Tropical Plants in Houston / Cypress Area

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MarkTX

MarkTX

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Nov 15, 2015
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Cypress, TX
Ok, my free form pool build is done. I want to have a tropical look. Anyone have suggestions on what plants to use in my area? I want a Bali tropical lagoon look, but don't want to buy plants that die when it freezes. I can compromise. Need some help here. Thanks.
 
MarkTX said:
Ok, my free form pool build is done. I want to have a tropical look. Anyone have suggestions on what plants to use in my area? I want a Bali tropical lagoon look, but don't want to buy plants that die when it freezes. I can compromise. Need some help here. Thanks.
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A lot of tropical-looking things can survive in Houston, but it sounds like you want things that will thrive. PM me and I can tell you who I used. His recommendations were great, and he did a really professional install. Plus, his prices were really competitive.
 
I have been trying to do some landscaping this year too. I have added a few things (I talked to a nursery here locally that only sells things that can be grown in our area). They don't sell palms though - so I am still looking. For the palm I am thinking a dwarf date palms (pygmy) they are small - I don't want something that gets big. Please post what you find! And pics if you have them!!!!!!!!!
 
These are split leafs they get really big - hoping to have them kind of surround the hot tub . . .

25068798230_de256f94d6_z.jpg
[/url]So tired by Wendy Baldwin, on Flickr[/IMG]

http://herselfshoustongarden.com/2007/04/tree-philodendron-aka-split-leaf-philodendron-bipinnatifidum.html

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I also have a foxtail fern that I just LOVE. Haven't planted it yet - but you can see it in the corner of the spa. Just not sure where to put it yet.

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/asparagus-fern/foxtail-asparagus-ferns.htm

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Of course I also have elephant ears - haven't planted those either. Trying to take it slow and place everything very deliberate. HOWEVER - I am more worried about affording the palm I want - I want a multi trunk dwarf to go where the pool meets the hot tub - and I really need it before planting the rest. gah they are pricey.
 
I have to say, I really love your spa Wendy. Definitely one of the best designs here on TFP!!

(Nice choices on the landscaping around the spa too!!)

Happy planting,

Matt
 
I live SW of Houston in Richmond so we don't get quiet as cold as you. I can tell you that Queen and Pygmy date palms will freeze and require protection. Pygmy is good down to about 31 or so degrees. Queen down to mid 20's. I also have Canary Island date palm and needle palms and those did not have an issue so far. Here is a link to a picture of my pool at google photo below. If you want to know the names of any of the palms or plants please let me know. Flippy

Google Photos

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Sunbaby said:
I have been trying to do some landscaping this year too. I have added a few things (I talked to a nursery here locally that only sells things that can be grown in our area). They don't sell palms though - so I am still looking. For the palm I am thinking a dwarf date palms (pygmy) they are small - I don't want something that gets big. Please post what you find! And pics if you have them!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Pygmy date palms can get pretty big. Mine is about 10' X 10' now with six trunks. See my link above it is the palm to the right and behind the waterfall.
 
GAH!! I am glad I checked here! I want something that I can prune without a ladder - the ones I was looking at said 8' or smaller - which I thought would be ok with my big loppers. But they also told me they would be fine in our area - and I specifically asked about cold tolerance! I hate it when people try to sell you something just to make a sale!

Flappy your pool and palms are beautiful!!!!!
 

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I took out three queen palms last year (very hard for me to remove 25' trees) as they froze and burned badly in winters '13 and '14. We didn't plant them nor would we have planted them in our zone. I can give a big shout out to spanish daggers which give great interest and no fruit dropping into your pool.
 
Thanks for all your responses. My neighbor with a 2 yr old pool has queen palms that I get to enjoy over my fence, and I was planning on those, but guess I will not do it after all. And JayB, I read thru all 16 pages of your build, very nice! I will do some more research based on all the new info. And Suzy, I have about 12 foxtail ferns in my front yard, and they definitely work in our area. One year (2014?), the hard freeze turned some of them all brown, but my lawn service just trimmed them about one inch above ground level, and they came right back in the spring/summer.
 
viburnum awabuki does very well in Houston. It grows fast to a nice max height of about 14', is a broad leaf evergreen shrub that I would call faux-tropical and we had almost no freeze impact on it from the last 2 cold winters. It is kind of utilitarian in the ligustrum japonicum sense, so you wouldn't want to over use it, but it has it's place in the kind of planting you are trying to achieve.

plat.
 
Okay, I am humbled by your botanical knowledge :eek: What does "It is kind of utilitarian in the ligustrum japonicum sense" mean exactly? I need to cover up or block a lot of ugly brown privacy fence if I can.
 
While not exactly traditional tropical, consider planting citrus, in particular I would suggest Owari Satsumas and maybe Improved Myers Lemons for the NW Houston area. Satsuma is cold tolerant down to about 23 degrees, and can survive bursts to around 15 degrees when mature. Myers lemon need some protection at anything below 32.
 
MarkTX said:
Okay, I am humbled by your botanical knowledge :eek: What does "It is kind of utilitarian in the ligustrum japonicum sense" mean exactly? I need to cover up or block a lot of ugly brown privacy fence if I can.
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Marla nailed it. Ligustrum has been over used a LOT. It makes a fine hedge and that is sort of the problem. It gets used for long expanses and it's like painting with just one color. Oleander suffers the same issue. It's hardy and makes for good screening, so it gets used so much it no longer has impact.

I will make the argument to one exception to how ugly it is. As a hedge yeah. It does the job, but it's just kind of there. We have it in our front yard as do our neighbors. We used to have one bush of it in the backyard and all it did was take up space which was fine, but it wasn't attractive. That was until our landscape architect had it fully trimmed out with all under growth removed. It was an AMAZING transition. A single mature Ligustrum if pruned correctly can be striking. We up-lit it and it just jumped out and was really beautiful... But it was also just one single bush of it in this case. And then of course one year later it died. Branch by branch... LOL. At least it went out in a blaze of glory sort of.

So just be careful deploying the Viburnum is all I am saying. It makes a REALLY nice screening plant, but pick one area or two at most with enough space between them. It's not super expensive either and FAST growing so you can also use it to stretch your landscaping dollar by spending a bit more on specimen grade stuff with the money saved.


plat.
 

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