Seeds, Bulbs, and Things

Sweet Mimosa. One of the most useful tropical plants that is very cold tolerant, blooms all winter through spring with honey-fragrant flowers - canary yellow powder puffs, attracting bees and butterflies. This is a large size, multi-stem thorny shrub 15x15 ft that requires some space. It is very fast growing, can be used as a good screen plant. It will bring you joy with pretty flowers and sweet fragrance even during freeze snaps when other trees lose leaves and suffer. This one will continue blooming and stays evergreen - a real survivor! Tolerates poor soils and drought too. Provide regular water to establish quicker.

Very rare! Anthurium vittarifolium is a South American rain forest native with beautiful, narrow leaves, that can grow up to 6 ft in length! These make an excellent hanging basket with their pendant growth and long strap leaves.

Lipstick tree, Annato. This erect shrub with large, glossy green, prominently veined leaves that can become a small tree several feet tall. It is grown as a garden ornamental less for its pale pink flowers, which last only one day, than for its highly decorative two-valved seed pods, covered with soft, deep red hairs.

Fast-growing, has creamy white flowers with long tubes, which are extremely fragrant after dark. In some places it is known as Lady of the Night, though a number of other scented plants have also been given this name. Perfect houseplant for bright window.

Bushy variety, more compact than b. americana. Very fragrant at night, profuse bloomer.

Yellow Bird of Paradise (dwarf poinciana)- a showy shrub with fragrant flowers for a small yard or container. Drought tolerant, cold hardy to light freeze.
Plant seeds in 1/2" depth of well drained soil mix. Keep warm, damp and in bright light.

Pigeon Pea, Dhal, Gandul, Gungo Pea, No Eye Pea. Pigeon peas are popular food in tropical countries. Nutritious and wholesome, the green seeds (and pods) serve as vegetable. Pigeon Pea is hardy, widely adaptable, and more tolerant of drought and high temperatures than most other crops.

Tree Calliandra, Powderpuff. Calliandra houstoniana is a fast growing small tree or large shrub with fine feathery foliage and bright red fine structured powderpuff flowers. This species is very close to calliandra calothyrsis, but the flowers open fully, unlike c. calothyrsis, where the flower opens gradually from the bottom to the top.

Popcorn Cassia, Peanut Butter Senna - A shrub or small tree producing golden-yellow flowers with a distinct scent of peanut butter that open from brown buds in late summer and autumn. Also called Popcorn Cassia, because it smells like fresh cooked, buttered popcorn when you run your fingers through the leaves and then smell. It blooms beautiful large clusters of sunny yellow flowers.
Soak seeds before planting. Plant 3/4" deep in well-drained mix. Keep lightly moist, warm and in bright light. The seeds can rot if soil is too wet.

Coffee Senna, Fedegoso, Privet Cassia. Medium size shrub or small tree with orange-yellow flowers from spring to fall. From distance, flowers look like little yellow hummingbirds and attract butterflies and bees. The plant is very ornamental not only due to its bloom but also to large, red-veined leaves. Propagation by seeds.

Beautiful free branching shrub with clusters of white fragrant flowers, resembling fountain. Fast growing. Rare plant.

Perfect vine! Blooms year-round, fast growing, easy, not invasive, controllable, not messy, curious bright blue flower - Clitoris-like flower shape, hence name of the plant.
Besides being a great ornamental, this plant has some practical and medicinal value. The seed pods are edible, as well as the flowers. The flowers are used for blue food dye for rice and teas. It is also a nitrogen fixer and helps prevent E-coli.

Perfect vine! Blooms year-round, fast growing, easy, not invasive, controllable, not messy, curious bright blue, violet or white flowers - Clitoris-like flower shape, hence name of the plant.
Cover seeds with 1/4" sandy mix. Needs constant warmth, high humidity, keep damp, in bright light.

African lilac, Jamaican lilac - Fast growing shrub with astonishing fragrant velvet leaves. Tall stalks shoot out multiple lavender blue flowers. Both foliage and inflorescence makes an outstanding display. Attracts butterflies. Leaves have pleasant tobacco-like scent.

Devil Bean, Rattleweed, Shack Shack. This low growing flowering plant has bright yellow flowers. Very easy to grow, not demanding and fast growing. Attracts butterflies and bees. Grown as a green manure, fibre crop and ornamental, the plant has escaped from cultivation and become naturalized in some areas. The plant can flower and produce fruit all year round.
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby.
The plant contains alkaloids and used medicinally in some tropical countries.

Pleasantly fragrant, six inch white flowers flushed purple or indigo in the throat. Good for containers.

Royal poinciana - easy to germinate. Fast-growing tree. All our delonix trees are grown from seeds.

Parrot's Beak. An extraordinary round shrub with pendant branches, large long leaves and exotic flowers comprised of yellow blossoms which emerge at the end of a tube-like structure of overlapping bracts. The flower resembles parrot's beak. Large yellow pod contains 1 seed.
Sow seed in standard potting mix with good drainage. Keep warm and lightly moist. May be slow germinating.

Costa Rican Guava, Cas Guava. Delicious flavorful fruit, sub-acid, great for drinks of eating out of hand for those who like sweet-n-sour fruit. Lots of vitamin C. Seeds germinate readily and seedlings grow fast.
The yellow fruit, 2-3" around, similar to the common guava growth habit is similar to the cattley guava. Mature trees seem capable of withstanding short frosts.
Usually used to make jams, jellies, and preserves, or as a flavoring for drinks.

White pulp fruit. This is a very small, dwarf version of the Guava. The tree grows only up to 5-6 ft tall with a short trunk and branching habit. Leaves are narrow and 2 inch long. This plant has many advantages for those who have limited space. It can be grown in a pot and fruits heavily. Blooms mostly from fall through spring, although the tree can bear fruit almost year around. The fruit is round, and almost a full size, 2 inch size, surprisingly for the dwarf habit of the plant.

The fruit is very large (up to a kilogramm, hence the variety name), round, contains few seeds, and has soft white flesh when ripe. Guava is a good tropical fruit tree not fussy on the soil quality, and produces fruit year after year. It is relatively cold hardy. Requires regular watering. Great container plant, will fruit in a pot in small size.

African Cranberry Hibiscus. Seeds germinate easily and it is recommended to replace old woody leggy plants with new seedlings every couple years. Trimming is beneficial to keep a compact and bushy shape.
This fast growing bush is covered with beautiful dark red flowers several times a year. Leaves are edible, acidic, rich of vitamin C, good for teas and salads. Very similar to Hibiscus cannabinus but with dark red leaves.
All parts of the plant are edible and can be used for delicious tea or in a salad. Very fast growing, forms a large bush in one season. Tolerates dry conditions. Grow your edible landscape in no time!
With proper care and protection, this plant can provide a striking display of color and texture in the garden year after year.
Learn more about edible hibiscus: Most useful Hibiscus plants.

Kenaf, Salad Hibiscus, Sleepy Hibiscus. The name applies to the fibre obtained from this plant. Kenaf is one of the allied fibres of jute and shows similar characteristics. Kenaf is cultivated for its fibre in India, Bangladesh, United States of America, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, Viet Nam, Thailand, parts of Africa, and to a small extent in southeast Europe. The stems produce two types of fibre, a coarser fibre in the outer layer (bast fibre), and a finer fibre in the core. It matures in 100 to 200 days. Kenaf was grown in Egypt over 3000 years ago. The kenaf leaves were consumed in human and animal diets. The main uses of kenaf fibre have been rope, twine, coarse cloth (similar to that made from jute), and paper. Kenaf seeds yield an edible vegetable oil. The kenaf seed oil is also used for cosmetics, industrial lubricants and for biofuel production. The use of kenaf in paper production offers various environmental advantages over producing paper from trees.
Use well draining soil mixture. Plant 1/2" deep- keep very warm and lightly damp- NOT WET. Full sun. 4-6 days to germinate.