BLOOMING SHRUBS

Vietnamese Mickey Mouse plant, Hoa Mai, Mai Vang. Traditional Vietnamese New Year plant. The spectacular yellow flowers of this plant make it very popular in southern Vietnam, where the plant is purchased during Lunar New Year.
In Vietnamese, the variety of O. integerrima whose flowers have five petals is called Mai Vang (yellow mai), whereas Mai Nui (mountain mai) flowers have between five and nine petals.
A must for exotic plant collection, this is a rather slow growing, medium size shrub that can be trained into miniature tree. In winter the plant is covered with pretty bright yellow flowers, believed to bring good luck and prosperity. They are followed by cute shiny black berries on bright red sepals that resemble the face of Mickey Mouse. The plant is easy to grow and relatively cold hardy (to light freeze).
Read more about this plant.

Showy bright lavender flowers, butterfly attractor. Takes sun or shade.

Firespike. Showy bright red flowers, butterfly attractor. Will take sun or shade.
Plants are beautiful in bloom.

Rare small ornamental foliage plant from Thailand with beautiful unusual foliage, dark green, variegated with gold. Can be grown in a pot and indoors. Relatively cold hardy for subtropical areas.

Dwarf form of favorite Pandanus with large heads of cascading green and yellow thin leaves. You can have a nice exotic Screw Pine as a dwarf in a pot.

Sad tree, Night Jasmine, Parijat. This exotic small tree or shrub from India has highly perfumed flowers and is one of the most desired fragrant plants. Mythology says the plant came to earth with God Krishna, leading to a quarrel between his wives, or that it grew from a heartbroken princess's ashes, shedding flowers like tears before dawn.
The tree grows 5-10 feet tall, and prefers full sun or partial shade with moderate water.
Plant it in well-drained soil and fertilize monthly.
It has medicinal uses: stems for headaches, leaves for gallbladder issues, and flowers for fevers and faintness. It's also used in Buddhist temples.

Native to Brazil, this rare tropical plant has bright red flowers that uniquely emerge directly from the stem. Relatively cold hardy, it can be planted in-ground, preferring shade or filtered light. Also grows well in a container. This evergreen shrub is an attractive plant for shady areas, with unusual color and shape.

Devil's backbone, Zigzag plant, Jacob's ladder. Curious plant with showy growth habit - zig-zag stems, and interesting pink flowers. Drought tolerant, easy in cultivation, and as a houseplant.

Lemon Vine, Tsunya, Perescia - beautiful ornamental low growing shrub with bright leaves - multi-colored with golden hues, may turn variegated with shades of yellow, orange, red, green and white, but the pattern is unpredictable. Drought tolerant. A unique cactus with leaves, climbing shrub with a tendency to vine, it bears spines in pairs or trios.

Mexican Bush Mallow, Malva Aparasolada, Cranberry Cocktail Hibiscus.
Rare plant with awesome cranberry-colored flowers, native to Mexico. Three inch red mallow-like flowers on a spreading evergreen shrub or small tree to 15 feet with deeply lobed grayish green velvety leaves. Hummingbirds love it. Plant in good well-drained soil in sun or partial shade. Hardy outdoors in mild climates. Can take a light frost.
See VIDEO of the opening Aparasolada flower

Lettuce tree, Cabbage tree, Hawaiian Papala kepau. Huge leaves with pleasing pale green color. Very exotic look! And very cold sensitive... Protect from cold when temperatures drop below 60F.

White Cape plumbago, cape leadwort. This is a rare variety, hard to propagate.
Learn more about Plumbago: Sky Blue Plumbago in Southern Landscapes.

Blue Plumbago, Cape Leadwort. Unusual blue color for tropics! Blooms all year round with denser blooms from March to November. Plumbago is popular in both tropical and sub-tropical gardens because of its delicate blue flowers, it is seen often as a low plant used for hedges. It tolerates both drought and poor soil, grows best if it is heavily pruned from time to time, even cut back to the ground.
Learn more about Plumbago: Sky Blue Plumbago in Southern Landscapes.

This is a very rare spectacular species of Plumbago from India. It has bright scarlet red flowers and prefers shade locations. Perfect for shade garden that needs some color, and for container and indoor culture.
Learn more about Plumbago: Sky Blue Plumbago in Southern Landscapes.

Elephant's Food, Elephant Bush, Baby Jade. This interesting plant can be used as an indoor bonsai where sunlight or strong artificial light is sufficiently available. The common names derive from the succulent nature of the plant's leaves and stout trunk. The diameter of the trunk can grow to 9" or more.
In Africa, it is a favorite food for both Elephants and Rhinoceros, and is grown in farms for feeding both animals and people. The foliage when eaten raw, steamed, lightly boiled, or especially stir-fried, is not only delicious but actually very nutritious, containing more beneficial Beta 3 fatty acids than most fish.
Read interesting Article about this plant.

Chocolate Raspberry, Pseuderanthemum Iguana Mia. Tri-color hybrid of Black Varnish that has an amazing combination of purple, dark green, and black colors of the leaves. Leaves change color as they mature and also depending on light and season. Spikes of spectacular deep mauve flowers sprinkled with pink from Winter to Spring. The plant may flower several times a year. If grown in filtered light, leaves get larger and darker. A must for every tropical plant collection, it can be easily grown as a house plant.

The Panama Rose is a butterfly magnet with its bright pink, star-shaped flowers that bloom in clusters, attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. This fragrant, low-maintenance shrub thrives in full sun and regular watering, making it a perfect addition to your garden. With blooms from November through early summer, it adds vibrant color and fragrance, especially in the evening. Native to Mexico, it's ideal for USDA Zones 9-11 but can also grow in colder regions with proper care.
See picture of the 3 gal plant.

Red Ruellia, Flower of Caipora. This is a rare winter blooming tropical ruellia with showy 2 inch wide scarlet flowers. Unusual for a ruellia, this is a vining shrub. Pinching out shoot tips will cause it to throw out lateral stems to form a more bushy plant to 3 feet. But, it also can be trained up a support to grow more vinelike. It blooms on older ripened growth. So give it time, light shade, adequate moisture, and warm temperatures. It sports 5 inch short-petioled elliptic leaves. Native to Bahia, Brazil, where it is found in moist forests.

Rare small shrub from tropical and southern Africa with 1 inch tubular red flowers in spikes. Blooms over many months in summer. Will grow to 3 feet high and wide in bright shade with rich, moist soil. Ruspolia hypocrateriformis has smooth leaves with angled stems, compared to the slightly hairy leaves and round stems of Ruspolia seticalyx. Ruspolia hypocrateriformis is also a more robust plant. Otherwise, they are very similar and easily misidentified. It is ideal for attracting butterflies as a nectar plant.

Variegated variety of Katuk, Tropical Asparagus. Delicious young shoots! It is one of the most popular leaf vegetables in South Asia and Southeast Asia and is notable for high yields and palatability. The shoot tips have been sold as tropical asparagus. In Vietnam, people cook it with crab meat, minced pork or dried shrimp to make soup. In Malaysia, it is commonly stir-fried with egg and dried achovies. It is among only a few flora containing vitamin K.
See Article about this plant..

Katuk, Tropical Asparagus. Delicious young shoots! It is one of the most popular leaf vegetables in South Asia and Southeast Asia and is notable for high yields and palatability. The shoot tips have been sold as tropical asparagus. In Vietnam, people cook it with crab meat, minced pork or dried shrimp to make soup. In Malaysia, it is commonly stir-fried with egg and dried achovies. It is among only a few flora containing vitamin K.
See Article about this plant.

Empress Candle is a true garden wonder. Imagine a plant that grows fast, almost always has flowers, and covers large spaces with its lush leaves and beautiful blooms. Its huge leaves create nice cool shade for many feet around it which keeps weeds away. The plant grows up to 10 ft wide and 6-8 feet tall just in 1-2 seasons providing full sun and regular water.
The Empress Candle stands out for its rapid growth and non-stop blooming. Its green leaves shine in the sun, and its candle-like flowers add bursts of color and a sweet scent that bees and butterflies can't resist. The beauty of this plant also attracts hummingbirds and other pollinators.
What's truly special is how it turns your garden into a living masterpiece. It quickly spreads across the space, creating a vibrant picture of nature's beauty.
For any gardener, Senna alata is a must. It's like having a piece of nature's art that keeps shining and blooming, making your garden a breathtaking sight.
Senna alata is an ethnomedical plant, meaning it has many medicinal uses. In particular, the antibacterial and antifungal activities of the flowers have been used to treat tinea versicolor and ringworm infections.
Watch video about Empress Candle.

Variegated Butter Cup, Cup of gold, Chalice Vine, Variegated. Striking vine with glossy leaves and large showy white to yellow flowers.The flowers are truly spectacular, shaped like a chalice, 6-10" long, flaring open to 4-7" across. The five lobes of the corolla are reflexed, and each lobe is marked with a narrow purplish brown ridge on the inside. The flowers start out yellow and turn deeper golden as they age. They are fragrant, especially at night, with a scent reminiscent of coconut. Cup of gold blooms intermittently through the year, but mainly in the winter dry season.

Orange Bird of Paradise. One of the most well-known plants in the world. The fascinating blooms are sold as cut flowers by the million. The most tropical-looking!