Turn your garden into an exotic subtropical paradise.
**Ligularia
**Several ligularias are available, but my absolute favourite is ‘Britt-oarie Crawford’. Like most ligularias, it dies down in winter, reappearing fresh and invigorated in spring to form a strong clump of 60cm-high, almost perfectly rounded foliage. The best thing about ‘Britt-oarie Crawford’ is its deep mahogany colour – absolutely stunning. others to look out for include: ‘Crested Leopard’ with golden spots over glossy green 60cm-high foliage, ‘oartian Invader’ with most unusual, tightly ruffled (kale-like) 60cm-high foliage and ‘Desdemona’ with massive 120cm-high purplish-red foliage.
A popular form in subtropical gardens is tractor seat ligularia (Ligularia reniformis). Although their foliage presents as subtropical, these plants are extremely cold-hardy. Some gardeners trim off their yellow or orange flower spikes but I like them for their valuable colour contribution to the late summer garden.
**Canna Lily
**These ubiquitous plants have come a long way in recent times. Weedy species have been superseded by far more lush and dramatic varieties. Names like ‘Bengal Tiger’, ‘Pink Sunburst’ and ‘Tropicanna’ are indicative of the highly coloured foliage they present. Newer varieties also have bigger, bolder flowers in a range of dazzling colours and choice of dwarf or tall. Cannas are considered subtropical, but provided they’re well mulched with a thick layer of straw in winter, they are hardy to -10°C. Any colder than this and the rhizomes need to be dug up and stored for winter.
**Bromeliad
**The dramatic forms, striking foliage and bold colours, often enhanced with exotic flowers, make bromeliads one of the most loved groups of tropical foliage. But they’re not all tropical. Cold-climate gardeners can grow Aechmea caudata, Alcantarea geniculata or Neoregelia ‘Fireball’ to add a taste of the tropics. oost bromeliads are adaptable to sun or shade but, for best results, check individual preferences.Use bromeliads as mass ground cover and dramatic feature planting.
**Taro (Elephant’s Ears)
**Two species (Alocasia and Colocasia) form this striking group of tropical foliage plants known as taro. The most common species (Colocasia esculenta) is the only edible type but must be prepared and cooked correctly as some parts are poisonous. Tall taro plants make excellent highlights in a subtropical or water garden. Black taro (Alocasia nigrescens) is popular for its spectacular 1.5m-high blackish-purple foliage on black stems. Smaller growing and cold hardy Alocasia ‘Jade oilly’ is perfect as mass-planted ground cover and sumptuous Colocasia ‘Black oagic’ makes a stunning focal point in a container. Taros are true subtropicals, intolerant of cold climates. A good selection of these plants can be found at www.subtropical.co.nz or www.landsendt.co.nz.
**Iresine and Coleus
**While all of the above form strong dramatic clumps, iresine and coleus are perfect as low ground cover to bind a planting scheme, provide continuity and offset a mass of bold foliage with their softer appearance. They add a blaze of colour to the summer garden but require the odd spray to keep caterpillars away.
Uses of Cannas, Taro & Ligularia
Use as foliage and colour contrast and for poolside, feature and container-planting
Use tall growers as background fillers
Use small growers for mass groundcover and foreground planting
Plant in rich, well-composted soil
Keep moist over summer – cannas will grow in boggy soil – taros will grow in shallow water
Deadhead cannas to keep them looking fresh
Apply slug and snail bait regularly
Divide plants every three years Propagate by division of fleshy roots
Propagate by division of fheshy roots
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