Our tropical top 9
FOR FOLIAGE
1 Palms
This is a large category, and there are several palms commonly available at nurseries. What you choose depends on the size you would like and your budget.
We love the butterfly palm (Dypsis lutescens), also known as a bamboo palm and areca palm, which is native to Madagascar. It is undemanding and brings immediate grace to a room.
It grows slowly, which means you do not have to repot often. Plant your new palm in a pot just a little larger than the plastic nursery pot and place a substantial saucer beneath it to catch overflow from your watering. Use a very loose planting medium: potting soil with added perlite, bark, peat moss or coir is ideal.
Water deeply – it should run out of the drainage hole. Only water again when the top 3 cm of the soil is bone-dry to the touch. This may take a week or more. Place the pot in indirect but very bright light for optimal growing. Direct morning or late-afternoon sunlight is fine. Mist the palm every week and wipe off any gathering dust with a cloth. Feed monthly with your favourite fertiliser. I prefer a weak seaweed solution, despite the smell that lasts a day!
2 Fiddle leaf fig (Ficus lyrata)
It has a hefty price tag and a reputation for being difficult, so why grow a fiddle leaf? Because it is misunderstood. And gorgeous. Erin Kobayashi, a Canadian Instagrammer (@leighkiyoko) whose lush houseplants make Toronto seem tropical, has mesmerised her followers with posts about Figgy Spice, the abandoned fiddle leaf
