Tropical Flowers – Something Beautiful for Everyone

There are splendid tropical flowers you can buy and plant in your garden. In fact, tropical plants are usually available at nurseries through the summer. If you're lucky enough to grow tropical plants in your garden, there are some things you can do to help them thrive, as well as extend their shelf life as cut flowers.

Tropical Flowers Need TLC...

Water your tropical and exotic flowers well. Give them plenty of water before cutting. This is important because some tropicals take in very little water after cutting. Instead, they live off their own sap.

Consider the natural environment of tropical flowers. Hawaiian flowers, exotic flowers from the Caribbean, Asia and South America... They all love hot days, muggy nights, and frequent spells of afternoon rain. With that in mind, mid-summer is an excellent time to add tropical flowers to your garden. The idea is to duplicate their natural habitat.

Tropical plants are generally dormant in the winter. When preparing garden plans, avoid using tropical flowers as primaries in your landscape. That way, during the cooler months your landscape is not noticeably bare. Unless you live in a climate that is hot year-round, you'll want to choose tropicals that are easy to dig and store indoors over the winter.

Popular Tropical Flowers

Some tropical plants are grown for their beautiful and often fragrant flowers. A few of the most popular of these are:

• Hibiscus

• Ixora

• Cannas

• Angel trumpet

• Bird of paradise

• Butterfly ginger

Other tropical plants are grown for their colorful and magnificent foliage, such as

• Peacock ginger

• Caladium

• Elephant ear

• Purple passion plant 

Tropical House Plants

Many tropical house plants are readily available from nurseries. Here are a few special  favorites that do quite well indoors:

Anthurium - Height: 1½ to 2 feet. These favorite Hawaiian flowers show dark green foliage with colorful flowers capable of blooming year round.

Cat Palm - Height: 3 to 4 feet. This full bodied palm is often used to decorate homes or offices.

Colorama - Height: 2 to 3 feet. Very pink and colorful with an attractive star-burst shape.

Dendrobium Orchid - Height: 1½ to 2 feet. The deep colorful petals of this orchid bring beauty and sophistication into any room.

Ficus Tree - Height: 3 to 4 feet. This charming tropical tree with its deep green, shiny leaves is one of the most popular tropical house plants of all.

Tropical Hanging Plants

Tropical hanging plants bring special atmosphere to any home. Here are a few you'll be pleased to grow... They all require good draining soil, and need to stay moist. In the spring, use fertilizer high in phosphorus to promote bud and flowering for the summer and fall. These also do quite well outdoors in warm and hot climates.

Marsdenia Floribunda or "Stephanotis Vine" - Known as the Hawaiian Wedding flower, these tropical hanging plants have tubular, creamy white flowers that grow 3" long which give an unforgettable sweet fragrance. These Hawaiian flowers need full to partial sun.

Impomea Horsfalliae or "Prince Kahio Vine" - These tropical hanging plants are West Indies natives. They bear clusters of brilliant florescent red flowers, and bloom in late winter when most other tropical flowers are dormant. These topical plants also make outstanding vines for your garden trellis. They can stand cool temperatures to the 40's.

Telosum Cordata or "Pakalana Vine" - This lovely vine has heart shaped leaves and small green and yellow flowers, with wonderful fragrance. They make excellent tropical hanging plants, and are also great candidates for garden trellises. These tropical flowers will withstand temps to low 40's.

Greenhouse gardening is ideal for growing tropical plants. Greenhouses are the perfect solution if your planting zones are too cool for growing tropical flowers and other exotic flowers during the winter months. It might be interesting to see if greenhouse kits fit into your garden plans!

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