Overwintering Ensete ventricosum and maurelii - UK

We have been fortunate with the weather so far across the UK, I have had no frosts yet and the forecast is good.

However, having grown these for many years my personal view is that no matter how mild the Winter its the rain and frost and no growth that causes rot.

Left is a seed grown ensete ventricosum, germinated last summer (2013).  I hate cutting them back, but needs must.

Some final pics before their haircut.

Next year it is going in the ground. I had too many pots out on the patio and potting ensetes does limit their growth.

So I have cut all the leaves off with a sharp knife, and will remove wet soil from roots, trimming off the roots to about four inches, turn upside down to dry, place in a pot of dry compost and leave it in my frost free garage until March.

 The leaves rot down quickly

Same goes for the Ensete maurelii and my Canna, though I leave the canna in their pots.

Am glad that it has been a mild winter to date but it has been fairly wet.

The inevitable hand near plant to show scale pic:

 

Fatsia polycarpa Edward Needham form (aks taiwaniana deep cut form)

I thought I would start my gardening blog on defining what a garden is. Scottish town gardens are traditionally called 'courts' and country/farm gardens as 'yards'. Both terms were and are used interchangeably, though the more generic garden term is now the most commonly used.

Court comes from the Greek root 'hortus' meaning an 'enclosed place to feed'. Orchard has exactly the same meaning.

Yard comes from early English 'geard' (though more often in Scotland 'Gart'). A number of place names in Scotland contain the gart term to this day. Yard also means enclosed feeding place and later became the word garden. Yard is used in the US as it was the most commonly used word at the time of settlement while garden, much later, became the most commonly used in the British isles.

So this starts my blog on gardening.