Tropical Plants

From flattened iris-like bluish-green fans emerge spikes of deep coral 1" wide flowers that have a contrasting splotch of dark orange-red at the base of the three lower petals that acts as a 'bee guide' and the flowers are produced over an extended period in late winter, early spring, to spring depending on your zone. Woodland Painted Petals or Flowering Grass, Freesia laxa, is an easily grown cormous heirloom perennial and RHS Award of Garden Merit winner which readily multiplies via seed to make a loose groundcover. Provide an average to well-drained soil in a full to partly sunny site for optimum vigor and flowering. Freesia laxa is suitable for container culture as well as in the garden and landscape. Naturally winter dormant. Typically 2-3 or more bulbs per pot. Item# 12370

Clusters of sunny yellow 1" orchid-like flowers are borne in spring and summer and into fall and are followed by chartreuse butterfly-like seed pods that fade to brown. A vigorous and hardy yet well-mannered twining climber the Yellow Butterfly Vine can grow to 15-20' high if given support or it can easily be maintained on a fence, trellis, or arbor. This woody naturally evergreen vine can also be grown as a mounding shrub to 4-6' high. Where not hardy the Yellow Butterfly Vine is easily maintained as a container plant. The beautiful flowers provide nectar and pollen to a variety of garden beneficials including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Item# 745.

A beautiful clear yellow Cape Honeysuckle that produces masses of 2" tubular flowers in large clusters in summer and fall or nearly continuously throughout the year under frost free conditions. This easy heat and sun loving tropical can be grown as a medium to large arching shrub or hedge, vine or espalier, and can be trained into tree standards. The tubular flowers are a treat for hummingbirds and larger butterflies. Where not hardy it is easily maintained as a container plant. Item# 746.

Clusters of yellow, long-lasting, saucer-shaped calyxes are centered by yellow, 1" long, slightly curved tubular flowers and are produced along the arching stems beginning in late summer and early fall just in time for the fall hummingbird migration. Flowering may continue throughout winter and into spring in warm winter climates or will continue until the first hard frost or freeze in colder winter regions. The Yellow Chinese Hat, a relatively rare color form of Holmskioldia sanguinea, is a naturally evergreen, arching or scandent, tropical shrub growing to about 6-8' high and up to 8-12' wide by the end of the growing season, even as a dieback perennial in our zone 8B garden. It can be utilized as a specimen planting, as an informal hedge, espalier it along a fence or on a trellis, and even as tree form or standard. Provide the Chinese Hat Plant with a full to mostly sunny site, in an average moist, fertile soil with average or better drainage for optimum vigor and flowering. Flower color tends to richest in sunny conditions. See our Growing on the Edge Growing Guide for more on growing root hardy tropicals as perennials in the garden and landscape. Item# 10036

The Yellow Firecracker Fern produces loads of 1" creamy yellow tubular flowers that are born in large loose clusters throughout the warmer months of the year or nearly year round where winters are mild. Excellent for Hummingbirds! Plant it with the red for a colorful show. This is a durable and long-lived, clump forming perennial that requires little additional care once well-established. The Firecracker Fern has excellent heat and sun tolerance as well as moderate drought resistance once well-established. It is even listed as being suitable for xeriscaping. Firecracker Fern is listed as a Texas A&M Outstanding Coastal Plant. Item # 752.

From spring to fall a near continuous display of the 2-3" wide bright sunny yellow trumpets are held against a foil of deep green glossy foliage. The flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. The Yellow Mandevilla, Pentalinon luteum or Urechites lutea, is a vigorous twining, naturally evergreen, tropical vine native to southern Florida, the Caribbean, and Honduras. It is vigorous enough to cover a small arbor or medium-sized trellis but is mannerly enough to be maintained on a smaller 3-4' high support where it can be enjoyed as container plant for a sunny patio. Provide the Yellow Mandevilla with a fertile, average moist, average to well-drained soil in a full to mostly sunny site for maximum flowering and vigor. Item# 12385

A rare or uncommon color form of the common Red Shrimp Plant, the Yellow Queen Shrimp Plant produces a continuous display of upright to arching spikes composed of large showy light yellow to chartreuse colored bracts from which the individual white tubular flowers emerge in spring and summer to year round under warm tropical conditions. It displays the same habit and exceptional flower power of its maroon-red bracted cousin making a beautiful display as a container plant specimen and in mixed container gardens as well as in the garden and landscape. The common Shrimp Plant, Justicia brandegeeana, is a heat loving, naturally evergreen, bushy, tropical plant with dark olive green foliage and grows to about 24" high by about 18" wide. It is both full sun and bright shade tolerant but tends to have the densest branching habit where it receives at least 4 hours or more of direct sunlight. Provide an average to well-drained, moderately fertile, average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Attracts hummingbirds and the occasional larger butterfly and is an RHS Award of Garden Merit winner. Caterpillar host: Cuban Crescent, Texan Crescent, White Peacock, and Malachite. Item# 1170

Pure white 2" long tubular flowers emerge from between the spikes of golden yellow, long lasting, showy bracts nearly throughout the year where kept from cool temperatures. The Yellow Shrimp Plant, Pachystachys lutea, is an easy to enjoy and popular shade loving naturally evergreen tropical that slowly builds into a shrubby perennial with large dark green foliage. Its an easy and rewarding choice for a shaded porch or patio where it will add a little tropical flair. The flowers attract hummingbirds and other long-tongued pollinators. Provide an average moist to moist, fertile, average to well-drained soil in a shaded site for optimum growth and vigor. This is a true tropical plant that prefers temperatures above about 60^oF and can be overwintered indoors in an area with high indirect sunlight but plants can tolerate some direct sunlight, preferably cool or filtered, during the early or very late part of the day. *Note: In more northerly latitudes and/or cool summer climates plants are generally better able to tolerate full sun. Item# 3042

Yellow iris-like 2" flowers with brown markings are borne on tall stems practically all year where protected from frost. As a garden plant in areas where winters are cold, like zone 9, the foliage can freeze back at temperatures below about 28^oF. The upright sword-like medium green foliage grows to 24-30" high. As the 'walking' portion of the name implies, the Yellow Walking Iris produces young plantlets on the spent flowering stems and once they are large and heavy enough the supporting stem will be pulled to the ground where the young plantlets can root into the soil and grow. Makes an easy and low maintenance container plant for the porch or patio. Item# 758

Bright orange, 1" wide upward facing daisies are produced from spring to fall atop wispy wiry stems and are held above the deep green, fuzzy foliage attracting a variety of smaller pollinators including bees and butterflies. Zemmenia, Wedelia acapulcensis var. hispida, is a low growing naturally mounding, drought resistant, Texas tough, small native shrub-like perennial that is a mainstay of pollinator gardens from central Texas to the Rio Grande Valley as well as along the southwestern border and into Mexico. It seems to flower best and have the tidiest habit in full sun but can tolerate some shade but it may be at the expense of flowers. Zexmenia generally prefers a well-drained sandy or rocky soil but is adaptable to good garden soils as long as the plants have good to excellent drainage. It also makes a forgiving container plant but again provide sharp drainage. The butterfly in the image is a Western Pygmy Blue. Item# 13085