Garden News (UK)

Nick Bailey explains how to grow exotic giants from seed

Try my two favourites – they’ll be stunning plants by late summer!

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Imagine the scene. A heady, exotic scent drifts though the warm night air, huge tropical blooms and giant leaves abound while spectacula­r red hibiscus flowers look on. It sounds like a far-flung tropical island but what I’m describing is my garden in the Midlands a few years ago.

I set myself the mission of growing a lush exotic paradise from seed, in a single year. It worked, but only because of some really early sowing. I sourced my seeds as the new year began, then went on to gather several old propagator­s and the necessary 7cm (2¾in) pots and coir-based seed compost. The seeds arrived in dribs and drabs, but I sowed the lot in early February in the propagator­s on my south-facing dining room windowsill.

I grew about 25 different plants, from ricinus to leonotis, but the two that produced the most mind-blowing results were Brugmansia suaveolens and Ensete ventricosu­m. It took some effort, but this pair are more than worth it.

Ensete ventricosu­m

The Abyssinian banana is always in a rush to grow. Start by soaking the seed in tepid water for around two days to soften the bullethard seed coat. Sow it in a 7cm (2¾in) pot in a propagator at around 18C (64F). Give it 10 days or so and the first shoot will emerge. Pot on and continue to do so as its roots fill each successive container. Keep the heat and light up and start feeding with a broad-spectrum nitrogen-rich feed. By mid-May your plants should be around 40cm (1¼ft) high so can be hardened off and moved to a sunny spot in well-enriched soil. As August arrives you’ll have a 2m (6½ft) banana dripping with big, leafy exoticness!

Brugmansia suaveolens

Angel’s trumpets have vast 25cm (10cm) blooms and ooze with scent at night. Start seed in 7cm (2¾in) pots in a propagator at around 15C (59F). Once true leaves have appeared, prick out and select at least three times as many as you need, pot them on and continue to do so every month or so. Growing lots means you can select out those with strong, single stems that will go on to produce a large, canopied shrub. By May move them out of the glasshouse (or crowded windowsill) and select down by two thirds. Plant out your best after the risk of frost, removing side stems to create the umbrella look. By August you’ll have gigantic, pendulous bells hanging from a 2m (6½ft) shrub. Honest!

 ??  ?? Seed of this gorgeous bronze banana can be found online
Seed of this gorgeous bronze banana can be found online
 ??  ?? Brugmansia suaveolens is naturally white as a species, but has been bred into some beautiful apricots and yellows
Brugmansia suaveolens is naturally white as a species, but has been bred into some beautiful apricots and yellows
 ??  ??

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