Guides / Tropical
Tropical
Lush, exotic plants from warm climates.
A
Air plant
Tillandsia xerographica
How to care for Tillandsia xerographica. Soaking rather than watering, why it must be dried upside down, mounting it without glue, and what happens after it flowers.
Alocasia
Alocasia amazonica
How to care for Alocasia x amazonica. Recognising winter dormancy rather than death, getting the watering right, treating spider mite, and why it drips water.
Areca palm
Dypsis lutescens
How to care for Dypsis lutescens. Watering a palm sold as a clump of seedlings, why the tips go brown, treating spider mite, and never cutting the growing point.
Arrowhead plant
Syngonium auritum
How to grow syngonium, Syngonium auritum. The arrowhead plant, why the leaf shape changes as it matures, and keeping it bushy rather than climbing.
B
Bird of Paradise
Strelitzia reginae
How to grow Strelitzia reginae. Why it refuses to flower for years, the cool winter rest that triggers it, and the sunbird the flower was built for.
Bird's nest fern
Asplenium nidus
How to care for Asplenium nidus. Why you must never water into the central rosette, keeping the humidity up, treating scale, and leaving the new fronds alone.
Boston Fern
Nephrolepis exaltata
How to grow a Boston fern, Nephrolepis exaltata. The humidity it demands, why fronds shed in winter, propagating from runners, and the Victorian craze that made it famous.
C
Cabbage Tree
Cordyline australis
How to grow cabbage palm, Cordyline australis. Why it is not a palm, tying the leaves up for winter, what to do when the trunk rots after a hard frost and how it regrows from the base.
Calla Lily
Zantedeschia aethiopica
How to grow Zantedeschia aethiopica. Why it will grow in standing water when its coloured cousins rot, how to get it through a British winter, and why it is not a lily.
Cast iron plant
Aspidistra elatior
How to care for Aspidistra elatior. The Victorian parlour plant that survives dark corners and cold hallways, why it grows so slowly, and the two things that kill it.
Century Plant
Agave americana
How to grow the century plant. Why it flowers once and dies, why the sap is a serious irritant, how to overwinter it in a wet British climate, and what to do with the pups.
Chinese evergreen
Aglaonema commutatum
How to care for Aglaonema commutatum. Why cold does more damage than low light, watering it correctly, and why the pink varieties need brighter conditions than the green ones.
Chinese hibiscus
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
How to grow Chinese hibiscus, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. Flowers that last a day, why bud drop happens, and keeping it through a British winter indoors.
Chinese Money Plant
Pilea peperomioides
How to grow Pilea peperomioides. Light, watering, why the leaves curl, and how to take the offsets that carried this plant across Europe before any nursery sold it.
Coleus
Plectranthus scutellarioides
How to grow coleus, Plectranthus scutellarioides. Pinching out the flowers to keep the leaves, taking cuttings that root in a week, and overwintering it.
Corn plant
Dracaena fragrans
How to grow corn plant, Dracaena fragrans. The brown leaf tips that everyone gets, cutting a bare cane back to force new shoots, and its toxicity to cats.
Croton
Codiaeum variegatum
How to care for Codiaeum variegatum. Why it drops every leaf when you move it, the light it needs for colour, treating red spider mite, and settling a new plant.
Crown of thorns
Euphorbia milii
How to grow crown of thorns, Euphorbia milii. The caustic milky sap, flowering almost all year in good light, and the spines that make it a poor choice near children.
D
Devil's Ivy
Epipremnum aureum
How to grow pothos, Epipremnum aureum. Keeping the variegation, propagating in water, why a climbing plant grows different leaves, and the calcium oxalate that makes it toxic.
Dragon Tree
Dracaena marginata
How to grow Dracaena marginata. Why tap water browns the tips, cutting a leggy cane to make it branch, and the saponins that affect cats.
Dumb cane
Dieffenbachia seguine
How to care for Dieffenbachia seguine. Handling it safely, keeping it from going leggy, air-layering a bare stem, and where the name comes from.
F
Fiddle Leaf Fig
Ficus lyrata
How to grow Ficus lyrata. Why it drops leaves when moved, telling root rot brown spots from sunburn ones, and how to make a single stem branch.
Flamingo Flower
Anthurium andraeanum
How to care for Anthurium andraeanum, the flamingo flower. Why the red part is a leaf, the chunky compost it needs instead of ordinary potting soil, and how to get it flowering again.
H
Heartleaf Philodendron
Philodendron hederaceum
How to care for Philodendron hederaceum. How to tell it apart from pothos for certain, why climbing gives bigger leaves than trailing, and how it behaves around pets.
Hoya
Hoya carnosa
How to care for Hoya carnosa, the wax plant. Never cutting off the flower spur, keeping it pot-bound so it blooms, and the winter rest that sets the buds.
P
Peace Lily
Spathiphyllum wallisii
How to care for Spathiphyllum wallisii. Why it wilts on purpose, what brown tips are telling you, why a shop-bought plant often refuses to flower again, and how it behaves around cats.
Pencil cactus
Euphorbia tirucalli
How to grow pencil cactus, Euphorbia tirucalli. Not a cactus, the seriously caustic sap, and why 'Firesticks' needs full sun to keep its colour.
Poinsettia
Euphorbia pulcherrima
How to buy a poinsettia that lasts, keep it alive past January, and get the bracts to colour up again. Plus the truth about whether poinsettias are poisonous.
Polka dot begonia
Begonia maculata
How to care for Begonia maculata. Pruning to stop it going leggy, watering a cane begonia without rotting it, keeping the spots bold, and rooting cuttings.
Ponytail palm
Beaucarnea recurvata
How to grow ponytail palm, Beaucarnea recurvata. The swollen base that stores water, why it needs watering monthly rather than weekly, and its slow growth.
Prayer Plant
Maranta leuconeura
How to care for Maranta leuconeura. Why the leaves fold up at night, what causes the crispy edges everyone gets, and one of the few striking houseplants that is safe with cats.
R
Round-Leaf Calathea
Goeppertia orbifolia
How to grow Goeppertia orbifolia. Why tap water browns the edges, the humidity level it needs, why the leaves move at night, and the name change nobody announced.
Rubber Plant
Ficus elastica
How to care for Ficus elastica. Why it drops leaves when you move it, what the red sheath on new growth is, how to stop it becoming a bare pole, and the latex problem.
S
Sago palm
Cycas revoluta
How to care for Cycas revoluta. Watering a cycad that stores its own water, the one flush of fronds a year, treating cycad scale, and why it is lethal to dogs.
Snake Plant
Dracaena trifasciata
How to grow a snake plant, Dracaena trifasciata. Watering, light, why variegated cuttings turn green, and what the air-purifying claims are worth.
Spider Plant
Chlorophytum comosum
How to grow a spider plant, Chlorophytum comosum. Fixing brown tips, rooting the babies, and whether it is safe for cats.
Staghorn fern
Platycerium bifurcatum
How to grow staghorn fern, Platycerium bifurcatum. Mounting it on a board, why the brown shield fronds must be left alone, and watering by soaking.
Star jasmine
Trachelospermum jasminoides
How to grow star jasmine, Trachelospermum jasminoides. Evergreen scent for a sheltered wall, why it bronzes in winter, and whether it is hardy where you live.
String of hearts
Ceropegia woodii
How to care for Ceropegia woodii. Watering a semi-succulent trailer, getting tight leaf spacing rather than bare threads, and propagating from the beads on the stems.
String of pearls
Curio rowleyanus
How to care for Curio rowleyanus. Watering a succulent that dies from kindness, using a shallow pot for the shallow roots, and reading the pearls for what the plant needs.
Swiss Cheese Plant
Monstera deliciosa
How to grow and care for Monstera deliciosa, the Swiss cheese plant. Watering, light, feeding, common problems, and whether it is safe around pets.
Nothing here matches.
Clear a filter, or search every guide from the hub. The plant you are after may be filed under another category.
Search all plant guides