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OUR TROPICAL GARDEN

 

Click below to see our garden plants alphabetically listed by common name.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
D page
 

Dahlia Dahlia
This tuber based plant is one of our favorites. We planted seeds in Montserrat which grew well and were nicely flowering when an eruption of the Soufriere volcano delivered a layer of volcanic ash over our entire garden. Following the ash fall, we had acid rains which killed the dahlias along with many of our other plants. We are going to try again with the dahlias as soon as we can get some seeds.
From: From Mexico and Central America.
Photographed: In Taxco, Mexico, in our garden in Montserrat and in the Botanical Garden at the Hotel Atitlan on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.
Planting and Care: Dahlias are easy plants whether you grow them from seed or tubers. They like to be in full sun and to receive routine rainfall or watering. A rich composted soil is appreciated as well. The largest of your plants will almost always need some support or staking.
 Text & Photographs Copyrighted ©KO 2008/2010

 

 
 
 

Dasheen Colocasia esculenta
Loving water and growing well in full sun or semi shade, dasheen is related to the elephant ear, but is tougher in dealing with the Caribbean sun. Elephant ear plants look terrible in the full sun of late spring and early summer while dasheen does just fine.
Text Copyrighted ©KO 2007
 

**Datura See "Devils Trumpet" Below
 

David Verity Cigar Plant Cuphea x 'David Verity'
Benefits: This terribly named plant is a hummingbird and butterfly attractant.
Photographed: In the Botanical Garden at the Hotel Atitlan on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.
Planting and Care: Give this sweet little perennial plant full sun and routine rainfall or watering and you'll have its pretty flowers to enjoy for months each year.
Text and Photograph Copyrighted ©KO 2010
 

Daylily, Day Lilies Hemerocallis
"This large family of wonderful flowering perennials prefers a little shade from the hot mid-day sun. We don't yet have any in Montserrat, but they are definitely on the shopping list when next get to Florida." I wrote that back in 2007 and only now in the spring of 2010 have I been able to garner any seeds for these lovely old standbys.
Benefits: Apparently all parts of the plant are edible, though the flower is most likely to find itself in the cook pot.
From: The Pacific
Photographed: Along the roadside in Hacienda San Buenaventura and at the Hotel Atitlan on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. The photograph to the upper left was an accident and I am ever grateful when I make these "mistakes." 
Planting and Care: Full sun and routine rainfall or watering will keep these plants thriving and in bloom. Once well established, they are even a bit tolerant of drought and high heat although it will probably lessen the number of blooms on each plant.
 Text and Photographs Copyrighted ©KO 2010
 
 
 
Desert Cabbage See The "K" Page Kalanchoe
 

**Desert Rose, Adenium Adenium obesum or Adenium arabicum
In appearance the desert rose seems to be a member of the frangipani family.
From: The Middle East
Photographed: On the tiled entryway to our home in Montserrat and below in our deck garden.
Planting and Care: Plant it in the sun and keep this plant relatively dry or the results will be very disappointing. When well cared for it will grow to be about five feet tall with its branches spreading to be about four feet wide.
Text & Photographs Copyrighted ©Krika.com 2007/2009
 

 

**Devil's Ivy See The "P" Page POTHOS
 
**Devil's Trumpet, Datura, Jimson Weed Datura innoxia Mill.
This is a beautiful very short lived wild plant that will give you great pleasure if you can accommodate its needs and growth pattern in your garden. It will grow as we have seen in a dry pile of sand and will flower at least once before quickly drying up and disappearing. Here in our garden in a much less difficult environment it flowers a few times, looks terrible for a short while and then dies. In that process though it will give off many seeds so there is always a small plant growing when the older one expires.
From: Central America
Photographed: In our crepe myrtle garden at our home in Montserrat.
Planting and Growth: Plant these daturas in a hot, dry and desperate environment in your tropical garden -- a place that is dry a lot of the year. It will delight you with its beautiful soft white flowers. The one in the photograph is about three or four inches across.
Problems: "None that we have yet found, but give us time." That sense of future troubles was right on target. This datura is subject to spider mites, but it is still less vulnerable to the many problems of the Devil's Trumpet Tree below.
Text & Photograph Copyrighted ©KO 2009
 

** Devil's Trumpet Tree, Purple Horn of Plenty Datura metel
These leafy very small trees are bushy and usually covered with large or even very large beautiful softly colored flowers pointing upwards. The plant is entirely poisonous, flowers, stems and leaves, and it is said to be responsible for many deaths.
Photographed: On the tiled entryway to our home in Montserrat and in the border garden by our den.
Planting and Growth: Plant them in full sun or in a place with a little shade, then give them plenty of water and lots of fertilizer.
From: Central America or Southern China
Problems: It is susceptible to spider mites and since the leaves are soft and furry, it will also be susceptible to the acidic volcanic ash and acid rain in Montserrat. To treat the insects we use a professional insecticide sprayer, but ours is filled with soapy water which works just fine. Use a light mix of a lemon scented powdered clothes detergent (the simplest you can find). A light mix might be about 1 teaspoon mixed into one quart of water. Spray this on in the evening as sometimes the bright tropical sun can burn plants with a recent wet soapy residue.
Text and Photograph Copyrighted ©KO 2008

To see more photographs of this type of plant
please click here or on the picture on the left
 

**Devil's Twine See The "L" Page LOVE VINE
 
**Dhal See the "P" Page -- PIGEON PEA
 
**Dieffenbachia, Dumb Cane Leafy Plant Dieffenbachia seguine (Jacq.)
This is another one of the many poisonous plants common in the Caribbean. We have three of them growing in our shady terraced garden.
From: Tropical America
Photographed: On the left in our terrace garden at our home in Montserrat and on the right in the Botanical Garden at the Hotel Atitlan in Guatemala.
Planting and Care: Dieffenbachias are popular house plants in northern climates especially in public buildings as they tolerate low light very well and all in all require little care. Planted in a tropical setting keep them out of the mid day sun. They will do best in a bright shady area where they will receive routine rainfall or watering.
 Text and Photographs Copyrighted ©KO 2008/2010

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
**Dill Anethum graveolens
Fresh dill is used in making dill and kosher dill pickles and in flavoring salads and more. Walk through your garden brushing your dill plants with your hand as you pass and simply refresh yourself with the aroma.
Planting and Care: Dill does not transplant well so seeds should be planted where the plants will grow. They will eventually be about three feet tall or more so keep that in mind when selecting a place to plant them. Dill prefers to grow in a place with full sun and a well drained ordinary soil.
Text Copyrighted ©KO 2008 
 
**Dinner Plate Aralia See The "A" Page ARALIA
 
 
 

DISEASES AND DEFICIENCIES

These two plant disorders, diseases and deficiencies, seem to me to be the most serious problems in a tropical garden environment and to the novice they are usually difficult to distinguish. If you are in an area close by a governmental or university agriculture department, make use of their expertise. If you encounter a problem in your garden that you do not understand or cannot identify and treat, call them right away for a consultation. We have had extremely good luck here in Montserrat with advice given to us by a Guyanese fellow employed as an agricultural products inspector for the customs department and to advise local farmers.

What follows is information on the plant diseases and deficiencies we have encountered in our gardens and the solutions that seemed to work. It is far from a complete list of the problems you may encounter, but we hope you will find the information useful.

Deficiencies

Chlorosis -- Leaves appear to have splotchy yellowing, that does not follow the leaf veins. This is an indication that the plant is missing one of the minor, but still essential ingredients for its health, probably a mineral. We've had good luck solving this problem by quickly using Miracle Grow in a watered down solution daily for a week or so, but it really is an indication that the soil is inadequate. Using compost and composted manure is a more long term and healthful solution.

Diseases

Damping Off -- Almost all gardeners are familiar with this. You plant your seeds in little pots and not long after the little green shoots appear, they fall over dead. That is a scenario I experienced in New England; here in the Caribbean, our seventy foot long, twelve foot tall hibiscus hedge fell over dead. That puts things quickly in perspective.
 
 
 
Dishcloth Gourd See The "L" Page -- LOOFAH  
 
Dombea See the "T" Page -- TROPICAL HYDRANGEA
 
Donkey's Ears See the "K" Page -- KALANCHOE -- Donkey's Ears  
 
 
DRACAENAS
 

Corn plant Dracaena fragrans
From: West Africa
 Photographed: At the Hotel San Buenaventura on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala in 2010.
Planting and Care: The corn plant is tolerant of light level situations, but prefers a semi shady spot with routine rainfall or watering to be at its best.
 Text & Photograph Copyrighted ©KO 2010

 
 

**Dracaena, Dragon Tree Dracaena marginata
A popular house plant in colder climates, ours was thriving here in the terrace garden when we left for a holiday. When we got back it had died from the extended drought here in Montserrat in the spring and summer of 2007. According to a local friend, "It wasn't a drought; it was a barbecue!" We have a new plant and are hoping for a more hospitable weather pattern this year.
From: Hawaii
Photographed: On the left at a neighbor's home in Woodlands, Montserrat and below right at the Hotel Atitlan on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.
Planting and Care: Although the plant will grow in the hot sunshine of the Caribbean, I think it prefers a place with a little less sun along with routine rainfall or watering. It will grow quite tall, but its appearance can become spindly so think about pruning it every year or so. Stick the cut stems in a watered garden and you will have new plants to find homes for within a few months.
Text and Photographs Copyrighted ©Krika.com 2008/2010

 

 

 

 

 
 
Dwarf Bouquet, Calypso Queen Dracaena deremensis Janet Craig Compacta
 Photographed: In the Botanical Garden at the Hotel Atitlan on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.
Planting and Care: This is a slow growing member of the family of dracaenas, but like most members it likes bright light and moist soil to grow well.
 Text & Photograph Copyrighted ©KO 2010
 

Striped Dracaena Dracaena Deremensis 'Gold Star'
Photographed: In the Botanical Garden at the Hotel Atitlan on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.
Planting and Care: Bright light and a damp, not wet, soil will keep this dracaena growing happily.
 Text & Photographs Copyrighted ©KO 2010
 

**Lucky Bamboo, Lucky Lily Dracaena sanderiana
This is the poor plant that had the terrible karma to be introduced to the commercial market as a "lucky bamboo" as part of the feng shui craze. It finds itself growing in a twisted glass bottle and I can't imagine how that would feel. Can you?
From: Western Africa and now widely grown in gardens throughout the Caribbean
Photographed: In our shady terrace garden at our home in Montserrat.
Planting and Care: This is an easy to care for plant which probably was what sealed its fate with the twisted glass tubes. From having one for a few years I think a bright semi shady spot in a garden that receives routine rainfall or watering would suit it perfectly.
Text and Photograph Copyrighted ©Krika.com 2008

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

**Dragon Tree -- See Dracaena above
 
**Drunken Sailor See The "R" Page -- RANGOON CREEPER

 
Dusty Miller, Silver Ragwort Senecio cineraria, Cineraria maritima
I regret to admit that I deemed this plant unattractive from my very early years as an adult with a beautiful already established garden to manage. Along with all of the exuberantly beautiful plants and shrubs, I had dusty miller to look at and tend. In my opinion, if you are already depressed and looking for plant company, you've found a friend in dusty miller.
From: Central America
Photographed: In the Botanical Garden at the Hotel Atitlan on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.
Planting and Care: Dusty Miller likes full sun and is not at all fussy about its soil base. Water it regularly until it is settled in and then pretty much let it be. It is very hardy.
Text & Photograph Copyrighted ©KO 2010
 
Dutchman's Pipe, Giant Pelican Flower Aristolochia brazillensis, Aristolochia grandiflora and Aristolochia gigantea
This very strange plant has a seemingly very normal and almost delicate vine which produces the almost creepy, papery, foot long "flowers" shown on the left and far right. This is the variety that produces the largest flowers and shown below is a variety with smaller though no less strange flowers.
Photographed: In the Botanical Garden at the Hotel Atitlan on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala
 Text & Photograph Copyrighted ©KO 2010
 
 
**Dwarf Cone Ginger See the "G" Page GINGER -- Red Button Ginger
 
Dwarf Mallow, Sleepy Hibiscus, Turk's Cap, Firecracker Hibiscus Malvaviscus arboreus or Hibiscus drummondii or Pavonia drummondii
This is a striking plant because of how its bright red flowers set off the green of its lush foliage. The flowers aren't extraordinary, but the overall effect of the plant certainly is. It makes a nice size shrub growing to be as much as 10 feet tall.
Benefits: This plant will attract both butterflies and hummingbirds.
From: South America, Peru and/or Central America
Planting and Care: Dwarf mallows like to be in either full sun or bright semi shade. They don't like heavy winds and so are ideal plantings against a wall or building.
Text Copyrighted ©KO 2011
 

**Dwarf Poinciana See The "P" Page -- PRIDE OF BARBADOS

 
Dwarf Tibouchina See the "T" Page -- TRAILING TIBOUCHINA

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Click below to see our garden plants alphabetically listed by common name.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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