I love summer tropicals. The drama they create is unsurpassed by anything the Northwest has to offer.
Take my red Abyssinian bananas, for example. In May or even early June, I always plant a couple of pots with a red banana in the center as the focal point. If it’s early enough in the season, I will start with a plant that is only 12 to 18 inches tall and comes in a one-gallon pot. If I don’t get around to planting the container until later in June, then I will spring for one in a five-gallon pot that will cost me as much as $50. That might sound like a lot of money, but I always remember that I am going to get five months’ worth of pleasure out of my relationship — only $10 a month. That’s a pretty cheap date, in my book.
By the end of the season, my bananas will be 6 to 8 feet tall and, at that point, it is time to break up and go our separate ways. Yes, the red banana will be discarded into the compost pile. (Unless you want to park the Corvette outside for the winter and store the banana inside, which might be a tough sell for the spouse.)
Another drama queen that I always find room for is the giant Egyptian papyrus. While I have the advantage of storing these over winter in my greenhouses so I can start with a well-established specimen, smaller ones can be purchased in late May that will only be 3 feet tall — but again, by the end of the season, they will top out at 8 feet with green stalks topped with sparkler-like grassy tufts. They remind me of fireworks and delight me to no end. At the end of summer Miss Papyrus and I say our goodbyes and agree to meet up again the following year, same time, same station.
Taros, or elephant ears, as they are sometimes called, are yet another one of my favorite thrillers to plant for the summer. They come in many forms, from green leaves to dark smoky purple ones with violet stems, and sometimes even red stems. They can form a large clump by the end of the summer and are the personification of drama in the garden.
Like the papyrus, taros are moisture lovers and can even grow in water, so they are a super addition to the pond, if you are fortunate enough to have one in your garden.
At the end of the summer, I usually try to take a few divisions for the following season and throw out the mother plant. You can often keep these in a cool basement for the winter (never let them freeze) and wake them up in late April for a jump-start on the season. Or if you don’t want to hassle with a long-term relationship, just pitch them out and start fresh the following spring.
I know it pains some gardeners to throw out large specimens that they have nurtured all summer long, but if we just look at them as a summer fling, it’s not so hard to break up and move on. Nothing ever really dies in the plant world, it just takes on a different form (i.e., compost) that eventually nourishes yet another type of vegetation. It is the penultimate form of recycling.
Go have a summer tryst with one of these beauties, and I guarantee you will get the same thrill I do every year.
Steve Smith is the owner of Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville and can be reached at info@sunnysidenursery.net.
Fall veggies
Attend a free class about growing fall vegetables at 10 a.m. Aug. 25 at Sunnyside Nursery, 3915 Sunnyside Blvd., Marysville. For more information or to sign up, visit www.sunnysidenursery.net.
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