, we load them onto the bucket of a tractor that is lined with moving blankets, so the pots do not sustain any damage during transport.
I have many agaves, including this giant blue agave with its beautiful gray-blue spiky fleshy leaves. Do you know… tequila is actually distilled from the sap of the blue agave?
Phurba helps Pete guide the tractor into the hoop house. He drives it in as close as possible with the tractor and then the plant is removed by hand and positioned.
These agaves also have sharp spines, so it is important to place them strategically.
One by one, plants are brought inside and also positioned 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.
Pasang carefully guides a potted Bismarkia palm as it is moved in next. Bismarckia nobilis grows from a solitary trunk, gray to tan in color, and slightly bulging at the base.
And then a pygmy date palm, Phoenix roebelenii is moved in. This is a species of date palm native to southeastern Asia, from southwestern China, northern Laos and northern Vietnam.
Smaller potted plants are also wheeled in by hand cart.
Tables on both sides of this hoop house are used to store smaller potted specimens, such as this collection of potted lemon cypress, Cupressus macrocarpa.
These plants grow a little more each year, so the placement of these specimens will change every time they are stored.
There are still so many plants to bring indoors, but we’ve made good progress and should have everything collected and indoors before the first frost.
My greenhouse assortment of rare and interesting potted plants now includes several more beautiful Begonias, Anthuriums, Staghorn Ferns and other specimens from the Amazon Horticulture Plant Collection.
The 25 plants arrived earlier this week - all meticulously wrapped in paper and packed in several large boxes. I opened each plant very carefully and they were all in excellent condition, but it was important to get them potted up as soon as possible. My head gardener, Ryan McCallister, selected the appropriate containers and got to work.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Once all the plants are unpacked, they are laid out onto the large table in my greenhouse head house, so they can be repotted, fed, and watered. Ryan starts by looking for the appropriate sized pots.
I am fortunate to have such a large assortment of pots. These were left over from a recent shoot and will come in very handy. I like to use clay pots because they allow proper aeration and moisture to penetrate through the sides and to the plant.
At the bottom of each container is a drainage hole. A clay shard is placed on top of the hole to help with drainage and to prevent soil from blocking the hole or from falling out.
I also save any clay pot shards – it’s a great way to repurpose those broken pieces.
Ryan is using Miracle-Gro Tropical Potting Mix. This formula is fast-draining and includes sand and perlite to help create an optimal growing environment. The mix is also fortified with iron and plant food.
Ryan uses a knife to scarify the roots of this deer fern, Blechnum. He slices through the roots in several areas to encourage root growth. It may seem harsh, but the plant will send out new feeder roots and will soon recover.
Also called a hard fern, Blechnum is an upright evergreen fern that displays finely textured, arching fronds. New growth emerges reddish-bronze and then turns green. After Ryan pots up the plant, he adds more potting mix and pats it down, so there is good contact between the plant and the soil.
Ryan sprinkles fertilizer over the soil after planting each one. We use the all-purpose fertilizer Shake ‘N Feed from Miracle-Gro.
Next, Ryan tends to this Begonia subacida and trims any broken leaves. He saves all the trimmed stem cuttings, so he can propagate them later.
Then Ryan places the Begonia in the center of the pot and backfills to just under the rim.
Though different types of plants have varying preferences in terms of pot size and needed root space, most grow well when pots are at least two-inches larger in diameter than the plant’s original pot.
This Begonia subacida has kidney-shaped, fluffy hairy leaves with a striking, bluish green color and light, yellow-green leaf veins. The leaves are also slightly thickened and velvety to the touch.
For this Begonia, Ryan scarifies the root ball with his hands, teasing the roots at the bottom to stimulate fresh growth.
And then he gently places it into the new pot – planting it slightly deeper than it was before. If needed, a little more potting mix is added around the plant and patted down.
Begonia phuthoensis is a rhizomatous species from Vietnam with unique round leaves in light green.
Among the other plants just potted up – Geogenanthus poeppigii, a rare plant from South America. The glossy leaves are ribbed and show a pattern of dark and lighter colored stripes. This plant prefers low light conditions, high humidity, and frequent watering.
Monstera Burle Marx Flame is a very rare and uncommon species that produces extremely unique foliage that resembles the flame of a torch. Look closely at the leaves – they have narrow evenly spaced fenestrations, or leaf openings.
Anguloa clowesii is a large terrestrial sometimes epiphytic plant with large, waxy, highly fragrant chocolate, mint, coconut and citrus scented, solitary flowers.
Here is a newly potted Begonia pustulata – a rhizomatous species from Mexico with a distinctively textured leaf and silver markings.
Now these plants are ready to go out into the greenhouse, where the temperature and humidity levels can be properly controlled and these gorgeous specimens can thrive.
If you're as passionate a gardener as I am, you'll love the gorgeous specimens I received from The Spheres Horticulture Plant Collection.
Not long ago, during a trip to the Pacific Northwest, I visited The Spheres in Seattle where Amazon holds thousands of amazing cloud forest plants from around the world. This week, I received a gift of more than two dozen different plants from the collection - from tiny Staghorn ferns to giant leaf Anthuriums and striking begonias. For me, it was like Christmas in October.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I was so happy to see all these plants looking so beautiful and healthy after traveling all the way from The Spheres. All these specimens are from their Horticulture Plant Collection.
There were plants of all sizes, and every single one so interesting and pretty.
Everything was packed perfectly in paper and tape – most of them in this huge box.
Here is the leaf of a large Anthurium. Anthurium is a genus of about 1,000 species of flowering plants, the largest genus of the arum family, Araceae. General common names include anthurium, tailflower, flamingo flower, pigtail plant, and laceleaf. The leaves look similar to a knight’s shield, and hang down on the end of long stems.
Rare anthuriums are grown for their foliage. The leaves are oval-heart shaped and vary in size and shape.
Hatiora salicornioides, the bottle cactus, dancing-bones, drunkard’s-dream, or spice cactus, is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family. It often grows as an epiphyte, natively in eastern Brazil and ornamentally elsewhere. The name Dancing Bones comes from its slender stems’ distinctive, skeleton-like structure. Dancing Bones Cactus grows rather slowly, with the stems reaching about six to 12 inches.
This is Platycerium ridleyi or Ridley’s Staghorn Fern. I love Staghorn ferns and have several giant ones in my collection. This one is still small, but will be mounted on a block as it develops.
Pyrrosia longifolia is a species of fern growing in Southeast Asia, the Pacific region, and Australia. It has stiff strap-shaped fronds, and rigid rhizomes. It is a slow grower and prefers semi-shade and moist, humid conditions.
I am also very fond of begonias. Begonia is a genus in the family Begoniaceae. It contains at least 1500 different plant species and numerous hybrids. They are native to Mexico, Central and South America, Asia and South Africa – regions with tropical and subtropical climates.
Rhizomatous begonias are grown for their interesting and spectacular leaves. They come in an array of sizes, colors and textures, and can be small or large, smooth or veiny, decorated in bold accents of red, copper and silver or subtle shades of green.
And here is the back of the same leaf with beautifully pronounced red veining.
Begonia pustulata is a rhizomatous species from Mexico with a distinctively textured leaf. The silvery variegation is thought to prevent insects from laying their eggs on the foliage, therefore preventing the leaves from getting eaten.
Begonia phuthoensis is a rhizomatous species from Vietnam with unique round leaves in light green.
Philodendron melanochrysum is a spectacular vining philodendron that when mature produces two-foot long leaves of iridescent black-green with pale green veins.
These are the leaves of Vriesea gigantea. The Vriesea gigantea is also known as the giant Vriesea and is a stunning bromeliad species prized for its impressive size and vibrant spineless foliage when mature.
Lepismium houlletianum, also known as Houllet’s Lepismium, is a cactus native to the tropical rainforests of Brazil. It has long, slender notched green stems that can grow up to six feet in length.
I am so excited to have all these plants in my greenhouse. Thanks Amazon! I’ll share how I select the proper pots for these specimens and how to plant them in an upcoming blog!
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