Gardening with Gary

Gardening Advice from an Expert

Tropical Plants

Q. Right now, I live in an apartment in Nashville, TN, but love tropical plants. I do have a balcony on which to put these tropical trees, but could also leave them inside. What would you suggest? Inside or outside and what kind of potting soil and fertilizer should I put them in? I would also love any other suggestions for tropical looking plants (green or flowering) that would survive easily in my apartment.

A. These plants will do just fine outside all summer long. They would love the heat and humidity, but once the fall temps start dropping, be sure you move them all back inside your cozy apartment.

Use a light, organic soil mix, with peat, leaf mold, perlite, and vermiculite mixed into a potting soil. Feed them regularly with the appropriate food for foliage or flowering plants. Once a month would be sufficient, and follow the label's directions. Miracle-Gro, Peters, Scotts or Optimara are good products. Alternate use of several formulations.

Here is a partial list of nice foliage and flowering plants which you could move in and outside. Note that some cannot take full sunlight:

Ferns of all types, croton. philodendron, pittosporum, bromeliad, kalanchoe, ficus, hedera, episcia, peperomia, sanseveria, echeveria, hoya, crassula, euphorbia, aloe, aechmea, columnea, tillandsia, plumeria, strelitzia, dracaena, cordyline, aspidistra, anthurium, dieffenbachia, aglaonema, scindapsus, calathea, cryptanthus, fittonia, pilea, sedum.