Hardy Tropicals UK

This area is by no means complete and was a good micro climate as the soil is very sandy and receives full winter sun .

I cemented together a lot of granite boulders on a concrete foundation to trap and radiate heat .





Some of my favorite plants in this lot include Euphorbia ammak , Aloe plicatilis, Agave americana , Agave victoria regina ,
Aloe polyphylla, Agave parryi var Parryi

Agave victoria regina is a striking plant and i was after one of these for ages but were no where to be found but some turned up in the garden section of K mart of all places .

The small palm is a butia capitata that will one day tower over the area ..


Troy

Would look a lot nice without that hideous black plastic sheet. Sorry!

I maybe wrong but I don't think he's finished putting gravel on.

Looks great

Id like an ID on some of those plants as I'm about to start making my succulent garden as well. looks great

Great selection, Troy.

Last pic some form of cotyledon.

Hi everyone
The black plastic sheet is weed mat that is going to be covered with gravel once i have finally finished planting .

Also i have to cement a few more rocks here and there so putting down the gravel right now would be a burden .

cheers Troy

GREVILLE wrote:Great selection, Troy.

Last pic some form of cotyledon.

Probably Cotyledon orbiculata which is extremely variable.

Hi thanks for the pics! looks great

just in case you didnt know (you seem to have done your research) you could try these cacti that are classed as winter hardy

coryphantha vivipara-var vivivpara-(var vivipara)- is the canadian form this is a variable cactus -most forms of c vivipara come from hot dry deserts and would not be hardy here)

escorbaria missouriensis var missouriensis (again this particular globular cactus is unbelievably cold but more importantly very damp hardy grows in wet places-again -as this species is variable and widely distributed throughout the USA most forms grow exclusively in hot dry climates-var missouriensis is the canadian northerly form)

opuntia humifusa-very damp and cold tolerant-there are many hardy opuntia to choose from (again canadian)

echinocereus viridiflorous-again only one hard to damp-most echinocereus are only hardy to cold not both. (think it grows near the canadian border.

If you afford a bit of damp protection your range of cacti you can put in your patch is greatly increased (spoilt for choice) but these are the best for cold and damp (damp kills cacti here)-some if not all of these species are even found growing at our latitude! obviously very well drained soil in a sunny spot if you can

I have c vivipara var vivipara but trying to get hold of e missouriensis (northern form)

hope the patch is doing well!
phil

Hi Phil

Thanks for the information . I am a cacti and succulent novice palms and tree ferns are my main plants but the ones you mention sound perfect for Hobart's cool fickle climate .

I will be in California in 6 weeks time and a visit to the Huntington desert garden will be the order of the day !


Cheers Troy

no problem troy, biggest problem is finding the specific variants, should be ok at 42 degrees south of the equator your winters will be far sunnier and drier than what they are used to.

cheers phil

Wow just see this looks amazing I love your cacti and succulet corner. Its very insperational and the sort of way id like to build a corner part of my small garden I love how you have the difrent colour gravels between all the rocks etc very very nice!

Being in the uk id have to be able to dig out the pots and store them all away in the dry for winter though but even so would be worth it to have a nice area like yours.....

Regards
Steve