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18 July 2010
Tropical plants are some of the most stunning plants and are perfect to create your tropical or Bali Style garden. They are not just available for the tropics, although often assumed otherwise. There are many tropical plants which can be very successfully grown not only in areas of Australia with cool climates, but also the hotter, drier climates like inland Australia. Below I will list some very hardy tropical palms, which are often drought hardy, sun hardy and tolerant of cool climates!
1. I’m starting this list with the palm which in my opinion deserve the number 1 spot, the Flamethrower Palm (Chambeyronia hookeri or Chambeyronia macrocarpa). The difference between C. Hookeri and C. Macrocarpa is the colour of the crownshaft, Chambeyronia hookeri being the Blonde Flamethrower Palm. New leaves are a striking red which adds great colour to your tropical garden. The Blonde variety is my person favourite, as the red foliage stands out even more against the Blonde crownshaft. This palm is suitable as tropical plant in cool climates, it grows well in temperatures to around 0C.
2. The Golden Cane Palm (Dypsis lutescens) – one of my absolute favourites. The Golden Cane Palm originates in Madagascar, where the climate is very hard on the plants. The weather gets not only very hot and dry, but also very cold in winter. Golden Canes are very drought hardy and will need minimal maintenance when they are established, handling full sun and very limited watering. They are also tolerant of temperatures down to around 0C, which will suit most of the country.
3. Other Dypsis Palms, for the same reason as the Golden Cane Palm above. Almost all Dypsis Palms come from Madagascar and are tough as nails. You could look at adding the Triangle Palm to your garden (Dypsis decaryi) or go for the stunning Dypsis Pink Crown palm. Dypsis Pink Crown, or Pink Crown Palm, has beautiful colour to the foliage and crown, which looks great with other green, lush foliage plants. Dysis leptocheilos, the Redneck or Teddy Bear Palm, is another colourful palm with a bronze to red coloured, velvety crown shaft.
4. The Dwarf Palmetto Palm (Sabal palmetto) is a nice little dwarf palm which would look great in smaller gardens or pots. This palm has a subterranean trunk, meaning the bulk of it is underground. This protects the palm from the elements, and this palm is therefore great in drought, grows well in full sun and, as an added bonus, is one of the most frost hardy palms available!
5. The Wine Palm or Jelly Palm (Butia capitata) is useful as well as hardy. It is a frost hardy palm, good to around -10, which is phenomenal for a palm tree! The Wine Palm fruits are edible and can be eaten straight of the palm tree when they are ripe. The fruits, 
often called Pindo Dates, are delicious and yield is a very sufficient 25kg!
6. The Sago Palm, Cycas revoluta, is not technically a palm. It is a member of the cycad family, but if you are looking for a very stunning palm look-a-like, the Sago Palm is your plant. It is not a large plant, so it would be suitable as a palm tree look-a-like in smaller gardens, but the Sago Palm is also successfully grown in pots.
7. The Bangalow Palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana) is one of the staples of a tropical garden. Although you may find this palm is almost every garden, tropical or not, it is still one of the best palms to add height to your tropical garden. It is more hardy than its brother the Alexander Palm (Archontophoenix alexandrae), and does well as far south as Melbourne. The Alexander Palm is also a beautiful tall palm, and is hardy in climates which do not get quite as cold.
These are just some of the tropical palms which you can use in your cool climate tropical garden, or hot weather tropical garden – don’t let your climate stop you from bringing the tropics to your backyard! You may not find a large range of hardy tropical plants at your local plant nursery – click on the links above to read more above the plants described, or buy them in our online plant nursery.
Thank you for visiting National Tropical Plants online nursery – Australia’s plant nursery, garden nursery & mail order nursery for garden plants & tropical plants. We’ll help you plant your own paradise!
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