Coastal and Tropical South

The tropical south includes the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, as well as large swaths across southern Louisiana and eastern Texas. Florida is the only state entirely in this region. In many respects, the tropical south is a gardening paradise matched only by coastal California. It's warm year-round and only occasionally gets frosts in certain areas. (The Florida Keys are frost-free.) There is plenty of rain and abundant sunshine and many plants that won't grow further north will flourish here.

There are also drawbacks to the sub-tropics and tropics. The summer, which is peak gardening season in many areas, is too hot to do much of anything in the tropics and sub-tropics. Furthermore, the heat can kill many plants that favor more temperate climates. The coastal south is also, as we are so aware, in great danger from hurricanes and tropical storms, which can uproot trees and will certainly destroy a vegetable patch. This may not be a great concern to the hobbyist vegetable farmer, but you should be very careful about the trees you add to your yard; they could easily come down in a year or two.

That said, slap on some sunscreen and grab a hat. Gardening in the tropical south is a year-round activity!

The great advantage of tropical gardening is that exotic plants that most people keep indoors will thrive in your garden. Heliconia,  bird of paradise,  ornamental bananas,  cannas,  hibiscus,  passionflower,  bougainvillea  and many other striking tropical plants will do very well. Skip perennials that favor cool weather (sayonara, saxifrage!) and shade (bye-bye, bleeding hearts!). Many annuals might kick the bucket in the hot summer sun, but they'll do well most of the year. Pansies will tolerate a slight frost and can sit outside from September through May, but plenty of other annuals will do just as well in almost all of this region.

Vegetable gardening in the tropical south is on a very different schedule from most areas of the country. While most areas of the country start up their outdoor vegetable season in April and May, the coastal south is winding down. Summers are too hot for most plants to grow, so the season runs from September to May. You can grow just about anything, including a number of plants that would never thrive further north. Avocados  (pictured), citrus fruit,  bananas,  okra  and more. You won't do as well with cool-weather plants like peas and lettuce, but you can certainly grow them in the cool season.

The great advantage of gardening in the south is getting to enjoy flowers that most of the country only sees on postcards. Cannas  and hibiscus  are well known, but the bird of paradise flower  is just about as tropical as you can get. Passion flower  vines will climb anywhere you like, and fragrant plumeria  will give your whole garden a sweet scent. 

Cannas	Hibiscus	Bird of Paradise	Passion Flower	Plumeria

External Links

• General Information
• National Gardening Association -- description of the region.
• Tropical Gardening -- focus on tropical and exotic plants; read the "previous articles" section for more information.
• By State
• Florida
• Florida Gardener
• Florida Gardening -- a print magazine with a website.
• Florida Gardening.org -- the Sunshine state has a lot of gardening websites!
• Florida Plants -- by area of the state.
• Texas
• Neil Sperry -- a gardening magazine for Texas.
• Texas Gardening