Recommendations: lower maintenance tropical landscaping plants for pools Houston

[Sunny daze]

Hello Folks,

Starting to plan landscaping bed to surround back of my pool that is currently under construction. I'd like to have a semi tropical look. I am in the Houston area so I am looking for fairly hearty plants that will live through the occasional freezes that may occur each winter.

Any specific recommendations on specific palm trees? I have heard Mexican/Desert Fan Palms are good. Any downsides?

Right now I am thinking of the following:

Hibiscus
baby bottle brush
various grasses
other plants...that I don't know the name of but can picture in my mind...not sure why I started this list!

I'd love to see any pics of ways others have landscaped around their pools !

Thanks in advance

 

[woodyp]

I like Cannas, bottle brush, and I have a pindo palm I've brushed ice and snow off of! Starting some wandering Jew now. You should be able to do elephant ears and banana trees too.

Oh yeah---purple sage grass planted in ground--not containers. Mine died in pots

 

[soonerfan2008]

Lipstick sage, oleander, philodendren, varigated ginger, purple fountain grass, mexican heather, yucca, texas sage, bouganvilla--all of these have done well in my Houston area yard!

 

[JayBauman]

I used a local guy to recommend tropical-looking things that can handle the occasional frosty week we might see in Houston every few years. He planted silver date palms, Mediterranean palms, and Chinese fan palms in my yard, and they are all thriving. He had other recommendations as well.

PM me if you want his contact details or if you want to see some pics of what it looks like.

 

[Isaac-1]

While not exactly tropical, I would suggest Citrus, in particular a cold hardy Satsuma (Owari is the best common variety), in Houston they should be green year round, plus you get fruit off of it around November, and it is likely to already be done budding out before swim season starts.

 

[Sunny daze]

I like Cannas, bottle brush, and I have a pindo palm I've brushed ice and snow off of! Starting some wandering Jew now. You should be able to do elephant ears and banana trees too.

Oh yeah---purple sage grass planted in ground--not containers. Mine died in pots

Thanks for these recommendations. I've googled everything and taken notes. Are the pindo palms slow growers or do they grow tall quickly?

 

[Sunny daze]

Lipstick sage, oleander, philodendren, varigated ginger, purple fountain grass, mexican heather, yucca, texas sage, bouganvilla--all of these have done well in my Houston area yard!

Thank you soonerfan! These were many of the plants I had in mind, but didn't know the names. Thanks for helping me put a name to a plant!

 

[Sunny daze]

I used a local guy to recommend tropical-looking things that can handle the occasional frosty week we might see in Houston every few years. He planted silver date palms, Mediterranean palms, and Chinese fan palms in my yard, and they are all thriving. He had other recommendations as well.

PM me if you want his contact details or if you want to see some pics of what it looks like.

Thank you Jay! I believe I had a Mediterranean palm and it stayed small for many years. I would like two palms that will grow tall...like trees and two other palms that will be slower growing. Do you know if the silver date palms or the chinese fan palms are fast growing and get tall?

Thanks for offering to show pics. I'd love to see them.

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While not exactly tropical, I would suggest Citrus, in particular a cold hardy Satsuma (Owari is the best common variety), in Houston they should be green year round, plus you get fruit off of it around November, and it is likely to already be done budding out before swim season starts.

I'll look into it. I haven't seen much citrus growing in my area. Coming from Arizona where many people have citrus trees in their yards, I've been surprised by how few citrus trees I see here.

 

[JayBauman]

Thank you Jay! I believe I had a Mediterranean palm and it stayed small for many years. I would like two palms that will grow tall...like trees and two other palms that will be slower growing. Do you know if the silver date palms or the chinese fan palms are fast growing and get tall?

Thanks for offering to show pics. I'd love to see them.

The silver dates and Chinese fans came "full grown". The silver dates were probably 15' tall and have grown substantially since then. The Chinese fan grows slower, but I think it was already about 15 years old when it was harvested. It continues to grow fuller. I have 3 Mediterranean palms, and each has grown significantly in the 1.5 years since planting. One of them is now about 8' tall and 6' wide. I think it was about 6' tall when it was delivered. My pics are on home computer; I'll send later.