Can I grow Non-tropical plants in a tropical environment?
Hello. I live in Puerto Rico. I want to grow a lot of fruits and vegetables. I already have the normal tropical plants like bananas, mangoes, avacados, etc. But I want to know which non-tropical fruits and veggies I can grow here? The temperature is always warm or hot. Its between 70F-100F all year long. There is a lot of sunshine but also alot of rain and humidity. If you know, please tell me which of the following I can grow here:
Cucumbers
Spinach
tomatoes
Grapes
Apple tree
Blueberries
strawberries
walnut tree
broccoli
corn on the cob
thanks for the useful info everyone!!
Tomatoes are tropical plants to begin with so you will have no trouble with tomatoes. The warm season vegetables besides tomatoes include eggplants, peppers, cucumbers, squash, corn and melons. These plants require the soil to be above 70 degrees F so must be started indoors when not grown in warm climates. Squash can get mildew in humid weather so it is best to grow all vine squash or melons on a trellis so they get good air circulation.
Corn needs soil temps greater than 63 F. If you plant corn into a cold, wet soil the seeds will just rot. The standard guideline for determining earliest planting date is when morning soil temperature at a 2 inch soil depth is 55º F or 50º F at a 6 inch soil depth. As long as you have met these conditions the corn will germinate.
Chinese cabbage, leeks, onions, Swiss chard, and turnips can be planted in much cooler soil of 50F. These plants if grown in hot temperatures they will bolt straight to setting seed so to grow you may have to look around for special cultivars that tolerate heat.
Plants like beans, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots and cauliflower do best with an intermediate soil temperature. They will not germinate until the soil reaches 60F.
With broccoli the heading varieties cope better with warmer weather.
If you decide that you want to create a garden scheme using tropical garden plants, the chances are that it’s the feeling of heat, sun and foreign shores that you want to represent, and not just because you want to have the specific tropical garden plants. This allows for the use of plants with a Mediterranean feel to be incorporated as well as the tropical plants.
The look and feel of tropical garden plants creates quite a visual feast when done well. That’s not to say the whole garden needs to be of a tropical style; just having a few specimen plants in some stunning garden pots can make quite a focal point.
This idea can be extended to create an almost forest like atmosphere. Perhaps, in this case not the best of ideas for small gardens, but tropical garden plants can still be incorporated into many themes.
Tropical garden plants need a hot and humid environment to do well. The task of being able to replicate this can be quite an undertaking to say the least, but it’s not impossible.
It is now much easier to get hold of tropical garden plants that have actually been modified to cope with less than a tropical climate.
Tropical Garden Plants Elephants ears and banana plants come in several varieties now and are so often incorporated into the tropical garden planting scheme. Their huge leaves, and now varieties in colours and stripes seem to represent the heat and humidity of the tropics so well it’s almost impossible to leave them out.
Despite being such a major part of the tropical garden plant sector, banana plants do grow to quite a size and often suffer wind damage as a result. It is now possible to buy dwarf varieties which suffer far less with this problem.
Tropical gardening doesn’t need to take place in the tropics. It generally refers to the hobby of growing plants that come from the tropics, although even the pastime of growing plants that look like they come from the tropics is good enough. After all, the truth is that most of us simply do not live in the humid jungles of India and Africa.
Even if the climate where you live cannot support tropical garden plants, it may be possible for you to have some in garden pots that can be moved in or out depending on the weather. Tropical garden plants in the house are very atmospheric, and create quite a focal point.
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Here is what I think I know! Cucumbers and tomatoes – no problem. Spinach likes cooler temperatures; there is a plant known as New Zealand Spinach that is a substitute for hot areas like yours. Use Google to find seed sources, there are a number of them. Rabbiteye blueberries are adapted to the climate of the southeastern US and are worth a try. Apple trees will not bear fruit – they need a cold period to bear fruit. Not sure about strawberries and walnut trees. Corn should do great, but broccoli is another cold climate crop. It should be very much worth your while to talk to the people at the Puerto Rico Extension Service – here is a link to their website.
http://www.gobierno.pr/cespr/inicio/
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you can grow the following crops comfortably as:
Cucumbers
Spinach
tomatoes
Grapes
broccoli
corn on the cob
apples need chilling weather for a period of 2-3 months an year.
If the temperature goes up broccoli heads becomes loose.
But in the similar conditions I could grow them well.
Under humid conditions Grapes produce more acidic berries and the problem of diseases will be more.
By adjusting nitrates in the drip, can grow them well but berry size will be poor.
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We live near Perth Western Australia and grow Grapes. In humidity you may find that you will need to keep a close eye on Powdery Mildew (which can be treated with sprays). Grapes are very hardy and can be grown almost anywhere!
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Hi!!!! I also live in Puerto Rico and i feel your pain…i understand what sweety said about creating an “atmosphere” but i know that from my part i just what to grow food that i can eat…like blueberries…not an tropical or forest or hallmark picture of the tropics just a few plants of few fruits and vegetables that i can enjoy from my patio and not pay $ 7.00 dollars for it…YES $7.00 dollars for blueberries $10.00 for blackberries because it doesn’t grow here.on the flip side mangoes and coconuts and bananas and oranges are few bucks.so I know that in my case i will love to be able to grow berries and cucumbers and squash not to necessary have a pretty garden althou it wont hurt,so please any tips on how to? thanks…
Hello i had strawberries sent from fl and was growing in pots in my terrace, i tried blueberries no good. Corn the ants ate it all!!! tomatoes the grasshopers chew the entire plant. I grew a huge melon and pumpkin, was going to start a new garden but dont know. In pr walmart is not like the states were they have the plant center. everytime i come to fl i go crazy over the variety of plants fruit and the fast u can find stuff to grow. They need to change tho is totally different than the states we are very limited on things….
you can grow coconuts in tropical weather no problems …
johanna cepero you mention strawberries from from fl did you get these from a nursery or friends if a nursery which one? I am in the virgin islands. everyone else thx for all the info
Hi.
Im in Singapore. And I am also thinking of growing a few pots of strawberries and blueberries. Is this possible? I mean, Singapore is also having a tropical climate.
Thanks.