Tropical plants are extremely beautiful, so it is not surprising
that they have become so popular recently. Their colors vary
greatly, but they are all typically very vibrant.
Having
tropical flowers in or around your home can make you feel as if
you’re living in a whole different place, a paradise at your own
home. It can bring back memories of a past trip that you took,
or remind you of a place that you would like to be.
The following tips will help you understand how to be successful
in raising your tropical plants.
First, you need to know what gardening zone you are in, because
tropical flowers can’t typically survive in zones lower than 8,
and never lower than 7.
A few kinds need zones 9 or higher to
survive. If you live in the lower zone numbers, it is still
possible to have plants, but they will have to be in containers
so you can bring them inside to protect them from cold weather.
If you are in the upper zones (7+), a thick layer of mulch in the
winter will probably be enough to keep some heat in.
If you decide to plant the plants into containers, make sure you
provide enough room for them to grow so you won’t have to repot
them too soon. Some can grow big pretty quickly. Wheels can
help larger pots be moved more easily.
Besides temperature, humidity is important to look into when
planning your tropical garden. Most tropical plants like
moisture, but some do better in a dry heat. The sand verbena,
the desert mallow and the sun coleus plants all do well in hot,
dry climate. Some like a mix (dry for a few weeks, then plenty of
moisture and rain).
The Bougainvillea is a good example of this. It blooms well in very hot, dry times for a few weeks, then it
needs at least a day of heavy rain or watering to stay healthy.
To mimic this, you can have it in a container without watering it
for a couple of weeks, then drench it for a day or two. After
that, you can let it dry out again for a couple weeks or so.
You’ll have to research the specific plants that you want to know
what they need for their requirements in your backyard tropical landscaping plan.
Their needs will reflect their native habitat,
so you may have to make some modifications to irrigation to help
meet those needs.
It will probably take some experimentation to find the correct
conditions for your tropical plants, but it will be worth the
effort.
Planning any backyard tropical landscaping design will take some time to select the right plants for your growing zone.
Visit http://www.plant-care.com/1546-tropical-landscaping.html to learn more on creating your tropical landscape.
Tags: garden, landscape, Tropical Flowers
