How to Create a Tropical Garden

Deciding on a planting theme for your garden can be a real help when it comes to choosing what plants to grow. This guide will show you how to create a tropical themed garden, and how to select tropical plants. But whatever type of garden you want to create, the simple rules we’ll cover here will still apply.

DECIDE WHAT TO PLANT

The best garden designs select plants that cover three categories – feature, filler and spiller plants. This rule applies to any scale of garden design.

• Feature: The feature plant should be the focal point of your garden. You need less of them and normally they give the garden height.
• Filler: The filler provides the next layer down, and does exactly that – it fills.
• Spiller: Spiller plants finish the job, and are normally something like a good ground cover.

Next, decide what type of plant you want in each category. There are 3 types you want to consider – fragrance, foliage, or flowers, it’s nice to mix and match these between your feature, filler, and spiller categories. You can also have a couple of different types on each layer.

PLANT TYPES

Depending on the scale you’re working to, any type of flower, foliage or fragrance can be a feature, filler or spiller. It all just comes down to how you pair your choices together.

It pays to make a plan on paper, then double check the plants you’ve chosen will do well at your place.

For our tropical theme, we’ve chose an Australian Frangipani, with its lush evergreen foliage, as our feature. The filler plants will be the Bird of Paradise for its stunning large flower and Bromeliads for their gorgeous colourful foliage. We’re using Star Jasmine as our spiller, with its fragrant white flowers.

Here are some alternative fragrant, foliage and flower options:

Fragrant

• Gardenias: With heaps of fragrant white or yellow flowers, these tropical plants are well suited to Auckland’s climate. They also come in groundcovers and small shrubs.
   
• Frangapnini - Plumeria acutifolia: The most famous tropical flower. These plants need sandy or very light volcanic soil and won’t survive clay-based soil.
   
• Hymenosporum Tree: or Dwarf form of Australian “Native Frangipani”. These scented yellow flowers attract Tui in spring and summer.
   
• Trachelospermum jasminoides: Star Jasmine bear masses of fragrant white flowers. These plants are great climbers and also a great ground cover.
   
• Stephanotis: Native to Madagascar, this gorgeous climber produces white, highly scented buds and flowers. These plants can be grown indoors or in a sheltered frost-free spot in part shade.

Foliage

• Cannas: Canna lilies produce an abundance of delightful, tropical-looking foliage along with vibrant flowers. • Mertya Sinclairii (NZ Puka): With huge glossy green leaves, the Puka is a spectacular coastal tree originally from the Poor Knights Island. • Tropical Cordylines: An excellent tropical foliage form which thrives in warm, well drained conditions. • Bromeliads: Decorative and hardy, bromeliads add a splash of colour to any living space. They have striking and attractive flowers which can last up to three

Flower

• Vireyas: Smaller than other rhododendrons, most vireyas grow around 1-1.8m and may have multiple flowering periods throughout the year.
   
• Tropical Hibiscus: There are loads of different varieties of tropical hibiscus, but they all fall into three main types:
  • Fijian - Cold-hardy shrubs that normally retain their leaves through winter. The flowers are slightly smaller than other hibiscus.
  • Hawaiian - Smaller-growing, cold-tender shrubs with huge flowers.
  • Clarke’s Hybrid - New Zealand-bred varieties by Jack Clarke are a cross between Fijian and Hawaiian hibiscus.
     
• Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia spp.): Incredibly easy-to-grow and hardy ornamental plant. The stunning flower features flowers in bright orange or blue and white several times a year.
   
• Bougainvillea: Large pendulous sprays of scarlet, Pink or Purple flower bracts create a dazzling display over summer.
   
• Mandevillia: Mandevillas are actually a genus of sub-tropical and tropical vines that regularly flowers in a variety of colours, including whites, pinks and reds.

LOCATION

• We’re keeping it simple by planting in pots. This gives the flexibility to move the plants around to suit – you can arrange them on a deck, a patio, or wherever you want really
• Choose pots according to your plant type. We’re using a large pot for our feature plant, a medium taller pot for our filler, and smaller wider pots for our spiller layer.
• Whether you are planting into the ground or a container most tropical plants love all day sun. In winter, be sure to give your plants adequate protection from frost.

PLANTING IN GROUND

• Arrange your plants before you start digging. Make sure you’re happy with the layout, and you to give them room to grow.
• Dig a hole to suit the size of your plant.
• Add organic compost to the soil and dig in well as raw compost can burn plant roots.
• Carefully remove your plants from their bags, retaining as much soil as possible.
• Place your plants into their hole, top up with garden mix, and press it down around the plant.
• Water in well.

PLANTING IN POTS

• Add potting mix into the pot, adding more or less so your plant sits just below the top of the pot. Potting mix is prepared specially for pots with wetting agents to make sure your plants don’t dry out.
• Place your plant, and when you’re happy with its position, top the pot up with more potting mix. Add in a bit extra, as the potting mix will settle down in time. Press the soil firmly in place.
• Water in well.

WATERING

Water well and often to keep the soil moist over Summer, an application of mulch will help with this.

FEEDING

Feed monthly over summer – most like a slow release fertiliser like Nitrophoska, but a few, like Vireyas and Hibiscus prefer something more acidic.

Acid fertiliser contains high levels of sulphur to increase soil acidity. It is specially formulated with vital nutrients for healthy growth and trace elements to combat yellowing of leaves.

FROST PROTECTION

In the cooler parts of the country during the winter months, bring plants in pots inside or wrap them in frost cloth. A greenhouse, will also protect your more delicate specimens.