(Yellow Jacobinia)

Large dark green leaves that are both glossy and fuzzy makes a lovely foil for the upright, bottlebrush-like yellow flower spikes outside from autumn to early spring. An upright tender shrub that can become lanky in low light or crowded planting beds, it acts as a herbaceous perennial when nipped by frosts in mild winter areas and blooms in summer and autumn. It is native to Central America, including Mexico.

The upright, four-sided stems make this plant look handsome, but it always looks better...

(Shrimp-plant)

The tropical character of this ever-blooming old favorite will add color and interest to any American Southern garden. Shrimp plant is an evergreen shrub that’s native to Mexico. Where hardy, it is grown as a shrub, but it can also be grown as a tender container plant.

The common name of this plant refers to its striking shrimp-like blooms. They have red and yellow or coral pink bracts (modified leaves) and a curved shape. The true flowers are white, tubular and held between the bracts. The medium...

(Shrimp-plant, Variegated Shrimp-plant)

The tropical character of this ever-blooming old favorite will add color and interest to any American Southern garden. Shrimp plant is an evergreen shrub that’s native to Mexico. Where hardy, it is grown as a shrub, but it can also be grown as a tender container plant.

The common name of this plant refers to its striking shrimp-like blooms. They have red and yellow or coral pink bracts (modified leaves) and a curved shape. The true flowers are white, tubular and held between the bracts. The medium...

(Brazilian Plume, Fantail Pinks)

Mounding its yellow-green foliage, fantail pinks bears pink tubular flowers atop the leaf pairs in flushes throughout the year in the tropical landscape. An arching, long stemmed tender shrub from Brazil, Paraguay and northern Argentina, it is root hardy in regions that may receive an occasional light frost in winter.

The leaves are taper ovals and are held in opposite pairs on the weeping stems. Anytime temperatures are warm and soil moist, it can bear the pink tubular flowers with two lips,...

(Brazilian Plume)

Brazilian plume is an old favorite for reliable blooming and unusual character. This evergreen shrub is native to South America and very cold sensitive. The striking blooms give the plant its common name. They are dense spikes of pointed, bright pink tinted bracts (modified leaves) which form a plume-like group atop the branches. The true flowers are rosy to lavender, tubular and borne between the bracts. Brazilian plume flower all year in warm climates and in the summer and fall in cooler locations....

(Firefly, Water Willow)

Certain to bring a smile when seen in flower from autumn to spring, firefly has pendent tubular flowers that are multicolored, blending from magenta-red to orange and finally yellow. A small, round or slightly mounding evergreen shrub from Brazil, it is root hardy when the plant is nipped by light winter frosts.

The leaves are a lightly glossed deep emerald green and are small tapered ovals held in opposite pairs on the thin branches. From autumn to spring, twig tips first bear purple buds that...

(Mexican Honeysuckle, Mohintli)

The soft, velvety stems and leaves of Mexican honeysuckle are accompanied by loose clusters of long, tubular orange flowers nearly year round. A tender tropical evergreen shrub, it hails from Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. It is rounded and bushy, but it has long, spreading branches that sometimes flop to the soil and root.

Its oval or lance-shaped leaves are arching and have noticeable veins. They are medium green with hints of yellow-green. Peak flowering is in spring and fall, but...

(Kalanchoe)

The bold textural leaves and stark habit of this large shrubby succulent offer year-round form and texture. It comes from the African island of Madagascar, where plants evolved in isolation for millions of years. Its large fleshy long-stalked leaves cluster at the tip of an erect unbranched or sparsely branched stem. The leathery, triangular to arrow-shaped, olive-green leaves are covered with silvery fuzz, and are often bronze-tinged above. They can reach the size of a human foot. Their cupped form...

(Kalanchoe, Oak Leaf Kalanchoe)

Native to Madagascar, felt plant offers year-round form and texture with its bold leaves and stark upright habit. The cultivar 'Oak Leaf' has large, shallow-lobed, long-stalked leaves which cluster at the tip of an erect unbranched or sparsely branched stem. The leathery, triangular to arrow-shaped, olive-green leaves are covered with silvery fuzz, and are often bronze-tinged above. They can reach the size of a human foot. Their cupped form and undulating edges add to the unique character of this...

(Flowering Kalanchoe)

Flowering kalanchoe is a succulent tender perennial grown for its bright colorful flowers. This native of Madagascar is a neat, clump-forming evergreen with thick, glossy, oval-shaped green leaves that often have scalloped red edges. Its flowers naturally appear in late winter and spring, but greenhouse grown specimens are cultivated to bloom at all times of the year. The small, tubular flowers are borne on large branched clusters. They are long-lasting and come in vivid shades of red, orange, pink...