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Posted By: Angeliastreefrog Great Gunnera - June 24th, 2005 at 02:21 PM
I have planted 2 Great Gunnera bulbs, each about the size of an apple. This plant is supposed to be really huge, a show stopper! Now, you'll notice I said "supposed to be". So far...there have been absolutely NO signs of life. I followed the planting directions to the letter. What I have is a nice set of holes in my yard that I pamper-much to my husbands amusement-and I'm beginning to wonder if the past 2 months have been in vain! This thing is supposed to have leaves on it as wide as 6 feet across, and the plant (when mature) should be 9 feet tall! I double checked the planting zone, and everything before I bought the stupid things! Anyone with any tips PLEASE Please help me!!
Posted By: tkhooper Re: Great Gunnera - June 24th, 2005 at 07:10 PM
Is it planted in sun or shade and how much water is it getting? This is an almost bog type plant so it needs to stay moist. If your in Louisiana I would say your humidity is probably fine. The information I found stated that people were actually lining their planting holes with plastic with a hole in the middle of it to ensure they had enough moisture in the location they choose.

I hope this helps. I couldn't grow one in my garden. I have to hand water and there is no way I would chose a thirsty plant for it.
Posted By: weezie13 Re: Great Gunnera - June 24th, 2005 at 08:28 PM
Angeliastreefrog,
First off, loooove the name, *there's a bunch
of us that love frogs'!!
And second off, Welcome to The Garden Helper's Forum,
we're glad you found us!!!

And thirdly!!!!
You've posted one of my alllllllll~time~favoritest
plants in the whole wide world..
and if I could grow one, ***wrong growing climate***,
I'd have a couple...
But that said, they are as I understand it one
of the most trickiest plants to grow....
especially if the right growing conditions aren't met...
They're from the tropic's and really like a moist humid environment..rich in compost like growing medium, such as that on a forrest floor/near water, they like lot's of water..can be placed on the side of a pond or lightly boggie area even..
***Takes alot of water to fill up those leaves..**

We do have one gardener that was growing them...
Well, it was growing and he's moved... we've heard from him about the move, and he's not popped back in in a bit.. but funny you should post this, cause I just PM'd him yesterday wanted
to know how his Gunnera survived the move, if he
took it at all!!!

I'll keep you posted if we hear from him, and
I'll direct him over here, if he pops in.....
Posted By: Angeliastreefrog Re: Great Gunnera - June 26th, 2005 at 07:00 AM
Thank you so much!!! I am going right now to move it to a "mushier" part of the yard...woooooooohoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!
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