Tropical ornamental plants

My Theobroma cacao story began the moment I learned that this was the plant chocolate actually came from. My quest to learn more about this particular plant has taken me many places – Chicago, New York, Key West, all over Indiana and I even ended up making a good friend in Puerto Rico who grows …

Disclaimer: I received this item for free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. If you’re like me and into growing and propagating tropical ornamentals there are two really good books on the market that I would suggest you add to your library. The first one is “Tropical Ornamentals” and the …

My love of exotic pitcher plants is something I blame on HGTV and here is why.  I was watching Home & Garden Television one day when a beautiful red pitcher shaped plant was shown. This made me curious. I went on an all out search for this beauty, nicknamed the pitcher plant, botanically known as …

Learning to grow tropical plants in container culture can be very rewarding, and you will find once you have a routine down, very effortless. Getting in the routine is the hardest part, however you will be glad you did once you get the learning curve figured out. If growing tropical bulbs outdoors in the summer …

Successful Orchid care is not hard if you understand the basic needs of this plant and provide them with what they need to thrive. It’s no wonder that people fall in love with the beautiful, exotic looking flowers of the orchid family as the flowers are quite showy.  Orchid flowers come in a variety of colors, the …

Plumeria, or Frangipani, is an easy to grow fragrant plant that can be grown indoors in cold climates. Learn about dormancy requirements, pruning, fertilizing and more. Plumeria originates from the Caribbean Islands and Central America and is grown worldwide. Plumeria flowers in many different colors, has a wonderful fragrance and is an easy plant to …

Many people want to learn how to grow Heliconia simply because they are blown away by the colorful bracts the plant produces. This is a fascinating plant that can grow indoors but many people are not aware of that because these plants are not readily available. As with all tropical plants there are small varieties …

According to legend, the Passion Flower (Passiflora spp.) was named by early Roman Catholic missionaries in South America because the flowers bore a fancied representation of the Passion of Christ. Roman Catholic priests of the late 1500’s believed that several parts of the plant symbolized features of the Passion, the suffering and death of Jesus. …

What a grand suprise I had tonight when I opened my greenhouse door – the very first bloom on the Zantedeschia aethiopia Green Goddess I grew from seed was waiting for me! I was so excited I had my daughter Sarah stop decorating the Christmas Tree to come and see the bloom! Angel, my yellow …

These beautiful fragrant plants botanically known as Brugmansia are commonly known as Angel’s Trumpet. Do not confuse them with the other plant also commonly known by the same name but botanically known as Datura. While the plants look similar, Brugmansia flowers hang down towards the earth and Datura flowers face upward towards the sky.   …