@California Garden TV

California Garden TV: Cutting Back Tropical Plants



Cutting back tropical plants needs to be done in spring before they start their season of growth. Whether you grow tropical plants in cold winter climates and have to store them in the winter or if you live in a mild winter climate where they can stay outside, I’m going to show you how to cut back and clean out to make them ready for a new season of growth. I’ll show you how to cut back monstera deliciosa, how to cut back colocasia or elephant ear, how to cut back cannas or canna lilies, how to cut back ginger and how to cut back sunpatiens.

46 Comments

  1. So glad to see your area drying out and your landscaping looks great now! I followed your planting instructions for tomato seeds Monday and today, Friday, I have tomatoes coming up!! first time I tried this! Rewatching your instruction videos on that so I don't mess up and kill them! Thanks so much!!

  2. Hello, thanks to you I've started a gardening in the grow pots on my patio, I have purchased organic potting soil for vegetables and all was well till I got to the bottom of the bag and found mold in it. I used at least 3/4 of the bag, it was a kellog's brand.
    Now I see small mushrooms growing inside my pots. Is that normal?. I picked them out and threw them away. I am excited that something can grow in Phoenix, AZ and my experience in growing for the first time this year. I truly appreciate you on your U-Tube with your teachings and with great details on how to do things. Keep up with the great job and content on your channel.

  3. LOVE! Curious as to what zone you are in? I would love to grow a Monstera but I am in 9a. It's rare that we get a frost so I'm wondering if I cover it in case of frost if I would have luck growing it in the ground? Although now I am a little shy because we had a Christmas freeze like never before and I did lose some years of growth and a couple plants ):

  4. Hi Brian, I am a relatively new follower and very much enjoy this channel and I very much enjoyed your book. I appreciate the effort you put into your work. I am in eastern Canada (zone 5) and got a little too excited with starting seeds. I have plants that honestly should be in the garden now,(tomatoes,peppers,pumpkins,cucumbers) and with no chance of that happening until early June, is there anything I can do to save these plants or do I just start over in late April?

  5. I’m in California too but northern….dude can I plant my monsteras in ground?! If so like direct light? I’m so jelly of your tropical garden

  6. Liked the video, but just got thrown back to the 60's at Grandmas house in Escondido. Roosters in the background are a wonderful memory!

  7. This is a great video even for those of us that are in colder climates cause many of these plants can be grown as indoor plants. Honestly I've been afraid to grow them inside cause I know nothing about caring for them. But now I'm interested in getting one to start. I like that you mentioned which ones can be brought inside. Thanks 👍🏼

  8. At my last house I grew Canna Lily. I just cut them back and put mulch over them for the winter and the grew back beautifully. We do get snow in Arkansas and this method worked great I do miss all the flowers I use to grow in California. I’m now trying to concentrate on companion flower planting for my garden. You home is beautiful. I love the types of plants you can grow. Thank you for the pruning lesson. Blessings❤️🌺

  9. Thank you! We learned so much in this single episode. We are in Zone 9B sac valley and still waiting on our forty-degree nights to arrive so we can get planted. Our grow tent is packed with 97 plants patiently waiting. We have been watching your channel for some years now and always enjoy every episode. Thank you we appreciate you! Peace&positive vibes!

  10. Were you playing in the mud before you started filming this video? 🌷💚🙃🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

  11. I had a very unexpected surprise last summer. I have what one might call an eclectic garden, I sometimes plant in unusual containers, no one sees it but me, anyway I couldn’t believe I had a canna coming back after spending a winter in my cold zone 6a. It was planted in an old tire but still ? I was absolutely amazed! 🌷💚🙃

  12. @Next Level Gardning
    I am very impressed by the great pruning of all the plants that suffered from the weather. great job. It's a shame I can't send you pictures of my dracinas in the potted garden.

  13. Just a question! Are you a Botanist? (Degree?). I’ve learned👍❤️🌹 SO MUCH from you! Love your videos!!

  14. Love Flower Friday’s!! Gonna add some beautiful ginger and monstera to my garden! Thank you for your videos!🙏

  15. I always find garden cleanup to be a very satisfying activity and time well spent. Great tip about snapping off the sunpatiens stems instead of cutting, I assume it will work as well with impatiens. You've erased the evidence of your rough winter and are well poised for a beautiful spring. At 15:10, it looks like the monstera is sending out blooms?!? I don't think I'll be growing many tropicals here in zone 7 but I will certainly enjoy watching yours.

  16. I’m wondering if you know the size that the Frangipani will grow to in that corner
    You’ll still have a few years yet, but it’s going to grow into a monster of a tree.
    A beautiful perfume of flowers😊

  17. I bought some elephant ears bulbs (or whatever they are called) will see if they come up. I think I bought some cannas too, if not, will remedy that 😉)
    Thank you for this tutorial Brian, I learned something new!❤🤗

  18. So many unexpected tips for tropicals! You wear all of your “hats” so well! Love your channel!

  19. Thank you so much, Brian!!! Guess I've been pruning my elephant ears all wrong! I can't wait to see what you do with the rest of your tropical garden. I'm in zone 7 in Virginia and I'm planning to do a tropical garden in my front yard…already started a few canna from last year's seeds and I was so excited to see the first leaf pop up. Only have about a hundred more seeds to plant…lol. You DEFINITELY inspired me!

  20. Do you have the option of having an inline fertilizer unit – so that you can put in kelp, and other nutrients – without just surface watering the compost surface ?

  21. Cannas are very resilient. To my mistake, knowing full well they are tubers, I planted a few next to my raised garden beds. The cannas were beautiful. However, they came up thru 18" of soil in my raised beds. Oh my goodness, it was a job to clean out this early spring 😳

  22. Everything looks so good now. I’m often timid when I cut back, but I can see this will help in the long run.

    Also, don’t be so quick to think we are past the frost date in this weird winter. I’m zone 9 sf Bay Area w last frost date of 2/14. Guess what the weather report tonight is? Yep, frost. 🤷‍♂️

  23. I can't imagine not having to dig cannas up every fall and store them. About 45 years ago I was at my parent's house and my dad had put a box of canna bulbs out by the garbage in case anyone wanted them. I lived in an apartment in Chicago by then and my landlord let me plant what I wanted in the back yard so I brought the box back with me. There were 12 huge canna bulbs. Landlord and I planted them and they went insane. That fall we had a bushel basket of canna bulbs. Following spring we gave some away to other people in the neighborhood and started growing ours again. Over the next few years we gave away more and more canna bulbs as did the people we'd already given them to. Forty five years later, my hubs plants the ''great-great-great grandbulbs" of those originals that I brought back. I've had people say that if you see a tall red canna on the north side of Chicago it is likely the progeny of those original 12 bulbs I brought back with me. Hubs says it's his homage to what a great garderner/man my dad was and he will plant them every year until he dies. Not sure how I could get a few to you but if you'd like a few I'd love to send you some. If you would like them, please message me on FBmessenger and I'll get them to you. <3

  24. I removed all my cannas because the bugs just eat them completely. They always looked ugly or I had to spray but not toxic stuff but not long term either. Not worth it for me. My two 30 year old dracenas froze because I didn’t bring them in Like I always did but this time had them in a heated canopy but the wind did them in. I was so sad but bought another already.

  25. Your elephant ear pots look so nice. I love dracena. I have 2 green ones and 2 pink ones inside my house. I also like cannas my neighbors always give them away and I have planted many in my backyard for pollinators. Your so lucky you can grow monstera outside, I saw wish I could have your monstera cuttings to put in a glass vase.

  26. I have been thinking about getting some Ginger for by my fences. Are the White Ginger edible? Or can I plant some common ginger in the same area to mix with the taller ginger and still be able to cut some rhizomes to cook with?

  27. Oh Brian, how I want to get out and play in the dirt…..however, expecting….13 inches of wet heavy snow tomorrow😩. I so enjoy your videos and this one was great teaching. My brother is in Florida and I planted some Cana there for him last month. I am going to plant some for me….along with ginger…now that I know I can bring inside for the winter!!! Everything looks so lovely. Blessings❤️🙏

  28. Brian, this was just fascinating! Me being from MICHIGAN, I don’t usually grow the tropicals, but if I ever get one as a houseplant, I’ll know what to do…btw, I have never had good luck starting Colocasia bulbs; could you speak on that? I know they’re supposed to be easy, but they never sprout for me. 🤨

  29. I do love the tropicals – unfortunately the Japanese beetles love the cannas too much to bother with anymore. Great info!

  30. I had no idea that's what you did with colocasia. I'm in 4b Minnesota, last summer passively watching my elephant ear growing, saw the new leaf growing within the stem, smiled and thought wow I must really be doing something right! 😅 I will help to free them this summer, looking forward to applying this new bit of wisdom, thank you!

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