Attractive dazzling red bracts open out into bright yellow flowers. These are displayed at the tops of strong robust shoots with large, spiralling leaves, making an entrancing display. Thriving as evergreen plants outdoors in subtropical and tropical areas, they grow from large underground rhizomes, but can be grown outdoors in colder countries and USA Zones 7 to 11. But but where frosts occur, as with other gingers, they will be cut down to ground level and grow anew each year. They are also ideally suited as houseplants in bright locations, or grown in a pot in a conservatory or greenhouse, ... Learn More

Also known as crepe or Malay ginger, (Syn. Cheilocostus speciosus) this is possibly the best known cultivated species of the genus Costus. These plants differ from the common ginger by having only one row of spirally arranged leaves. The flowers appear in late summer or early autumn, and are quite unusual looking, forming large red cone-shaped bracts, with several, pure white, crinkled flowers protruding from each cone. The flowers look like crepe paper - thus the common name of crepe ginger. After the flowers fade away, the attractive red cone-shaped bracts remain. This is the most cold- ... Learn More

A great ornamental plant, with bright yellow ginger-like, sweetly scented flowers, and oblong, pleated leaves. It brings an oriental influence to the garden, from its native Southeast Asia, where it is more commonly used as food wrapping, and the hair like fibres are used to make fishing nets, ropes and even false hair! This plant provides nectar and pollen for bees and a wide range of other pollinating insects which are always a welcome addition to any garden. It can also be cultivated as a houseplant. ... Learn More

Popularly sought by collectors but not common in cultivation, this recently described, elegant, slender species cycad is suited to tropical gardens which have a seasonally dry climate, although it also makes an impressive pot plant. With an attractive, smooth, yellowish trunk with a nicely rounded base, and green leaves, it is easy to grow, tolerating dry periods, and thrives best in full sun in a well drained soil. In the wild it grows on limestone cliffs from southeast Thailand to southern Vietnam. ... Learn More

One of the most attractive and easy-to-grow of all tropical plants, this gorgeous evergreen cycad produces branched stems, each one being topped by a crown of 30 - 40 leaves that can each be up to a meter long after several years. It is often a feature of hotel gardens in warmer countries where it produces a brown, furry, football-sized heart, from which, when it is mature, appears a cluster of attractive, egg-like, bright red seeds. Although it can grow larger in hot countries outside, in cooler countries it makes an imposing, very long-lived specimen in a large pot, and is perfect in a sun l ... Learn More

This attractive plant is short-stemmed, with a swollen trunk , forming a uniquely 'pot-bellied' base, and an attractive crown in cultivation. In cooler climates it is one of the few deciduous cycads, losing its leaves every winter, although fresh ones sprout reliably at the end of every winter. It is similar in character to Cycas circinalis in some respects, but darker in colour, with leaves more upright in growth, and it also appears to be a more rapid grower! ... Learn More

The "Umbrella Plant" makes an attractive feature in a bright window or sun lounge where it produces strong stems topped with striking umbrella-like spokes. On mature plants, sprays of white flowers appear. It may also be used as an impressive marginal plant in a pond or bog garden. If planted deeply it will survive the average winter although is best given winter protection. It is a native of the swamps of Madagascar and a relative of the famous Papyrus of the Nile river and is also sometimes called Umbrella Papyrus, Umbrella Sedge or Umbrella Palm. ... Learn More

Like its closely-related cousins the ordinary common tomatoes, the egg-size fruit makes good eating, and is typically made into jams or conserve, although it is recommended that the skin and seeds are removed before cooking. It is easily grown from seed and makes an attractive contrast to the more typical foliage of cannas, gingers and bananas. The roots of this plant are quite tough surviving moderate frosts, and in relatively mild areas usually re-grow from the base. It therefore makes either a fruiting shrub, or even a perennial tree, with a trunk, producing a crop of fruit yearly in warme ... Learn More

Cyphomandra betacea 'Yellow', commonly known as Yellow Tamarillo or Yellow Tree Tomato, is a fast-growing, evergreen shrub or small tree native to the Andes region of South America. It produces large, heart-shaped leaves with a purple tinge, adding ornamental value to gardens. In spring to early summer, it bears clusters of small, fragrant, pink-white flowers, which give way to egg-shaped, glossy yellow fruits approximately 10 cm (4 inches) in length. The yellow fruits have a milder, sweeter flavor compared to the red variety, making them ideal for fresh consumption or culinary uses such as ja ... Learn More

This superb, elegant, and and much-cherished slow-growing tropical palm has a thin, bright green trunk adorned with white rings and a long, glossy, crimson crownshaft, from which the shuttlecock crown of fronds with unusual bright scarlet stems and leaf ribs emerge. One of the world's most stunning palms, it also lends itself to making a magnificent parlour plant, all it asks is warmth with good light. ... Learn More

Pendulous bell-shaped, golden-eyed, pale lavender flowers, up to 6 inches or 15 cm. across, hang from the enormous blooming panicle that can reach one metre across. Surely the rarest and grandest of all Dahlias, and seldom seen in gardens, it was only recently discovered in cool cloud forest at high elevations, (around 2000 m.) in Oaxaca, Mexico, where it is accustomed to cool days and not-too-cold nights. This gorgeous, statuesque, deciduous perennial tree dahlia, with towering height and bamboo-like stems can grow up to 3 m tall. It is late-flowering, from September onwards (in the northern ... Learn More

Reputedly the largest of all dahlias, this Mexican giant, in perfect sheltered conditions, can grow up to 5-8m tall, but not quite that tall in the UK! Enormous, dense clusters of large, golden-centred, pinkish-mauve flowers open on the strong, bamboo-like stems. These are thick and become woody at the base, and along with the dark green, divided, velvety leaves, often have a purplish tinge. Budding and flowering, usually in September, is initiated by a long warm autumn and days getting shorter. This magnificent beast is an unbeatable architectural plant for a warm exotic border or a large c ... Learn More

Dahlia imperialis 'Alba', commonly known as the White Tree Dahlia, is a striking, herbaceous perennial native to Mexico and Central America. This towering plant features bamboo-like, hollow stems and large, pinnate leaves that create a lush, tropical appearance. In late autumn to early winter, it produces large, pendulous, white, daisy-like flowers with yellow centers, each up to 10 cm (4 inches) across, adding a dramatic flair to the garden. Due to its impressive height and late blooming period, it serves as a focal point in landscape designs. Thriving in full sun to partial shade and mois ... Learn More

Delonix regia, "Flamboyant" or royal poinciana is a very distinctive, deciduous tropical tree with fern-like leaves,and large clusters of bright red and scarlet-orange blossoms, that is considered one of the most beautiful trees in the world! It produces enormous pendulous, 60 centimetre long seed pods! Although widely cultivated in the tropics since the 19th century, the native habitat of flamboyant was unknown to science until the 1930s, when it was rediscovered growing in the wild in Madagascar. The tree is commonly cultivated in the tropics and subtropics, but is under increasing threa ... Learn More

A small, lily-like plant growing to about 1m tall, it produces clusters of flax-like, green leaves and panicles with bright blue flowers, followed by attractive, dark blue to purplish fruits. Grows well on poor, sandy soils, and is particularly colourful, with golden hues and reddish margins to the leaves. It makes a great, colourful ground cover for tropical and frost free warm temperate climates and is great in containers. ... Learn More