Byron Martin of Logee’s and Karen Park Jennings of Park Seed and Wayside Gardens recommend some tropicals that would work well in containers.

And don’t forget citrus, which has its own following as northern container plants.

Popular choices

• Passion flowers look great in pots, and Martin says there are some you can try planting early in the ground by the wall of a heated foundation. With mulching they might even survive our winters, though they are not rated hardy. Passiflora caerulea Clear Sky and May-Pop or incarnata are good candidates for this technique, he said.

• Alternanthera Red Threads has unusual needlelike leaves that are black-cherry colored. Jennings likes it with silver leaves or pink flowers.

On the other hand, alternanthera Party Time or Joseph’s Coat have broader leaves in fuchsia and green.

• Sweet potato vines in black and chartreuse grow very quickly and can be propagated from cuttings, said Martin.

• Elephant ears or colocasia come in different colors now such as Black Magic and Ilustris, which is black with lighter veins.

Dry tropicals

Jennings recommends watering these perhaps once a week.

• Euphorbia Muong Siam has a crested, 8-inch fan-shaped bloom with rose edges. As it grows, it adds layers sort of like a cabbage and can become a basketball-sized globe.

• Paddle Plant Desert Rose or kalanchoe is a succulent that eventually grows a foot tall and wide with huge fleshy leaves edged with rosy red.

• Swartkop, with rosettes that turn almost black on wavy stems, is an aeonium that Jennings praises. Another aeonium she likes is Sunburst, a tri-color of green and creamy yellow with pink edges.

• Two aglaonemas with showy foliage are Christmas Day, with poinsettialike coloring, and Moon Festival, in light green and pinks. Both are easy to grow, like it dry and will take shade outdoors and low light indoors, Jennings said.

Tropical vines

• Giant Pelican Flower grows huge 6-inch maroon flowers with creamy veins. This vigorous vine is also called a Dutchman’s pipe or calico flower. Jennings says it needs a container 16 to 24 inches in diameter. Cut it back if you take it in for the winter.

• Nong noch vine from Thailand is a tall or medium houseplant with yellow flowers. It needs a trellis.

• Passion vine Coral Sea takes a little shade and dry soil.

• Arrowhead vine Neon boasts small, baby pink leaves. It needs a trellis unless you cut it back to keep it bushy. This survives with less light indoors.

- Deborah Donovan

source : www.dailyherald.com