Parrot's beak and banana pot display

in : Pots & containers: Hot & tropical

You will need

  • Large, deep pot, at least 40cm tall and 60cm diameter
  • Crocks
  • Loam-based compost, such as John Innes No. 3
  • 4 parrot's beaks, Lotus berthelotii
  • 4 trailing begonias
  • 1 honey bush, Melianthus major
  • 2 bananas, Musa basjoo

Pots & container categories

Overview

In the heat of summer, this showy pot will bring a taste of the tropics to your garden. The huge, red-tinged banana leaves flounce above a frothy skirt of blue-grey parrot's beak and honey bush, and fiery begonias.
Plant It April - June
At Its Best June - September
Takes Just 30 minutes

How To Do It

1Cover the bottom of the pot with crocks, then fill it two-thirds with compost.

2Arrange the plants in the pot: sit the honey bush in the centre, sandwiched between the bananas. Tuck the parrot's beak and the begonias around the edge of the pot.

3Top up the pot with more compost, firming it gently around the plant roots with your fingers. If frost is forecast overnight, cover the pot with horticultural fleece.

Adam's tip

Plant begonia tubers in pots, hollow-side uppermost. Then grow on in a greenhouse until ready to plant up.
Many of these plants are tender so don't plant them out too early, and protect them over winter by bringing them indoors.

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