Gunnera Manicata

[Nick]

Sat, I had one in the ground here for three years and it did nothing at all, the leafs were very small, the only thing that got bigger was the grown, but that was only because it had baby plants forming around it, to see the size of my header tank you can follow the directions or I can take more photo's for you, but I am about to load the promised Gunnera photo's you asked for.


In this photo I used my lighter as some sort of gauge for you, but it was not so great, but it was the only thing I had to hand.

Again my lighter was used to try and give you a comparison,

This is so exciting because if it can put leafs out this size within it's first year of being planted out, what will next year bring in leaf size? who knows I can't wait to see them myself

In the next two photo's the post man called with a padded envelope, so used that to show the scale a little better for you, it's 8inches wide by 9.5inches long. The leafs bend/curve towards the tips of the leafs so makes measuring very hard when your on your own trying to hold the tape and take photo's.

I know the way to gauge the true size is to use a tape measure and take another photo for your enjoyment.

The header tank is 27inches wide and 47 inches long by 25inches deep, I tried to show you all the exsacked size by measurements, I really hope this helps you Derrick and Sat...

[The Codfather]

looking good nick......

Just need to keep the weeds in check

[Nick]

Hi GF, sadly they are not weeds, they are a little leafed spreading plant called Angles Tears, it looks lovely growing over the soil, next year with luck it will hang down over the edges of the tank, not that much is visible now due to T-Rexes and Vivax Bamboo and other plants have screened it off a treat.
By the side of it is a big wooden box full of fresh horse poo that's had 125kl of gritsand and 6mm stone chippings mixed into it to stop it going all wet and slimy and sticking together because that's where I am planing to grow( this bit comes from a dear friend of mine)
The Biggest Banana's This Side Of Jamaica Mannnn



But that's a whole new Topic in the Spring, so watch this space

[flounder]

angels tears or mind your own business is a plant I've been trying to get established in a tub and failed miserably, of course, the answer is grow it with me gunnera

[Nick]

I also have it growing in my T-Rex bed that's made up of peat gritsand and 6mm stone, I have two clumps forming one is huge and the second has taken over a year to get going, I would not mind it growing through out my palm bed, but it sure looks healthy and grows well with the Gunnera as a partner

[derrick]

The Gunnera looks healthy Nick i will try the tank thing in spring My Gunnera is in the Conservatory looks like its grown already .My gardens way to small for one of these monsters but i just had to have it

[Nick]

I feel shore it's like a rabbit, it will only grow to the size room you give it, so a small tub or tank will mean a small Gunnera I think, this could be wrong tho

[sanatic1234]

I would love to grow one of these but these have a width spread of 8ft or more so just have not got the room for one, not now my t-rex is down the bottom of my garden. I am hoping that will be a lovely height next year.

[Nick]

sanatic1234, I am sure there must be a small spot that you could fit one into, even if you did not grow it directly in the ground, you could always use some water tight container and add a couple of drainage holes, it's a majestic plant worthy of a place in any garden, I know they grow very big if planted in the ground and they have plenty of moisture at the roots, but feel if kept in a container it would stunt it's growth a bit like a tree in a tub, it would never grow to it's full size in a tub, so a Gunnera would be the same, I am sure mine will never get to be 8ft across, but if it put leafs out that were really big on 6ft stems I would be really happy as it's already 2ft off the the ground it would still look as if it was 8ft tall from outside the garden and still look very impressive, do you feel like that do like to grow plants with really big leafs
I do, and the bigger the better, sadly the header tank is the only way I can grow it where I am. When I had it planted in the garden, the only way I could keep it damp was to have a 10 ltr bucket of water and some air line from a fish tank with a small air valve to allow the water to constantly drip onto the crown keeping the soil damp and that stopped it collapsing on hot days, but I could not keep it up all summer long as I would get algae growing in the clear pipe which would interfere with the flow and stop my dripping I would get home and find the plant flat and all dry.

[Mr List]

angels tears or mind your own business is a plant I've been trying to get established in a tub and failed miserably, of course, the answer is grow it with me gunnera

i have been semi-farming some mind-your-own-business since a got a few in leeds market.
seems trouble free and indestructable plus it spreads indefinitely.

[Nick]

I know and it's harmless it will not hurt anything it grows up over or around, I have a very young Trachycarpus with it growing all around and up the small trunk, nether seem to mind, but we are really talking Gunnera's here Mr List do you grow one but your right Angles Tears or what name you know it by, is as tough as old boots

[sanatic1234]

Nick. I love all big leafed plants mate, You do have a very good point about putting one into a pot, are the roots on these extensive? do they romp away like the rex's do? I have the perfect place for one if they will get restricted to about 4ft. width that is, i don't mind top height it can grow as tall as it wants for all i care.

[Kristen]

Having been watching this thread I am thinking of burying a container below the planting hole so that it will be waterlogged. That would be X-inches below the surface, so any roots that go straight down will be in wet soil, but that top X-inches would not, and any roots growing sideways in the top X-inches would "escape"

I was planning to put a vertical "water filling pipe" for watering, and then some perforated draining pipe in the bottom of the "tank" to allow the water to make sure that bit was saturated. Once the tank part was saturated any excess water would escape sideways to other plants. (I image, over time, I could check the depth of water in the "water filling pipe" to see how quickly it went down, and then add water accordingly)

Do folk think that that would work?

And what is the X-inches value?

And, I suppose, the depth of the "tank" bit for the waterlogged soil depth please?

[Chad]

If you are planting into open ground the problems are a bit different.

Traditionally a ‘bog garden’ is made by digging down 2ft [more if you can manage it] and lying out a waterproof membrane to impede drainage.

In the open ground it seems to work better if you put a few holes in it for drainage, otherwise a lot of the soil can go sour.

In a tank the root run is restricted, and the roots ‘fill’ more of the soil and it going sour doesn’t seem to happen as long as most of the soil is above the level of the drainage holes.

Nick - it is good to see yours is happy with a few holes in the tank!

Chad.

[Nick]

If planted in the garden it's roots would go where ever they wanted to go in search of moisture, if you sink a container into the ground to hold water yes it's roots would go for the water below but would still go there own way, allowing the Gunnera to grow as big as it's water supply will allow.
My tank took over 300 lts of peat to fill it before, and a I assume it was the same amount of soil to fill it the second time around. There is 6 inches of water logged soil right at the bottom of the header tank, so when I water, I give it enough water so fresh water runs out the holes, by doing that I know the bottom is full of water.
In Romsey Hampshire at the Arboretum, they have a big bog garden with some monsters growing there, one was growing on the bank of an island in a large pond, and the bank had collapsed and one Gunnera was growing in the water about three feet from the bank, it seemed really happy growing there.
If you wish to grow a Gunnera in a container, I would go for one as big and as deep as you can afford, If you wished to dig it into the soil that's ok and your choice, or you could just let it stand on the surface and plant some grasses around it to hide/screen it. then just drill a few holes at what ever height your happy with, I hope this helps you to make up your minds as to how you wish to grow this very attractive plant worthy of garden space.
Yes I love plants with big leafs as well, can't get enough of them,