Colorful Tropical Plants

Crotons are available in many color combinations.

Many of the houseplants people enjoy growing have tropical origins. Some produce colorful flowers, such as orchids, and others sport foliage in a variety of hues. If you live in climate zone 10 or higher, you can grow tropicals outdoors.

Flowering Tropicals

In addition to orchids, many tropical plants provide indoor environments and outdoor landscapes with colorful flowers. Plants commonly grown as houseplants include anthuriums, hibiscus, heliconias, ginger, bromeliads and plumerias. Plants that are better suited to outdoor environments include bird of paradise, jasmine, royal Poinciana and jacaranda.

Colorful Foliage Plants

If you want colorful plants year-round, the foliage of several tropical plants will fill the bill. Consider growing croton for its multi-hued leaves or ti, also called cordyline, which comes in a number of colors, from red to purple to variegated. The medallion calathea has large green leaves with white veins and purple undersides. The aglaonema, or Chinese evergreen, is another tropical plant with colorful foliage.

Caring for Tropical Plants

All tropical plants need temperatures that never drop below freezing. Most also prefer humid environments and benefit from daily misting. Whether you grow them indoors or outside, give your tropical plants bright filtered sunlight, well-drained soil and appropriate fertilizer, based on the type of plant.

References

• University of Florida: Anthuriums and Spathiphyllums
• University of Florida: Ti
• University of Florida: Aglaonema Production Guide
• Hawaii Ecosystems at Risk: Aglaonema Sp.

Resources

• Aloha Tropicals: Flowering Plants and Trees
• Aloha Tropicals: Calathea