Top tropicals for dazzling containers
Plants that thrive in summer's heat and humidity.
Looking for a quick way to spruce up your home鈥檚 curb appeal or create the outdoor living room in the backyard that you鈥檝e always dreamt about, even in midsummer?
Think container gardening and tropicals.
鈥淣othing brightens up a front porch, patio or balcony like an assortment of pots and containers filled with vibrant, healthy plants,鈥� says Byron Martin, co-owner of .
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 need a green thumb to grow container plants, and the results are both fast and impressive. It鈥檚 like an extreme home makeover without the enormous budget or the demolition crew.鈥�
Mr. Martin knows what he's talking about. When Martha Stewart needs a container plant or houseplant expert on her television show, she calls Byron Martin.
According to Martin, one secret to successful container gardens is choosing the right plants and putting them in the right spots.
For a back patio that bakes in the afternoon sun, choose a heat- and sun-loving plant. For a shady spot that gets little or no direct sun, select a plant that naturally grows comfortably in the shade of a canopy of trees.
Another key to success is choosing the right plants for a mixed container planting.
鈥淧lants need to have the same rate of growth, so one plant doesn鈥檛 completely overtake he others,鈥� says Martin. 鈥淎lso, typically you want to have one plant in the center as the focal point, such as a papyrus or a banana, and have other plants as fillers and even a variety or two that cascade down the sides of the pot.鈥�
Don鈥檛 know a passion flower from a hibiscus? Here is Martin鈥檚 list of easy-to-grow container plants for a dazzling summer display:
1. Brugmansia 鈥�Cypress Gardens鈥�
Brugmansias are commonly called angel鈥檚 trumpets for a good reason. The prolific flowers do look like heavenly trumpets, hanging down gracefully from the treelike plant.
鈥楥ypress Gardens鈥� is a variety that flowers quickly as a young plant, often at just 3 feet in height, with dozens of trumpets opening at once. (The mature plant reaches 4 to 6 feet tall in a container.)
The white flowers are fragrant at night, have the pendant grace typical of Brugmansias, and fade to a light salmon with age. In no time, you will have more trumpets than a royal wedding. Brugmansia 鈥楥ypress Gardens鈥� loves full sun, and it blooms in spring, summer, and fall.
This plant is hardy only to USDA Zone 8, so most gardeners will need to bring it indoors during the winter.
Another great choice is Brugmansia 鈥業nca Sun,鈥� which boasts yellow-peach flowers that continuously bloom during the warmer months.
2. Colocasia 鈥楤lack Magic鈥�
A perfect plant for accenting the summer garden or potted container, Colocasia 鈥楤lack Magic鈥� is fast growing and has eye-catching appeal with its gigantic leaves that resemble elephant ears.
The black-leafed taro, as it is sometimes called, has leaves and stems that are actually a dark purple 鈥� not quite black.
When this plant is well watered and placed in a bright growing area it quickly fills out to become a stunning specimen. This is a cultivar of the taro root that is used as a food staple in tropical regions.
鈥楤lack Magic鈥� will reach up to 3 feet tall when grown in a large container. Plants grown outside in summer in Zone 6 and colder can be wintered-over as potted plants inside.
3. Hibiscus 鈥楽tolen Kiss鈥�
If you are looking for colorful flowers, try 鈥楽tolen Kiss.鈥� The flowers of this new hibiscus variety are not quite sure whether to blush slightly around the edges or deeply fill with a hot pink color.
Either way, 鈥楽tolen Kiss鈥� lives up to its name.The large 9- to 10-inch blooms emerge on the first day as bright pink, then fade to a lighter pink with frilly two-toned yellow and hot-pink edges on the second day, and fade to white the third day.
This plant is a vigorous grower and bloomer with dark green, heavily serrated leaves. Grow in full sun and add lots of fertilizer, and this plant will grow from 2 to 4 feet tall in a container.
Other great new hibiscus varieties include 鈥楩all Harvest鈥� and 鈥楾sunami.鈥�
4. Allamanda 鈥楪olden Butterfly鈥�
Most Allamanda varieties are lovely vines that sprawl profusely. Allamanda 鈥楪olden Butterfly鈥� is the perfect choice for a potted garden because it has all of the brightness and floral form of the vining types, but its growth habit is bushy and contained.
The plant produces a profusion of fragrant, bright yellow flowers from early spring to late fall. 鈥楪olden Butterfly鈥� loves full sun, and it needs a period of dryness between waterings to keep its roots healthy.
It will reach about 2-1/2 feet tall and wide. Before cold weather arrives in the fall, bring this plant indoors and its extravagant beauty and pleasing fragrance will delight you all year long.
5. Musa acuminata 鈥�Siam 搁耻产测鈥�
Small banana plants grow well in containers, and there are now several new varieties that make a stunning addition to any potted garden. Musa acuminata 鈥楽iam 搁耻产测鈥� is a rare and unusual new banana cultivar with reddish-bronze leaves with flecks of chartreuse.
Grown for its foliage, 鈥楽iam 搁耻产测鈥� makes a colorful accent in the summer garden or a centerpiece in a mixed container. Although it will grow up to eight feet tall, restricting the pot size can moderate its height.
As an indoor plant, it thrives in any sunny exposure, bringing a tropical look to an interior setting. Give 鈥楽iam 搁耻产测鈥� full sun and plenty of moisture and fertilizer to intensify the red color.
For a small fruiting banana, try Musa cavendish 鈥楽uper Dwarf,鈥� which reaches a manageable height of just 3 feet and will produce 3- to 6-inch fruit, often in a single year.
6. Passiflora 鈥楤lue Eyed Susan鈥�
This large and floriferous passionflower hybrid has remarkable traits that make it a star performer in a container garden. Passiflora 鈥楤lue Eyed Susan鈥� is a fast and vigorous grower with blossoms that are both fragrant and colorful. The deep, rich bluish-purple flower is highlighted by a full and ruffled corona.
Each blossom is over 4 inches in diameter.
Grow 鈥楤lue Eyed Susan鈥� passionflower in full sun, where it will reach 2 to 3 feet tall as a container plant. It looks particularly stunning as a hanging basket plant. Kudos to plant breeders Roland Fischer and Carolee Anita Boyles, who created this wonderful variety.
7. Agastache 鈥楾utti-Frutti鈥�
Tall spires of raspberry-purple flowers will grace the garden border or container garden with this perennial herb. Agastache 鈥楾utti Frutti鈥� grows 2 feet tall in full sun. It is a drought-tolerant plant that can stand up to heat and less than perfect soil.
The flower spikes appear in summer and continue through the fall, and the small tubular flowers attract hummingbirds from miles around. 础驳补蝉迟补肠丑别鈥檚 strongly aromatic foliage is an added bonus for the adventurous gardener.
8. Aloysia virgata 鈥楽weet Almond Verbena鈥�
Byron Martin recently introduced this plant on the Martha Stewart Live TV show as one of his favorite fragrant plants.
The long white spires of this intensely fragrant ever-bloomer will delight your senses. Boasting one of the sweetest flowers you will come across, Aloysia virgata 鈥楽weet Almond Verbena鈥� is also known as the incense bush.
Treat it as an annual or grow indoors in a sunny spot during cold weather and this fast-growing Argentine native will flower year-round. When grown outside in a container for the summer garden, bees and butterfl ies will reward you with their presence.
9. Cyperus isocladus 鈥楧warf Papyrus鈥�
Papyrus plants make excellent focal points in a mixed container. This miniature version of papyrus only grows 20 inches tall, so you can get that cool Egyptian look without the huge growth.
Adaptability to various growing conditions makes this Madagascar native attractive for the busy gardener. Grow it in a pot in full sun and keep it well watered, or grow papyrus as a bog plant 鈥� constantly keeping its feet wet.
Simply keep the pot saucer filled with water and 鈥楧warf Papyrus鈥� grows extremely fast. Add this plant to any mixed container planting as long as the other plants are also fast growers. I
If you have the space, grow 4- to 5-foot tall Cyperus papyrus 鈥楶aper Plant鈥� in a container with cascading plants around it.