Neil Sperry's GARDENS Magazine - The Definitive Word in Texas Horticulture




Home
Gardens Magazine
e-Gardens Newsletter
Neil on the Radio
Texas Best Fertilizer
Schools
Online Store
Most Asked Questions
Gardening Resources
About Neil Sperry
Contact Us


Neil Sperry’s GARDENS Magazine
P.O. Box 864
McKinney, TX 75070

Phone: 972 562-5050
(outside Dallas area: 800 752-4769)
FAX: 214 544-1278



Tropicals in the Sperry Shade Garden

By Neil Sperry


I learned a long time ago that most flowers do their best in absolutely full sunlight. The shadier it gets, the fewer flowers you see.  I switched over to tropical plants 20 or 25 years ago, and I use them for their wide diversity of colors and textures.  Admittedly, I do have a greenhouse for over-wintering them, but there are plenty of other options that could affordably be replaced every year.

Here are some of my favorites.  Note that some of these produce flowers, but many do not.  In either case, it's the foliage that steals the show.

For colorful foliage:
Crotons
Aglaonemas
Burgundy, also rust-colored types of philodendrons
Dracaenas
Variegated gingers
Purple colocasias
Sansevierias
Peperomias
Pothos
Syngoniums
Fancy-leafed begonias
'Domino' variegated peace lilies
Caladiums


For interesting leaf textures:
Cacti and succulents
Ferns
Asparagusferns
Split-leaf philodendrons
Rubber plants and fiddleleaf figs
Fancy-leafed begonias






Home | Gardens Magazine | e-Gardens Newsletter | Neil on the Radio | Texas Best Fertilizer | Schools
Online Store | Most Asked Questions | Gardening Resources | About Neil Sperry | Contact Us