Gardeners in temperate climates have been bedding out tropical plants for a long time: coleus, caladiums, impatiens, begonias, etc. Few hardy plants offered their extended season of bloom and striking foliage. When cold weather comes, adios.
Some people are uneasy with this. I hear people express a categorical preference for hardy perennials, implying they are somehow classier. Even among permissive gardeners, there is a sense that some tropicals are suitable bedding plants and some should stay inside. But that prejudice seems to be lifting, and more and more I notice monstera, crotons, asparagus ferns, colocasias and wandering jew planted with the familiar tender annuals in our summer gardens.
In New York, with our torrid summers and reliance on container gardening, these alien plants really contribute. They are a horticultural match of the city’s human diversity.
Still there’s a time and place for everything, and I don’t think I’d work a Monstera into rose garden. For the most part they belong in containers near the house. If you have the space and winter sun, you can haul them in when the time comes.
Some people are uneasy with this. I hear people express a categorical preference for hardy perennials, implying they are somehow classier. Even among permissive gardeners, there is a sense that some tropicals are suitable bedding plants and some should stay inside. But that prejudice seems to be lifting, and more and more I notice monstera, crotons, asparagus ferns, colocasias and wandering jew planted with the familiar tender annuals in our summer gardens.
In New York, with our torrid summers and reliance on container gardening, these alien plants really contribute. They are a horticultural match of the city’s human diversity.
Still there’s a time and place for everything, and I don’t think I’d work a Monstera into rose garden. For the most part they belong in containers near the house. If you have the space and winter sun, you can haul them in when the time comes.
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