Tropical Garden Plants

If you decide that you want to create a garden scheme using tropical garden plants, the chances are that it’s the feeling of heat, sun and foreign shores that you want to represent, and not just because you want to have the specific tropical garden plants. This allows for the use of plants with a Mediterranean feel to be incorporated as well as the tropical plants.

The look and feel of tropical garden plants creates quite a visual feast when done well. That’s not to say the whole garden needs to be of a tropical style; just having a few specimen plants in some stunning garden pots can make quite a focal point.

This idea can be extended to create an almost forest like atmosphere. Perhaps, in this case not the best of ideas for small gardens, but tropical garden plants can still be incorporated into many themes.

Tropical garden plants need a hot and humid environment to do well. The task of being able to replicate this can be quite an undertaking to say the least, but it’s not impossible.

It is now much easier to get hold of tropical garden plants that have actually been modified to cope with less than a tropical climate.

Elephants ears and banana plants come in several varieties now and are so often incorporated into the tropical garden planting scheme. Their huge leaves, and now varieties in colours and stripes seem to represent the heat and humidity of the tropics so well it’s almost impossible to leave them out.

Despite being such a major part of the tropical garden plant sector, banana plants do grow to quite a size and often suffer wind damage as a result. It is now possible to buy dwarf varieties which suffer far less with this problem.

Tropical gardening doesn’t need to take place in the tropics. It generally refers to the hobby of growing plants that come from the tropics, although even the pastime of growing plants that look like they come from the tropics is good enough. After all, the truth is that most of us simply do not live in the humid jungles of India and Africa.

Even if the climate where you live cannot support tropical garden plants, it may be possible for you to have some in garden pots that can be moved in or out depending on the weather. Tropical garden plants in the house are very atmospheric, and create quite a focal point.

Tropical garden plants may sound very exotic, but the truth is, you may already have some about the house or greenhouse. Begonias, impatiens and geraniums are all classed as tropical plants. You are probably already aware, that although these plants are generally bought as annuals, if looked after overwinter, they’ll keep going for ages.

Even if you’re lucky enough to have something like the correct temperatures that tropical garden plants need to thrive, the humidity is likely to be a bit of a problem. They really need the moisture in the air. Regular misting of the leaves can help, but of course, this all adds to the high maintenance factor.

You may decide to create a tropical environment in a large greenhouse or orangery for example, and perhaps install a misting system. The tropical garden plants will thrive, but you may find that regular non-tropical plants struggle and need re-locating.

Of course, if you do decide to have tropical garden plants that can be moved depending on the seasons and temperatures, they will need to be in suitably sized garden pots. These can even be sunk into the ground for the duration of their time outside. This job can be a bit heavy and dirty, but may give you the effect you’re after.

A proportion of tropical plants in the wild, do grow beneath the canopy of the larger plants, so it is possible to find tropical garden plants that can cope with some shade. The ones that do need the sun will need at least 6 hours of good sunlight a day to thrive. This sunny area could be an opportunity to incorporate a backyard bog garden for example, in a large garden pot.

You will also need to pay attention to the matter in which your tropical plants are grown. It will need to mimic as closely as possible the fibrous nature of the growing matter to which they are accustomed.

If you decide to go down the path of a tropical garden, you will have your work cut out for sure, but the beauty and atmosphere that a well thought out tropical garden can provide will make it all worthwhile. The only thing missing then will be the cocktails!

If you would like to read more about gardening from a non technical but practical point of view, please feel free to have a look at my Tropical Garden Plants website.