Tropical Plants

One of the most cold hardy and easy to grow bromeliads! The Matchstick Plant produces dense spikes of purple tipped, pink "matchsticks" beginning in mid-winter on sturdy upright to arching spikes that emerge from the center of the medium green glossy rosettes of nearly spineless foliage. This easily enjoyed bromeliad readily produces pups or offsets and is typically grown in soil but can also be grown as a semi-epiphyte on a board as well. 3 plants per pot. Item# 10888.

A White Butterfly Ginger on steroids! The spike-like clusters produce 4" wide, fragrant, butterfly-shaped white flowers with a creamy heart in late summer and into fall atop large sturdy upright stems with large tropical-looking rich green foliage. The Maximum Giant White Butterfly Ginger, likely a tetraploid or hybrid of Hedychium coronarium, has some of the largest stems, flowers, and (up to 2" diameter) rhizomes of any Hedychium we have grown to date! A naturally evergreen, rhizomatous slowly multiplying tropical, it acts like a die-back perennial in areas where freezes occur, reliably returning in zones 7B to 10. The Hedychium Gingers typically grow and flower best where they receive at least some direct sunlight for 3-4 hours during the day and generally have the best looking foliage where they receive shade during the heat of the day. A planting on the east facing side of a house, tree or other structure where they receive morning sun is often optimum. Provide an average moist to moist, average to well-drained, moderately fertile soil to keep this easy and reliable heirloom growing and flowering. Item# 13184

Deep violet trumpets are born freely from late spring or early summer until first frost to year round under warm tropical conditions atop sturdy stems. Mayan™ Purple Ruellia or Mexican Petunia is a relatively new seed and pollen sterile selection that can spend more energy on flowering instead of adding unwanted seedlings to the garden. In many regards it is similar to but outperforms Purple Showers in overall flower power and disease resistance. It is also a tetraploid so the funnel-shaped flowers are slightly larger than your typical Mexican Petunias. The Mexican Petunia is a naturally evergreen, rhizomatous or spreading, tropical perennial that is grown as a die-back perennial in zones 8-9. It can be grown as a low maintenance container specimen plant, in mixed container gardens, as well as in the garden and landscape. It can also be used as a tall groundcover in difficult sites. The flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Provide Mexican Petunias with a full sun to part sun site in an average moist to wet, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 12435

Large clusters of fiery orange-red tubular flowers are produced from summer through fall to yearround in warm tropical climates and attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Clusters of shiny black 3/8" fruit develop on pollinated flowers and are utilized by songbirds. When grown in full to mostly sunny conditions the foliage generally has a reddish tinge. The Firebush, Hamelia patens var. patens, is native to the southern half of Florida and is evergreen under frost free conditions and can develop into a medium to large shrub. *We have grown this species in our zone 8B gardens for over 30 years as a quite reliable 3-4' high die-back perennial. Each winter it freezes back to its crown and then returns in mid to late spring to flower through much of summer and into fall. Provide a full to mostly sunny site, although they are fairly tolerant, for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 10668

Clusters of bright orange 1-2" wide, daisy-like flowers with a yellow 'eye' that matures to orange are produced throughout the growing season to potentially year-round under warm frost free conditions. The Mexican Flame Vine, Senecio confusus, a.k.a Pseudogynoxis chenopodioides, is a naturally evergreen, small to medium-sized, herbaceous, twining tropical vine whose nectar and pollen-laden flowers are favored by butterflies, especially migrating Monarchs, as well as bees and hummingbirds. It is known to be a root hardy perennial in zones 9-10 and even in 8B if provided with a breathable insulative mulch for winter. It can be easily overwintered as a container plant and it is vigorous enough to enjoy as an annual where not hardy. Use this easy and vigorous vine on trellises and fences or allow it to spill from a hanging basket. Provide the Mexican Flame Vine with a full to partly sunny site in an average to well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 505

The nearly 1/2" wide, deep purple flowers with starkly contrasting white eyes are produced along the wispy elongating flower spikes from spring to frost attracting a variety of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Midnight Moon Improved Porterweed, a hybrid that includes Stachytarpheta cayennensis in its lineage, is a compact growing, well-branched, naturally evergreen tropical growing to about 2-3' high and 1-2' wide. This improved version sports larger, even deeper purple flowers with a similar growth habit to its predecessor. This Porterweed is small and compact enough for container culture as a specimen or in mixed company or utilize it as a summer long pollinator magnet for the garden and landscape. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, fertile, average to well-drained soil for optimum vigor and maximum flowering. Item# 12081

Huge, deep orange-red tubular flowers open from dark tinged calyxes and 8-12" long spikes in summer and fall, when grown as a perennial, to potentially year round under warm tropical conditions attracting hummingbirds for miles! Mole Poblano Mexican Chocolate Scarlet Sage, a selection of Salvia gesneriflora, is more compact and flowers much longer than its parent growing to about 6-7' high and wide. This giant growing Salvia, the species is reported to grow over 20' high, is a shade tolerant, herbaceous to shrub-like tender perennial Salvia that is adorned with fragrant, large heart-shaped, fuzzy, quilted foliage and is anecdotally root hardy into zone 8A. Its only real drawback is that it should be grown in a sheltered area protected from strong winds and heavy rains as the stems are subject to breakage. It can be pruned to help keep the plant shorter, stronger, and fuller. Provide Mole Poblano Salvia with a moist to average moist, well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and continuous flowering. Item# 12583

Clusters of widely flaring orange flowers are produced throughout the growing season and are held above the glossy dark green foliage on a compact well-branched plant. Mona Wallhead Crossandra or Firecracker Flower is a naturally evergreen, compact growing, herbaceous tropical plant with spring to fall flower power and revels in the heat and humidity of summer. Crossandras can be used to good effect in mixed containers or as specimen plants or add them to shaded gardens and landscapes. They can even be grown as houseplants but do enjoy some humidity. Provide a moist to average moist, fertile soil with average or better drainage for optimum vigor and maximum flower power. These are easy and rewarding plants that are well-suited to use on shaded porches or patios and are small enough to be used as outdoor table centerpieces. The flowers of Crossandras attract butterflies. Item# 12478

Dense clusters of musical note like, white, 3-4" high buds open at night to widely flaring, almost moth-shaped, 1" wide flowers with long whiskery purple filaments supporting yellow anthers with the flowers lasting into the morning hours. Musical Notes, Rotheca microphlla, is a naturally shrubby, often winter deciduous, small to medium-sized tropical with a medium branching habit and is adorned in deep green to olive green foliage. This is nearly always one of the last plants to leaf out in spring, even in our greenhouses, but the foliage is soon followed by clusters of buds that come in waves through the summer months. With its showy white, night-opening flowers this is sure to be a choice plant for a moon-moth garden or as a container plant for the patio where the unusual flowers can be enjoyed up close. Provide a full sun to partly shade site with average moisture, good to excellent drainage, and moderate fertility. Item# 521

The nearly 1/2" wide ruby red flowers adorn the narrow elongating spikes of this large growing Porterweed from spring to frost attracting a non-stop procession of pollinators, especially hummingbirds, butterflies, and pollinating moths. Nectarwand Red Porterweed, a Heidi Sheesley and Treesearch Farms introduction and that we erroneously originally offered as Ruby Throat Red, is a vigorous growing Porterweed easily growing to 4-5' high and wide by the end of the growing season. Porterweeds are heat and sun loving, shrub-like, tropical plants that have excellent flower power and will show off in a non-stop fashion throughout the growing season! Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, average to well-drained soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Easily one of the best for pollinators and definitely the best red available! Item# 12377

A vigorous, naturally evergreen shrub bearing large clusters of tubular maroon flowers at the ends of arching branches from spring to fall and or nearly year round under warm frost free conditions. Pollinated flowers may be followed by reddish purple berries. The fuzzy bronze-red green foliage adds to its interest. An excellent choice for hummingbirds and larger butterflies. Newell's Red Cestrum can easily be enjoyed as a container plant where not hardy. Item# 526

A rare find! Clusters of widely flaring soft red blooms are produced throughout the year and are held above and among the rich green foliage on an upright to spreading herbaceous tropical. Add Nile Queen Crossandra to mixed containers for color on the porch or patio throughout the warm months of the year. Item# 9197

Bright orange-red, 1-1/2" long, green tipped tubular blooms with a pair of small upright petals are produced from summer to fall. This is a mounding shrub-like perennial to 5' from Southern Mexico and El Salvador. In Hawaii a unique Christmas lei is sometimes made from the flowers. Much loved by Hummingbirds. Item # 1080.

Clusters of orange to red-orange, long-lasting, saucer-shaped calyxes are centered by equally orange, 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 Orange Chinese Hat, 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 a 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. Provide an insulative but breathable winter mulch in the colder portions of its hardiness range, like in zones 8 and 9. See our Growing on the Edge Growing Guide for more on growing root hardy tropicals as perennials in the garden and landscape. Item# 358

Large rounded clusters of 2" orange-yellow tubular flowers sit like golden crowns atop the large rich green tropical foliage of this rare beautiful tropical. Easy and rewarding, the Orange Flame Justicia, a.k.a Golden Crown Jacobinia or Justicia chysostephana, flowers throughout the year, when kept under warm tropical conditions, but will likely be late spring until fall as a die-back perennial, creating a small herbaceous plant to about 2' high and wide. Excellent for hummingbirds and a potential caterpillar host for the Malachite and White Peacock Butterflies! *Gardeners in both zone 8B and 9 have reported good hardiness with this species when planted out, a breathable, but insulative, preferably organic, mulch over and around the crown in winter will also help to improve the chances of this species returning from a well-stablished crown in spring. Planting the Orange Crown Justicia out fairly early in the growing season, once all danger of freeze and frost have passed, and soil temperatures have begun to warm, will also help to increase its reliability. See our Growing On the Edge Growing Guide for additional details. Item# 10102