Hello - I need potted Tetrapanax-Rex advice please :)

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Tara

Hello - I need potted Tetrapanax-Rex advice please :)

Post by Tara »

Hello

This is my first post and I've no idea if I'm posting in the right section (apologies if I should have posted elsewhere :oops: )

I have a potted T-Rex that I bought this year - It is doing nicely; it now has 7 leaves and stands about two and a half feet high (It arrived with one leaf 2 months ago)

I plan to keep it in its pot until I move house hopefully next spring, BUT, I have read that these plants do not like to stand in lots of water, and with the wet months around the corner, I don't want it to rot overwinter (we don't really get much in the way of frosts here in Torbay, and snow is a rarity, so the cold isn't so much of a concern)

Are there any T-Rex owners out there in a similar situation with advice to share please? I can't get the pot moved as it weighs a ton, so it really does have to stay in the front garden....


Thanks in advance
Tara
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Dave Brown
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Re: Hello - I need potted Tetrapanax-Rex advice please :)

Post by Dave Brown »

Hi Tara, and welcome icon_salut

Provided the drainage in the pot is ok you should not have a problem over winter. TRex don't do particularly well in pots, but they don't lose their potential either, so once unleashed into the ground, they turn into a monster quite quickly :wink:
Best regards
Dave
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Tara

Re: Hello - I need potted Tetrapanax-Rex advice please :)

Post by Tara »

Thanks Dave :)

I only have patio gardens front and rear, so all my plants (even my banana trees) are potted.

My T-Rex is growing at a crazy rate, so I have to wonder what it would grow like in the ground :shock: :D


Tara
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Re: Hello - I need potted Tetrapanax-Rex advice please :)

Post by Tom2006 »

My potted T-rex is many times larger than my in ground one. Both the same size when planted. Not sure why really but the potted one got through last winter, but I did shelter it from the worst of the cold and wet with fleece. icon_thumleft

I'm sure that the one in the ground will overtake it in size in the next year or so. icon_thumleft
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greendragon

Re: Hello - I need potted Tetrapanax-Rex advice please :)

Post by greendragon »

In Torbay all you will have to do is wrap bubble wrap around the side of the pot and put a mulch on the top to protect from frost penetration. Like all big leaf plants they actually love loads of water providing the pot is free draining.
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Re: Hello - I need potted Tetrapanax-Rex advice please :)

Post by Dave Brown »

greendragon wrote:In Torbay all you will have to do is wrap bubble wrap around the side of the pot and put a mulch on the top to protect from frost penetration. Like all big leaf plants they actually love loads of water providing the pot is free draining.
I have a couple of small potted ones, that went through -7C without lagging the pots, greendragon, so I think Torquay will not have a frost penetration problem, particularly if paved. Dave Poole is in Torquay, and while not as frost free as Southsea, his gardening is different to mine. Things I have to bring in, he drags up to the shelter of the house wall.
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Somerset77

Re: Hello - I need potted Tetrapanax-Rex advice please :)

Post by Somerset77 »

greendragon wrote:In Torbay all you will have to do is wrap bubble wrap around the side of the pot and put a mulch on the top to protect from frost penetration. Like all big leaf plants they actually love loads of water providing the pot is free draining.

I bought mine last August and kept in pot over winter with just some fleece over the top. Planted out end of April and is now 5 ft tall with 1mtr plus leaves! I'm north Somerset so unless really unlucky I wouldn't worry too much as your probably like me and within 1 mile from the sea!
Last edited by Somerset77 on Sun Sep 09, 2012 8:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
Neil Ziemski

Re: Hello - I need potted Tetrapanax-Rex advice please :)

Post by Neil Ziemski »

hi
im in east yorkshire
I leave mine out-it even survived the winter of 2010!!!
As security i pot on the baby suckers than grow near the main stems so if i lose it i have more.
I find they need to be out of their pots quickly-they no like pots.
Regards
Neil
Tara

Re: Hello - I need potted Tetrapanax-Rex advice please :)

Post by Tara »

Somerset77 wrote:
greendragon wrote:In Torbay all you will have to do is wrap bubble wrap around the side of the pot and put a mulch on the top to protect from frost penetration. Like all big leaf plants they actually love loads of water providing the pot is free draining.

I bought mine last August and kept in pot over winter with just some fleece over the top. Planted out end of April and is now 5 ft tall with 1mtr plus leaves! I'm north Somerset so unless really unlucky I wouldn't worry too much as your probably like me and within 1 mile from the sea!
My house is within a few mins walk from the sea; it's literally behind the house, and I'm situated on a cliff top, so I presume the proximity to the sea makes this a warmer area than inland South Devon? (A friend of mine lives approx 15 miles away in the high up in the sticks, and she had severe frosts and some snow last year)

I've never protected any plants before, so when you say some fleece needs to go over the top, can you explain what you mean please? :oops:
I do feel daft asking, especiallly when I have a couple of packs of fleece sat here that I bought from Wilkinsons in their sale years ago :D
Do I throw the fleece loosely over the leaves like a net? (so any frost can't sit on them?)

Ooh er, I have lots to learn and think I've been a very lucky loosely termed 'gardener' so far :wink:


p.s
Thanks for all the replies folks!
Trudytropics

Re: Hello - I need potted Tetrapanax-Rex advice please :)

Post by Trudytropics »

Tara I used fleece alot last winter. Get a bunch of canes, stick them in the ground randomly amongst your plants. Put the fleece over the top and push the fleece down the canes, this makes a tent effect and stops the fleece from blowing away. If its really windy you may need to secure the fleece a little better, i prefer the fleece to be away from the plants rather than touching. It worked a treat for me last year, I left the fleece when we had a few very cold days, and simply and quickly lifted off again on the warmer days. Hope this helps. :D
Tara

Re: Hello - I need potted Tetrapanax-Rex advice please :)

Post by Tara »

Trudytropics wrote:Tara I used fleece alot last winter. Get a bunch of canes, stick them in the ground randomly amongst your plants. Put the fleece over the top and push the fleece down the canes, this makes a tent effect and stops the fleece from blowing away. If its really windy you may need to secure the fleece a little better, i prefer the fleece to be away from the plants rather than touching. It worked a treat for me last year, I left the fleece when we had a few very cold days, and simply and quickly lifted off again on the warmer days. Hope this helps. :D
Many thanks Trudy - I get what to do now :lol:

The fleecy stuff looks quite waterproof; will I need to remove it to let the rain get to the plant occasionally, or does it let water drip through once its sodden?

Thanks again!
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