Tropical Plants
Tropical plants are those that can't survive outside during winter. We love adding tropical aquatic plants to our water features every year. It might be easy to wonder why you would buy a plant that will only live one season. Well, that is a good question, but let's consider some other points...
Think of it like you would an annual hanging basket. You get the same benefit from a tropical plant in your pond. Tropical plants are showy, bloom more profusely, have better color, and love the heat. They grow bigger in a shorter period of time and create the most impact. They're a specimen plant meant to "dress-up" your water feature and create a "wow" factor.
Think of it like you would an annual hanging basket. You get the same benefit from a tropical plant in your pond. Tropical plants are showy, bloom more profusely, have better color, and love the heat. They grow bigger in a shorter period of time and create the most impact. They're a specimen plant meant to "dress-up" your water feature and create a "wow" factor.
You can get extra benefits from a tropical plant. Just like the photo above. We have these cannas in pots on our patio at home. Every evening our little hummingbird flies through and checks out blooms in each pot. I will have these every year now! (I can't disappoint her!) Tropical plants just bloom more which means more pollinators like this hummingbird and butterflies.
Tropical plants can actually be more beneficial to your pond. Hardy plants start to become dormant in late summer or early fall. Basically, they stop eating nutrients from your pond so those nutrients will instead feed algae! If you include some tropical plants in your pond, they don't have any idea the seasons are about to change...they keep eating up nutrients, starving algae!
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| Orange Water Canna |
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| Ruellia Chi Chi blooms all summer long! |
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| Tropical water lilies are more vibrant, stand tall out of the water, and will keep blooming until Thanksgiving some years! |
One thing to keep in mind with tropical plants, is that they will benefit from some fertilizer. They bloom and bloom so they get a little extra "hungry". We recommend using pond tabs once a month or use slow release, once a year fertilizer mixed in the soil and make it easier for you too!
Speaking of soil, whereas we take hardy plants out of their pots when putting them in the pond, we always keep the tropical marginals in pots. Keeping them in pots makes it easier to remove them from the water feature at the end of the year. WE love fabric pots because they're light weight and easy to hide.
So do tropical plants have to be thrown away in winter? For most of them, the answer is no! Most tropical marginal plants can be brought in during the winter and treated like a houseplant. Keep it in a sunny spot and keep it moist. When the water temperatures are consistently in the 70's take it back out to your pond. We have umbrella palms that we have had for years! If you haven't tried a tropical plant in your pond before...now's the time. You'll love it!
Stop by Cool Ponds and browse our selection of tropical water plants during May and June. We have many beautiful varieties to choose from!
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