It is always good to start your garden after analysing the climate of the place where you intent to start the garden. This is because you can always be prepared with what to expect out of the climate and the garden.

Tips to start gardening in a tropical climate

Tropical climate is a weather condition where there occur large amount of rains near the equator and high temperatures near the tropics. Tropical climate normally have high temperature and a decent amount of rainfall. In a tropical climate, the winters are mild with little or no freezing temperatures.

When it comes to gardening, it is important to know and understand about the plants, shrubs and trees that can survive in a tropical climate. For plants to survive in tropical climate they have to absorb lots of moisture. Tropical climate is suitable for plants that can drain out the moisture and the best examples of these plants are banana and pineapple.

The other types of plants that can survive in a tropical climate and are ideal for gardening include caladiums, orchids, cannas, bamboo, fuchsia, hibiscus, trumpet vine. Some of the common houseplants have actually originated from these tropical areas. Gardening in a tropical climate is not much different from any other types of gardening but require a little extra care. Many of these tropical plants develop large leaves to survive in the tropical climate of jungles and have deep shallow root systems to get nutrients from the soil. Tropical plants are more appropriate for indoor gardening.

Tips for growing tropical plants for indoor gardening

  • To being with you must evaluate the growing conditions that are suitable for tropical plants. The key factors include light, space, temperature and humidity. Some of the tropical plants can grow quite large and others require staking or trimming.
  • Some of the tropical plants equally divide the light and space among themselves in case of indoor gardening. Tropical plants like schefflera and philodendron can survive under the incandescent light or fluorescent lights with no or little sunlight. Other plants such as bromeliads and coleus require more sunlight.
  • Tropical plants need good amount of space and therefore they must be planted in an appropriate sized pot that has well drained potting mix.
  • Some of the tropical plants are poisonous therefore, it is better to keep them away from children and dogs. Do not move your tropical plants from shade into direct sunlight that can cause leaf burns.
  • Tropical plants cannot survive severe winter. Therefore, during winter season tropical plants need some form of heating, as they cannot withstand frost.
  • Tropical plants require manure in small quantities and in less frequency.
  • The best method of increasing the life of tropical plants is to keep them outdoors during summers or warmer months and growing them indoors during winter months. It is better to keep them in containers if they are moved from indoor to outdoors or vice versa.

Gardening tips for plants in a semi-arid climate

Semi-arid climate is a weather condition that describes the area where there is a low annual rainfall about 250 to 500 mm and that have scrub vegetation and short grass. Semi-arid climate areas receive slightly more rain than dry deserts. Gardening of plants in a semi-arid climate is a challenge and therefore the following gardening tips will help the incumbent gardener-

  • Growing Succulent and hard plants- In a semi-arid climate, hard and succulent plants are most suitable types as they have capacity to store water in their roots, stems and leaves. The roots of these plants grow close to the surface of the ground soil thereby enabling them to absorb water and moisture even in case of light showers. Examples of succulent plants include cacti and plants of Crassulaceae family.
  • Vegetable gardening: Semi arid climate creates challenges for those gardeners who would like to involve in vegetable gardening. These challenges include poor soil quality, fluctuating temperatures and lack of humidity. Some of the vegetables that can be chosen for successful gardening in these areas can be potatoes, broccoli, cabbage and lettuce.
  • Using drip irrigation method: Drip irrigation method is more suitable in semi-arid climate due to water shortage in these areas. Most of the plants require one to two inches of water a week and those in semi arid climate require more. Therefore, to solve this problem, the method of drip irrigation system in which a hose with small periodic holes that allows water to drop or spray into the soil next to the plant will provide sufficient water to the plants.
  • Using compost: Using compost, as a nutrient for plants is an effective way of provided the required growth for the plants. Especially, compost made from organic food waste is best for mulching.

Some of the plants and trees that grow in semi-arid regions are:

  • Jujube
  • Triangle – Leaf Bursage
  • Brittlebush