T-rex (Tetrapanax)

[Nick]

Hello Mr List, mine is in a mix of peat and grit-sand with 6mm shingle, I thought that mix would be excellent drainage, but I was informed that the peat would hold the moisture,mine was dug out of the garden when it had only been there for 10 months, I then planted it into my raised bed with the above min, it's now been in there for nearly four years,it has a trunk of 44 inches tall and 7 inches in circumference, I water it very regularly in dry weather, and I feed it chicken poo pellets,I am trying to grow it as a standard trunk, it seems to make about 6 inches of trunk per season (Spring-End of Summer)I would hope it's roots have now gone down to the bottom of my mix and are now finding there way into the natural soil of my garden,there roots will find and go where they are happy, if your soil is clay and very heavy I would imagine they would work there way through it,my garden has solid chalk at about 10-12inches down, and the ones that are still in the garden soil seem happy and that is rather heavy soil,except last winter and this winter has made them rot off, but that's not a problem as they come back from the roots with pups, I know I've left my pups to grow, but this spring I think I will remove all but the strongest pup and see how it does this coming growing season,or let them grow and develope again, then dig them up and transplant them to an area outside of the garden that I am currently developing into a tropical themed hide away garden.I really hope this helps you.

[grub]

Mr List mine was just plonked straight into a raised bed with multi purpose, it's not been fed or watered and has just romped away. I wouldn't worry too much about it's growth and a bit more about it's spread

[Mr List]

that has been my method for plants uptil now.

hey Nick, i have been following your secret garden while i was a lurker.
wish i had a patch i could try and claim to extend the growing area.

"mix of peat and grit-sand with 6mm shingle"

do you mean this mixed in with your soil or just this?

sounds very nutrient deficient tbh.
i like the sound of a nice thick trunk but only 44 inches tall in 4 years sounds a bit slow for this plant.
how big are your leaves?

[sanatic1234]

Mr List mine was just plonked straight into a raised bed with multi purpose, it's not been fed or watered and has just romped away. I wouldn't worry too much about it's growth and a bit more about it's spread

And his T-Rex is huge!!, i hope my gets to that size in after a couple of seasons

[Tropical Bob]

just flicked through this thread very interesting i love these plants. I don't know if this has been posted before or if this is a member of HTUK but i came across this http://www.pbase.com/pillharrier/tetrapanax_rex a while ago got some good pics

His Trex made me want one! I really like the way you can see it grow over time too!

I just plonked mine in a big hole i dug out of my clay. filled it with average top soil from around the garden and it really took off. I also surrounded it with an expensive bamboo root barrier but that didnt stop it, main roots made it under the barrier, back up to a foot underground, then straight into solid grey clay. Going downwards 3ft the roots hit clay and rubble and were happily making there way into this on mass!! i think it will grow just about anywhere haha!

[redsquirrel]

that is one mother of a plant to have dug out.wonder what his garden is like now after killing a growing point on that one

[Tropical Bob]

I know what you mean that trunk it thicker than one of my big cordylines!

[Dave Brown]

that is one mother of a plant to have dug out.wonder what his garden is like now after killing a growing point on that one

Millions of root cuttings

[Tropical Bob]

Maybe thats why the pics stop there, maybe they took the whole street over and ate everone

[Nick]

Mr List, your 100%right, it is a very poor mix, there is no garden soil involved that's why I hope it's roots have gone down into the real soil,don't forget, it was dug up with lots of root loss to start with, it's leafs are huge 3+ft wide and a little more long, as I said it's trunk is lovely and fat at the soil.
This secret garden is only there because I cut down all the bushes that had been planted by our old landlord and nothing has been done with them since, so when the new fence went up I cleared everything, it was the wife's idea to make this spot into a secret garden, I have the BBQ on order and the decking ready for delivery, I just have to decide what's going to be planted there now

[Mr List]

it should be great, you can throw in anything you would be too scared to have in your proper garden, bamboos ,t.rexes and the like.

[redsquirrel]

it should be great, you can throw in anything you would be too scared to have in your proper garden, bamboos ,t.rexes and the like.

and scatter Trachycarpus seeds by the billions

[Nick]

Two small problems.
1) There is 6 x 35:000 volt cables over head, and the electric board come and cut everything off at 7ft so to keep the wires clear as the bushes used to catch fire where the cables warmed up during the summer dropped and set the tops alight.
2) I don't know what the land lord would do, I know he said no hard bounderys to mark it as there own, plus our recreational bits of our park are being removed to make way for new homes, so I would say it's to replace what he's taken from us, so far the bill for the Deck and BBQ and Bark/wood chip is £1000,then theres the planting of course on top and my time building it all and putting it all together , I know no one else would use it other than myself and my wife as no one used the other parts that are going, but yes T-Rexes and other big leafed plants and the climbers to go over this 10ft fencce

[Tropical Bob]

With those cables overhead... i wouldnt get a trampoline!

[Nick]

and anything that grows an inch over 16ft or the electric men will come and cut it down so nothing to tall but yes I do agree with Bamboo's big leafed plants like T-Rex pups Chinese rhubarb Gunnera possibly some tree ferns if the money stretches that far, plus good old English ferns.