When Tropical Gardening Works and When it Does Not

Tropical gardening does not have to take place in the tropics. It can refer to growing any plants that are native to the tropics, even if you are nowhere near that climate. Most houseplants are actually from the humid jungles of India, Central America, and Africa.

If your climate somewhat mimics that of the tropics, you can even incorporate tropical plants into your outdoor garden. If your climate is not quite right, there are plants that resemble tropical plants that you can use instead. They are made to survive in temperate climates, but look like tropical plants. Another option is to have tropical plants outdoors during the warmer months, and indoor in the cooler months.

You may actually have some tropical plants already and not even know it. Annuals such as geraniums, impatiens, and begonias are tropical plants. They live about anywhere since they only bloom during the warmer months. If you live in a warm enough climate, you can have tropical plants for the whole year. If you live where it occasionally freezes in the winter, you should be able to move your tropical plants to warmth on those cold days and nights.

Even if you live in a warm climate, the plants will not do well without moisture in the air. The deserts of the southwest are not good, for example. You would have to create moisture for the plants if they were to have any chance to survive there. By creating heat and/or moisture, you can make a plant feel as if it were in its native climate, so it will be healthy. Your non-tropical plants may not like this modified climate, however.

Your indoor tropical house plants care can even be moved outdoors in the summer as long as you keep them shaded and moist. However, keeping them indoors all year long with be less stressful. Examples of plants that you can do this with are rubber plant, dieffenbachia, spider plant, spathiphyllum, pothos, and croton.

You will have to keep the tropical plants that will be moved from inside to outside, or vice versa, in containers. You can even plant the container into the ground, but when you want to move it back inside, you’ll only have to dig it up and clean off the container.