Keep soil moist - Plant Encyclopedia Results

Unusual zinger-looking perennial with dark green foliage with arching stems. Heads of dark electric-blue flowers top tall, jointed stems with glossy heavy leaves faintly banded silver and toned purplish-blue beneath. It blooms continually with clusters of sky blue flowers that droop in a pendant fashion from each stem. Rare color for tropics! This plant is well suited for partially shaded landscapes to provide an exotic tropical look and as a patio pot plant.

Lumnitzera littorea is found in the back mangroves, in soft, muddy substrates where tidal inundation is rare. Has ornamental potential due to its red flowers.

Golden Plume features white or off-white flowers with yellow or orange accents. These blooms attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Golden Plume prefers Tropical to Subtropical climates, but can survive mild winters in USDA Zone 9-11. A mature plant is cold hardy at least to 30s F for a short time.

Golden Plume is an ideal plant for containers in cooler climates. If grown in containers outdoors, move them indoors once temperatures drop below 40F. Otherwise, place containers in a protected semi-shady area such as a porch, patio, or balcony. Water regularly and keep moist during winter. If grown in pots in colder regions, it should be brought indoors during freezing temperatures. Golden Plume requires weekly watering and fertilization to ensure healthy growth. Prune the plant regularly to keep the shape.

Overall, Schaueria calycotricha (Golden Plume) is a small, showy shrub with white or off-white flowers and yellow or orange accents. This plant attracts butterflies and hummingbirds and is cold hardy at least to 30s F for a short time. It is ideal for containers in cooler climates and needs weekly watering and fertilization to ensure healthy growth. Prune the plant regularly to keep the shape.

There are hundreds of species of this genus, all members of the Araceae family. The majority are fairly nondescript and a few are grown for their handsome foliage. There are only two species which are generally grown for their flowers, Anthurium andraeanum and Anthurium scherzerianum. Both types are basically epiphytic and grown best in a mix of bark, perlite and fern fiber such as that used in orchids or bromeliads. They will grow in soil but rarely perform well in that medium. Anthurium andraeanum is the florist anthurium, a plant with red, white or pink spatches which have an artificial, plastic-like look. Give a moderately high light intensity but avoid direct sunlight during the spring and summer months when the sun is most intense. A high humidity is essential as is warm temperature, 70-75 days, 65 minimum at night. The potting mixture should be kept moist, but not soggy during the spring- summer period and allowed to dry slightly between waterings from late fall through winter. A feeding of weak manure water and a fish emulsion may be given every two weeks from late winter to mid summer.

Both species have a tendency to grow up out of the pot. The exposed aerial roots should be wrapped in moist sphagnum.

When the plant is eight inches or higher out of the pot it may be cut off at the base and repotted in fresh potting mixture. Plants will occasionally split and form pups. These can be divided when large enough. Plants are also propagated by stem cuttings and seed, both of which are extremely difficult without greenhouse facilities.

Real Hawaiian lava rock is hand selected to provide a happy home for Anthurium. With reasonable care your volcano bonsai should last for years. Place in a bright window or on a countertop without direct sun and just keep a small amount of water in the saucer/tray provided. Requires consistently moist soil.

See Photo Gallery of Exotic Anthuriums.

This plant needs plenty of sun. A very slender and elegant palm from northern Australia with gracefully recurving, V-shaped leaves. It is suitable for mild subtropical and tropical climates and, if heavily fertilized and watered, will develop with breathtaking speed. Carpentarias can be used indoors, being popular triple planted. In a community of mixed species they will outgrow the others, adding height to the garden quickly.

Holmskioldia sanguinea, or Chinese hat, is a large shrub that can grow from 5-10 ft tall. It is native to the Himalaya region and is a vigorous vine or creeper. It prefers full sun, but can tolerate semi-shade. The plant's soil should be kept moist and it will reward you with stunning red, crimson and vinous flowers, that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. There are also yellow- and bronze-flowered forms.

Mature plant cold hardy to at least 30°F for a short time and is also salt tolerant, making it suitable for growing in seaside gardens in USDA Zones 9-11.

For cold regions, Chinese hat can be grown in a pot that can be moved indoors when temperatures drop. Feed lightly with a balanced fertilizer during the growing season. Prune after flowering to keep the plant growth under control.

Coffee is the best gift plant and perfect house plant / container fruit tree. It grows into a beautiful dark green shrub or small tree. The white, fragrant, star-shaped flowers are clustered and resemble gardenias to which they are related. The whole fruit is edible, it is a small fleshy berry changing in color from green to yellow to red. The seeds are the actual "coffee beans" as they called, they can easily be dried, roasted and ground at home. The most common coffee is Coffea arabica; related species are Coffea robusta (Robusta Coffee) and Coffea liberica (Liberian Coffee).

See video about Coffee tree: GROW your own COFFEE plant - Free Coffee Everyday.

See another video about Coffee.

Excellent houseplant; even when not in bloom the attractive foliage is evergreen and attractive all seasons. Grown outdoors in dappled shade with plenty of water, the density of the foliage and flowers makes a spectacular show. May die down in the spring, then comes back during the rainy season. This is a great fall to early winter flowering perennial. It spreads rapidly from rhizomes and forms a dense ground cover. You can give flowering starts of it from your garden as Christmas presents.

Caladium praetermissum (commonly sold as Hilo Beauty or Camouflage Alocasia) is valued for its striking, irregularly patterned foliage in shades of dark and light green with yellow accents, carried on distinctive bluish-black petioles. It thrives in shade to partial shade in moist, organically rich soil and grows well in boggy or aquatic settings. In USDA Zones 9 11 it can be planted outdoors year-round; in colder regions it is best grown in containers, kept frost-free, and provided with regular watering and light feeding during the active growing season. The names Alocasia Hilo Beauty and Colocasia Hilo Beauty are outdated or incorrect horticultural designations that became established in the trade due to long-standing misidentification.