What is a Subtropical Climate?
Subtropical climates are defined as the areas adjacent to the tropics. These areas are usually located 20 to 40 degrees north or south of the equator. Southern areas of the U.S., Spain, and Portugal; the north and south tips of Africa; the mid-eastern coast of Australia; southeastern Asia; and parts of the Middle East and South America are subtropical climates. In these areas, summer is very long, hot, and often rainy; winter is very mild, usually without frost or freezing temperatures.
Gardening in the Subtropics
Subtropical landscape or garden design borrows a lot of its flair from the tropics. Bold, bright colors, textures, and shapes are common in subtropical garden beds. Dramatic hardy palms are used frequently in subtropical gardens to provide deep green color and unique texture. Flowering plants like hibiscus, bird of paradise, and lilies have bright tropical feeling colors that nicely contrast evergreen palms, yucca, or agave plants. Subtropical plants are selected for their tropical appeal, but also for their hardiness. Plants in some subtropical areas have to endure blazing heat, thick humidity, times of heavy rains, or long periods of drought and also temperatures that can drop as low as 0 degrees F. (-18 C.). While subtropical plants may have the exotic look of tropical plants, many of them also have the hardiness of temperate plants. Below are some of the beautiful plants that grow in the subtropics: Trees and Shrubs
Avocado Azalea Bald Cypress Bamboo Banana Bottlebrush Camellia Chinese Fringe Citrus Trees Crape Myrtle Eucalyptus Fig Firebush Flowering Maple Forest Fever Tree Gardenia Geiger Tree Gumbo Limbo Tree Hebe Hibiscus Ixora Japanese Privet Jatropha Jessamine Lychee Magnolia Mangrove Mango Mimosa Oleander Olive Palms Pineapple Guava Plumbago Poinciana Rose of Sharon Sausage Tree Screw Pine Trumpet Tree Umbrella Tree
Perennials and Annuals
Agave Aloe Vera Alstroemeria Anthurium Begonia Bird of Paradise Bougainvillea Bromeliads Caladium Canna Calathea Clivia Cobra Lily Coleus Costus Dahlia Echeveria Elephant Ear Fern Fuchsia Ginger Gladiolus Heliconia Kiwi Vine Lily-of-the-Nile Medinilla Pentas Salvia
