Do you have any suggestions on plants that can take the high heat and high humidity? I wouldn't choose a desert-looking planting, if possible. I prefer pretty flowers.
A: There are plenty of tropical plants that develop in warm, humid climates. The only problem is the plants may not receive enough water in your landscape. Most tropical places become humid due to a lot of rain, sometimes even daily rainfall. The rainfall has a cooling effect on the surroundings as it waters the plants that you might want to duplicate.
Let's look at the plants first. There are many catalogs saying that certain plants grow well, but I prefer to have plants at reliable testing facilities. For plants that need to develop in hot and humid conditions, the test location needs to be hot and humid.
Allan Armitage has just the spot at his University of Georgia trial garden. The plants he recommends are not just heat and humidity tolerant - he also checks to make sure they are virus free. This virus check is an amazing feature that I don't think any other testing program offers. He searches for unique plants that are particularly pretty and perform well in the landscape or in containers. They are promoted under the Athens Select label, which gives some money back to the university.
Only 31 plants have made the list so far, with three new ones making the list this year. You will not be at a loss for color if you choose one of these plants. Eighteen of the plants have variegated leaves and several contain attractive flowers. These plants don't require heat and humidity. Anyone can grow them during the summer, unless they have full shade or located in a cool area like a higher altitude region.
One plant that many deep Southerners wish they could grow is the red, cut-leaved varieties of Japanese maple. It is a small tree or large shrub with ferny-looking foliage that grows in zones 5-8. In the warmer areas, they often lose their red color early in the season. The closest look to that more northern plant are the two red cut-leaved hibiscus plants called Panama Bronze and Panama Red. They grow 4 feet tall and wide in zones 8-11. They do not bloom often, but do produce large red flowers when in bloom.
A 2-foot-tall houseplant from years ago, the flowering maple, is making a comeback. The fairy coral red hybrid abutilon has salmon pink flowers and grows well in patio containers or the landscape in zones 7-11.
Lantanas have always been good plants for sunny hot spots. Athens Select has two that can be used in flower beds, containers, hanging baskets or even as a ground cover. The first is Athens rose, which has flowers that start out magenta red and fade to yellow. New gold has bright yellow flowers held above dark green leaves.
The Ron Deal verbena is the real deal. It has fragrant rose-purple flowers and can be used in hanging baskets, containers to spill over the edge, and as a ground cover.
To find more information on the whole plant list from Athens Select and where you can buy them locally, check out the Web site at: www.athensselect.com.
I think you have the potential to grow many other tropical plants - even some not as heat and humidity tolerant if you want to do a couple of things to your landscape. First, to make it more livable for you and your family, you might want to try adding a misting system, or at least an automated irrigation system for the plants.
Check with your local licensed irrigation installer to see about adding the mist. Water is an amazing substance. It takes a lot of calories of heat for it change state but stay at the same temperature. Liquid water sprayed on the concrete patio will take away heat by forming into a gaseous state at the same temperature; it takes the heat with it during evaporation. Spray a mist into the air. Let it evaporate from liquid drops into gas.
A misting system that is on a timer can keep your patio cool enough for your plants and for you to use each day and evening. Even using the system manually, before you sit on the patio, will help. The mister uses little water and cooler plants will need less water for irrigation - you can save water.
Another thing you can do for the plants is to automate the watering system for them. Many people don't realize that individual flowerpots and hanging baskets can be watered with small tubing. In fact, many of these plants were watered that way when propagated in greenhouses. There are do-it-yourself kits available that hook up to garden hoses or connect to the irrigation system.
For the landscape plants in your flower beds, try the Inground Planter System from the Plant Exchange. You install a permanent in-ground sleeve, which you place into a planter. The planter's reservoir holds a quart of water - it should be enough water to keep your plants from wilting.
This system lets you move the plant around to keep the prettiest ones near the patio. Dig a hole once and keep filling it with seasonal plants that are at the peak of blooming. Check out this system at www.ingroundplanter.com.
E-mail questions to Jeff Rugg, Kendall County unit educator, University of Illinois Extension at jrugg@uiuc.edu.
