Tropical Plants in My San
Francisco Garden
Abutilons
Abutilons also called Chinese Lanterns or Flowering Maples are easy to grow in San Francisco, but can be uprooted by a strong wind. Often the winds in San Francisco break off branches and can kill the plant. The plant can be trained into a bush or a tree, but it prefers to grow as a bush and takes persistence to make them into a well formed tree. They are subject to scale insects which left uncontrolled will form brown hard scales that will be impossible to eliminate. The photo is from a pink abutilon that I purchased from the westportal hardware store. The original plant was subject to fungal problems with the leaves, so I took it out. But, I got two new pink abutilon that reseeded each one in a slightly different shade. I have a third small reseed that has not bloomed yet, but I am hopeful of having three lovely pink abutilons in the future. If only I had more space. Abultilons are annual plants in colder areas, but can grow in a large tree in San Francisco with a thick strong truck, if they are pruned correctly.
Brugmansia
Angels Trumpets are easy to grow in San Francisco. The key factor is you want to get them well established before winter and have them get as big as possible to avoid being killed off in the winter. They like a sandy well drained soil. There is a large white specimen in the patio Garden at Cafe International in the Height District of San Francisco, and numerous brugmansia grow in Golden Park. They can be killed by spider mite, which causes the leaves to fall off until the plant dies.
Caleceolaria integrifolia
Caleceolaria integrifolia with the small globe like yellow flowers is native to Chile. Integrifolia is an outdoor version of a green house plant called Ladies Slipper Flower. The Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park had an entire room for indoor Calceolaria, before they remodeled in 1999. This particular flower I grow, is called Golden Nugget. I bought it at a nursery in San Mateo that has gone of business. This plant like morning sun and afternoon shade, but will take full sun in San Francisco. You need to watch out for spider mites and aphids. Water regularly, but don't over water. They like average garden soil. You can propagate this plant by division, but wait until you see some woody growth at the base to making a division. If the division is too small, it will not propagate well. This may be why these plants are so scare in the nurseries. Annuals Annual in Richmond California carries a white flowered version of Calceolaria integrifolia, that did not survive when I planted it.
Ferns
Ferns do well in San Francisco, but often die over the winter. It is important to pick a fern that is hardy outdoors and establish the fern well before winter. Tree ferns also do will in San Francisco. I have a large tree fern in my garden that is doing well, and some smaller ferns. Ferns like a rich compost soil and like to be buried up to the ground in soft rick soil. Do not let weeds grow up around your ferns or let the soil become hard around the roots. Keep adding compost around the crown of the fern once a month. Ferns like a lot of water and a basic mild liquid plant food.
Impatiens
The most common type of impatiens are small thin annual flowers that you can buy at any garden center. The one pictured above is a hard to find Blondie African Impatient. Impatiens come in single and double forms. Some look like roses, and the new guinea impatiens are larger then the common ones. They like shade, apply water and rich soil, but in San Francisco they like half a day of sun for the best blooming. New Guinea Impatiens need more conditions then basic impatiens. Impatiens can not survive a San Francisco winter without being taking inside or without a green house. Coleus is a lovely foliage plant which requires green house conditions in the winter.
Lantanas
Lantana bushes die back in cold weather or they just die. The few I have seen that survive as perennials in San Francisco are very large and well established. They do not like poor drainage, and they don't like the winter rains in San Francisco. They are many different types of colors available and can be either shrub or trailing in habit. The shrub type will grow very large when given ideal conditions. Lananas require a sandy well drained soil.
Mandevilla
Mandevilla vine is hard to keep alive during the winter. It's better to bring the plant indoors or place in green house. I have not seen examples of Mandevilla over wintering in San Francisco. The cold will make the plant die back, but it may regrow in the spring if the plant is large enough and if the planting location is some what sheltered. Alice Du Pont is the most popular Mandevilla having a large pink flower. You can find many different color choices at Home Depot. They come in once a year in late spring.
Palm Trees
Palm trees don't do very well in San Francisco. They do much better in Los Angeles. The City has added palm trees to for beautification, but they don't look very healthy. I have palm tree, but it doesn't look very good so I don't post a photo of my palm tree. Some people assume palm trees are for desert areas, but they do in fact need a lot of water. The like heat, but they need much more water then a typical street tree. They need as much water as ferns. If you don't water then enough, they look even worse with more browning of the leaves and more limp leaves. The like to be feed plant food, hopefully palm food. San Francisco used to plant Monterey Pines because they grow fast into a big trees, but it was found that Monterrey Pines crack the side way, the street and the foundation of houses. Therefore the city no longer plants Monterey Pines and has changed to Palm trees. You will also see many Cypress trees, Redwood trees, and Norfolk Island Pines, and Eucalyptus Trees. Like the Monterey Pines all of these trees get very big quickly and become and expensive tree requiring the care of an arborist for pruning and removing branches or removing the tree all together. The East Bay has more oak trees then San Francisco. The coast live oak is a California native that does well in coastal conditions. Palm trees are also hard to photography because they are high off the ground, but I found a low tree in San Mateo Park. Of course, nothing is a as beautiful as the coconut palms of Hawaii, but they won't grow in San Francisco at all.
Philodendron bipinnatifidum
Philodendrons are easy plant to grow outdoors in San Francisco. A large scale plant, it looks good in front of homes. They like a lot of watering and a lot of feeding. They bloom a couple of times a years producing a spathe flower that looks like a light yellow banana when it opens. They only stay open for one day and then close again. You may wish to cut the flowers because they may detract energy from the growing of the plant.
See more of my plants on Flickr