(Italian Cypress, Swane's Golden Italian Cypress)

Swane's Golden Italian cypress is a very narrow, columnar evergreen tree native to western Asia and southern Europe. Its soft-scaled needles are short and wispy and are golden yellow, and help hide the small oval cones. The look of the needled branches is somewhat billowy along the tall vertical shape of the tree.

Grow golden Italian cypress in full sun in average to dry soil with good drainage. Although it grows in several warm temperate climates, it will be troublesome to maintain in regions...

(Hidden Ginger, Siam Tulip)

What a pretty warm season tropical for the garden. Hidden ginger is an herbaceous ornamental that originates from Southeast Asia. In early summer through to fall it bears columns of inconspicuous yellow and white flowers which are nestled among showy white, pink or mauve bracts. The rich green to blue-green foliage is sometimes pleated and attractive in and of itself. In fall this ginger becomes dormant and will re-emerge when temperatures warm in spring.

Hidden ginger prefers high humidity,...

(Aussie Plume Ginger, Hidden Ginger, Siam Tulip)

The tall, impressive hidden ginger cultivar ‘Aussie Plume’ has bright rose-pink bracts and beautiful bold leaves with distinctive pleats. It was bred in Australia and is more sun-loving than most.

This tropical, herbaceous ornamental originates from Southeast Asia. In early summer through to fall it bears columns of inconspicuous yellow and white flowers that are nestled within showy bright rosy pink bracts. The rich green foliage is beautifully pleated and attractive in and of itself. In fall...

(Hidden Ginger, Siam Tulip, Siam Violet Ginger)

With an upright flower of pink-violet, the Siam tulip is acutually a deciduous perennial from the warm tropics. A ginger, selection 'Siam Violet' flowers from late spring into early summer. A short stem rises with a overlapping clusters of pink-violet bracts (modified leaves) that last for several weeks. The typically blue-green foliage is somewhat pleated and can partially hide the flower stems.

This ginger is best grown with high humidity, partial sun to partial shade, and in a sandy loam rich...

(Hidden Ginger, Siam Tulip, Tropic Snow Ginger)

Curcuma alismatifolia is an herbaceous ornamental ginger native to Southeast Asia. From early summer through early fall its cultivar 'Tropic Snow' bears showy white tulip-like clusters of flower bracts atop medium-sized stems. The large, blue-green, lance-shaped leaves have a prominent mid-rib.

This ginger prefers high humidity, partial sun to partial shade, and sandy loam rich in organic matter. It makes a nice specimen for tropical gardens. In cool climates it may be planted outside, but must...

(Australian Tree Fern, Australian Treefern, Rough Treefern)

Rough tree fern is a luscious, prehistoric-plant with magnificent large green fronds with an unusual tolerance of salt spray and drier soil. This native of the mountain slopes of eastern Australia and nearby Norfolk Islands loves moist friable soils and look its best with high humidity, ample rainfall and avoidance of dry winds. Large fronds are a beautiful medium green above and light green underneath. This tree fern has a comparatively thick "trunk" which is actually an above-ground rhizome from...

(Australian Cycas, Mount Surprise Cycad, Mount Surprise Sago)

Feathery, steel-blue leaves make the rare Mount Surprise cycad a plant lover's dream. Native to northeastern Queensland, Australia, where it is endangered, this cone-bearing evergreen grows slowly with a short stem (caudex) that looks like a trunk. Cycads are primitive, non-flowering plants closely related to conifers.

New fronds emerge from the tip of the caudex in late spring. When they first emerge, they are soft and pale blue, but as they age their texture becomes pliable and plastic-like...

(Cycad, Debao Fern Cycad, Multipinnate Cycad)

One glance at Debao fern cycad and you'll think it's a short-stemmed tree fern rather than a cycad, but don't be fooled. This rare cycad was recently discovered by botanists in 1996 in the Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces of China. It is a cone-bearing evergreen plant that grows in sunny, rocky openings among highland forests.

This cycad grows from an underground stem (caudex) with only a small portion extending above the soil. From the tip of the caudex emerges the highly ornate fronds. Each...

(King Sago, Sago Palm)

Sago palm is not a true palm but a cycad. This cone-bearing, clump-forming evergreen is a southern Japanese native and develops a tree-like appearance over time. Its long leaves are dark, glossy green and feathery in appearance but stiff and prickly to the touch. They are densely clustered and radiate from a central point at the top of the woody trunk-like stems.

Cycads are dioecious, meaning plants bear either male or female cone flowering structures. Male plants produce fuzzy, gold-brown...

(Cycad, Queen Sago, Seemann's Sago)

Seemann's sago grows naturally near the coasts on southwestern Pacific islands, mimicking the look of short palm trees. Because of agriculture, this cycad is becoming less uncommon on islands such as Vanuatu, Tonga and Fiji. Its long leaves (fronds) are deep glossy green and feathery with individual narrow leaflets that are held out in a 180-degree plane. Fronds radiate from a central point at the top of a woody trunk-like stem. Newly emerging fronds are soft and flexible, and shed orange-tan fuzz...