Tropical Plants Have Many Uses
Tropical plants and tropical-appearing plants have many uses in Northeast Florida gardens. Their Lushness, large leaves, colorful flowers, variegated foliage, and exotic and unusual features create a sense of place that feels right for this area. Being familiar with certain plant seeds repeatedly in warm climates can make us think of the tropics. These plants are also compatible with pools and water features. They can provide a bridge between the spring annuals and perennials that slow or stop flowering in the heat and the plants that won’t bloom until it cools in Fall. True tropicals are best in summer when hardy plants start to decline. They take the heat and humidity, producing flowers and fresh foliage until frost.
When you design your landscape, think of many layers of dense plantings. Tropical rainforests have certain specific features. You see plants growing on top of other plants, with large and long leaves, sometimes with variegation, smooth trunks, and hot, bright colors. Tropical plants mix well with hardy tropical-appearing plants to accentuate each other or provide contrast. They can also be powerful focal points. Even the smaller tropicals can be bold focal points in containers. Low-growing tender plants can be mixed in borders to step in when the annuals slow down and where they won’t compete with taller fall-blooming perennials.
Another great way to design with tropicals is to create beds in parts of your garden just for them. Instead of trying to overwinter some of your tropicals, you can treat them as annuals and change and redesign the bed each year. This method allows you to manage your plants much more efficiently since you won’t have to plan and garden around your perennials in these areas carefully. The beds can support cool season annuals like palsies and spring bulbs early in the season before the tropicals are ready to be planted, and many will share the space as the bulbs and less heat-resistant plants go dormant.
Tropicals aren’t difficult to grow. Wait until the night temperatures stay above 50 degrees to plant. Most prefer well-draining soil with average fertility but mulched. Some more hardy tropical-looking plants, like cannas, gingers, bananas, and elephant ears, do better in richer and moister soil. If you dispose of your tropicals at the end of the season, then you can fertilize even in late summer for a better end-of-season display. If kept, smaller potted plants can be brought indoors or in garages/greenhouses for overwintering or covered with freeze cloth when necessary.
See the list below for growth requirements and attributes for specific plants. The minimum temperatures reveal which useful plants are the hardy, tropical-looking ones and which must be protected in winter or replaced in the spring. We are part of USDA hardiness zone 9a, with an average minimum winter low of 20 degrees, so anything with a higher minimum isn’t hardy here.
PLANT LIST:
Allamanda (Allamanda)
Plant Type: Shrub/Vine,
Plant Form: Loose spreading,
Minimum temperature 25-30F,
Bloom Time: Summer-Fall,
Moisture Needs Average,
Sun Preference: Full to part sun
Angel Trumpet (Brugmansia)
Plant Type: Shrub/Tree
Plant Form: Broad Open
Minimum temperature: 15F
Bloom Time: Intermittent
Moisture Needs: Average to Moist
Sun Preference: Full Sun to Shade
Anthurium (Anthurium)
Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Form: Upright
Minimum temperature: 30F
Bloom Time: All Season
Moisture Needs: Average to Moist
Sun Preference: Part Sun to Shade
Aucuba (Aucuba)
Plant Type: Shrub
Plant Form: Round
Minimum temperature: 0F
Bloom Time: Insignificant
Moisture Needs: Moist
Sun Preference: Part Sun to Shade
Australian Tree Fern (Alsophila)
Plant Type: Fern
Plant Form: Upright
Minimum temperature: 30F
Bloom Time: No Bloom
Moisture Needs: Moist
Sun Preference: Part Sun
Bamboo (Bambusa)
Plant Type: Giant Woody Grass
Plant Form: Erect, clumping
Minimum temperature: 15-30F
Bloom Time: Bloom Unlikely
Moisture Needs: Moist
Sun Preference: Full to Part Sun
Banana (Musa Ensete)
Plant Type: Herbaceous
Plant Form: Shrub Upright
Minimum temperature: 22-30F
Bloom Time: Variable
Moisture Needs: Moist
Sun Preference: Full Sun
Bird of Paradise-Orange (Strelitzia)
Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Form: Upright
Minimum temperature: 32
Bloom Time: Intermittent
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full to Part Sun
Bird of Paradise-White (Strelitzia)
Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Form: Upright
Minimum temperature: 0F
Bloom Time: Spring
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full to Part Sun
Bird’s Nest Fern (Asplenium)
Plant Type: Epiphytic fern
Plant Form: Vase
Minimum temperature: 30F
Bloom Time: No Bloom
Moisture Needs: Moist
Sun Preference: Shade
Bottlebrush (Callistemon)
Plant Type: Shrub/Tree
Plant Form: Round/Weeping
Minimum temperature: 10-25F
Bloom Time: Spring-Summer
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full Sun
Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea)
Plant Type: Vining Shrub
Plant Form: As Trained
Minimum temperature: 25F
Bloom Time: Summer
Moisture Needs: Low
Sun Preference: Full Sun
Bromeliad
Plant Type: Perennial
Plant Form: Vase
Minimum temperature: 25-30F
Bloom Time: Usually once
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Sun to Shade
Caladium (Caladium)
Plant Type: Deciduous bulb
Plant Form: Upright spreading
Minimum temperature: 10F
Bloom Time: Insignificant
Moisture Needs: Average to Moist
Sun Preference: Sun to Shade
Calla Lily (Zantedeschia)
Plant Type: Bulb
Plant Form: Upright
Minimum temperature: 20F
Bloom Time: Summer
Moisture Needs: Moist
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Canna Lily (Canna)
Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Form: Columnar
Minimum temperature: 5-10F
Bloom Time: Early Spring-Fall
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full Sun
Cape Honeysuckle (Tecoma)
Plant Type: Shrub
Plant Form: Vining, spreading
Minimum temperature: 20F
Bloom Time: Summer
Moisture Needs: Low to Average
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra)
Plant Type: Perennial
Plant Form: Upright spreading
Minimum temperature: 0-10F
Bloom Time: Occasional
Moisture Needs: Low to Average
Sun Preference: Partial Sun to Shade
Celosia (Celosia)
Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Form: Upright, mounded
Minimum temperature: 30F
Bloom Time: Summer
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full Sun
Chinese Hat Plant (Holmskioidea)
Plant Type: Shrub
Plant Form: Upright, sprawling
Minimum temperature: 30F
Bloom Time: Spring to Fall
Moisture Needs: Moist
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Chocolate Caricature (Graptophyllum)
Plant Type: Shrub
Plant Form: Upright
Minimum temperature: 30F
Bloom Time: Summer
Moisture Needs: Average to Moist
Sun Preference: Full Sun to Shade
Coleus (Plectranthus)
Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Form: Upright, mounded
Minimum temperature: 40F
Bloom Time:
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full Sun to Shade
Copper Leaf (Acalypha)
Plant Type: Shrub
Plant Form: Upright, bushy
Minimum temperature: 30F
Bloom Time: Summer – Fall
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Partial Sun
Cordyline (Cordyline)
Plant Type: Shrub
Plant Form: Tree Upright
Minimum temperature: 20-30F
Bloom Time: Intermittent
Moisture Needs: Average to Moist
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Crinium Lily (Crinum)
Plant Type: Evergreen Bulb
Plant Form: Upright spreading
Minimum temperature: 15F
Bloom Time: Anytime
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Croton (Cadiaeum)
Plant Type: Shrub
Plant Form: Round
Minimum temperature: 30F
Bloom Time: Spring
Moisture Needs: Average to Moist
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Dipladenia (Mandevilla)
Plant Type: Vining Shrub
Plant Form: Shrubby
Minimum temperature: 30F
Bloom Time: Summer to Frost
Moisture Needs: Average to moist.
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Elephant Ear (Alocasia)
Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Form: Upright
Minimum temperature: 15F
Bloom Time: Intermittent
Moisture Needs: Average to Moist
Sun Preference: Partial Sun to Shade
Elephant Ear (Colocasia)
Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Form: Arching
Minimum temperature: 10F
Bloom Time: Intermittent
Moisture Needs: Moist to Wet
Sun Preference: Full Sun
Flowering Maple (Abutilon)
Plant Type: Shrub
Plant Form: Round
Minimum temperature: 20F
Bloom Time: Summer
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Giant Leopard Plant (Farfugium)
Plant Type: Perennial
Plant Form: Ground cover, Spreading
Minimum temperature: OF
Bloom Time: Fall-Winter
Moisture Needs: Moist
Sun Preference: Partial Sun to Shade
Ginger (Alpinia)
Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Form: Upright arching
Minimum temperature: 25F
Bloom Time: Intermittent
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Partial Sun
Ginger (Hedychium)
Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Form: Upright
Minimum temperature: 10F
Bloom Time: Summer
Moisture Needs: Moist
Sun Preference: Partial Sun
Hibiscus (Hibiscus)
Plant Type: Shrub
Plant Form: Upright
Minimum temperature: 20-30F
Bloom Time: Sumer -Fall
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full Sun
Ixora (Ixora)
Plant Type: Shrub
Plant Form: Round
Minimum temperature: 25F
Bloom Time: Summer
Moisture Needs: Average to Moist
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Jacobinia (Justicia)
Plant Type: Shrub
Plant Form: Upright
Minimum temperature: 15F
Bloom Time: Summer- Fall
Moisture Needs: Moist
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Japanese Aralia (Fatsia)
Plant Type: Shrub
Plant Form: Upright, Round
Minimum temperature: 10F
Bloom Time: Fall
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Shade
Jatropha (Jatopha)
Plant Type: Tree
Plant Form: Multi Trunk
Minimum temperature: 25F
Bloom Time: All Season
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Joseph’s Coat (Alternanthera)
Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Form: Bushy
Minimum temperature: 20F
Bloom Time: Insignificant
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Lily of the Nile (Agapanthus)
Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Form: Fountain
Minimum temperature: 10F
Bloom Time: Summer – Fall
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Lobster Claw (Heliconia)
Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Form: Upright spreading
Minimum temperature: 20-25F
Bloom Time: All Season
Moisture Needs: Average to moist
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Loquat (Eriobotrya)
Plant Type: Tree
Plant Form: Round to Upright
Minimum temperature: 10F
Bloom Time: Spring
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full Sun
Macho Fern (Nephrolepis)
Plant Type: Evergreen fern
Plant Form: Upright spreading
Minimum temperature: 20F
Bloom Time: No Bloom
Moisture Needs: Average to Moist
Sun Preference: Partial Sun to Shade
Mahoe (Hibiscus)
Plant Type: Shrub/Tree
Plant Form: Round to spreading
Minimum temperature: 30F
Bloom Time: All Seasons
Moisture Needs: Moist
Sun Preference: Full Sun
Malaysian Orchid (Medinilla)
Plant Type: Shrub-like epiphyte
Plant Form: Upright pendulous
Minimum temperature: 30F
Bloom Time: Intermittent
Moisture Needs: Average to Moist
Sun Preference: Partial Sun
Mandevilla (Mandevilla)
Plant Type: Vine
Plant Form: Spreading
Minimum temperature: 30F
Bloom Time: Summer- to Frost
Moisture Needs: Average to Moist
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Oleander (Nerium)
Plant Type: Shrub/Tree
Plant Form: Round
Minimum temperature: 10-20F
Bloom Time: Summer – Fall
Moisture Needs: Low
Sun Preference: Full Sun
Orchid (Phalaenopsis)
Plant Type: Epiphyte
Plant Form: Round
Minimum temperature: 40F
Bloom Time: Intermittent
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Partial Sun to Shade
Palms/ (Many)
Plant Type: Shrub/Tree
Plant Form: Upright spreading
Minimum temperature: varies
Bloom Time: varies
Moisture Needs: Average to Moist
Sun Preference: Full Sun to Shade
Papyrus (Cyperus)
Plant Type: Grass-like Perennial
Plant Form: Upright
Minimum temperature: 20-30F
Bloom Time: Insignificant
Moisture Needs: Average to Wet
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Passion Vine (Passiflora)
Plant Type: Vine
Plant Form: Dense
Minimum temperature: 0-25F
Bloom Time: Summer – Fall
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)
Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Form: Upright arching
Minimum temperature: 30F
Bloom Time: All Seasons
Moisture Needs: Moist
Sun Preference: Partial Sun
Persian Shield (Strobilanthes)
Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Form: Upright
Minimum temperature: 15F
Bloom Time: Winter
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Philodendron (Philodendron)
Plant Type: Shrub
Plant Form: Upright, Round
Minimum temperature: 15-40
Bloom Time: Intermittent
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Partial Sun to Shade
Plumeria (Plumeria)
Plant Type: Shrub/Tree
Plant Form: Upright
Minimum temperature: 25F
Bloom Time: Summer
Moisture Needs: Low to Average
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Rubber Plant (Ficus)
Plant Type: Tree
Plant Form: Upright
Minimum temperature: 30F
Bloom Time: Insignificant
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Sea Grape (Coccoloba)
Plant Type: Shrub
Plant Form: Vase
Minimum temperature: 30F
Bloom Time: Intermittent
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Snow Bush (Breynia)
Plant Type: Shrub
Plant Form: Round to Vase
Minimum temperature: 25F
Bloom Time: Insignificant
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Staghorn Fern (Platycerium)
Plant Type: Epiphytic
Plant Form: Low spreading
Minimum temperature: 25F
Bloom Time: No Bloom
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Partial Sun
Stromanthe (Stromanthe)
Plant Type: Perennial
Plant Form: groundcover clumping
Minimum temperature: 25F
Bloom Time: Early Spring
Moisture Needs: Moist
Sun Preference: Partial Sun to Shade
Swiss Cheese Plant (Monstera)
Plant Type: Vine
Plant Form: Spreading
Minimum temperature: 30F
Bloom Time: Mid Summer
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Partial Sun
Tapioca (Manihot)
Plant Type: Shrub
Plant Form: Rounded
Minimum temperature: 30F
Bloom Time: Spring-Summer
Moisture Needs: Moist
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Tasmanian Tree Fern (Dicksonia)
Plant Type: Fern
Plant Form: Spreading crown
Minimum temperature: 20F
Bloom Time: No bloom
Moisture Needs: Moist
Sun Preference: Partial Sun to Shade
Tibouchina (Tibouchina)
Plant Type: Shrub/Tree
Plant Form: Upright
Minimum temperature: 20F
Bloom Time: Summer
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
Trumpet Tree (Tabebula)
Plant Type: Tree
Plant Form: Rounded spreading
Minimum temperature: 25F
Bloom Time: Early Spring
Moisture Needs: Average
Sun Preference: Full Sun
Yellow Mussaenda (Mussaenda)
Plant Type: Subshrub
Plant Form: Rounded
Minimum temperature: 25F
Bloom Time: Early Summer
Moisture Needs: Average to Moist
Sun Preference: Full to Partial Sun
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