If you want a tropical look but live in a desert, use these plants!

[@kt9495]

I’m in the Southeast but have been loving Mangaves. We had a freeze last year (17F), I lightly covered and it didn’t flinch. Other lower shrubs and ground covers for me that have taken intense heat and drought have been Black Dalea and Wooly Stemodia. They thrive when others have succumbed. Also Hibiscus for that tropical look!

[@BudgetPlants]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Definitely like the hibiscus to hit the tropical vibe. 😎

[@siarlbychan]

Tecoma stans is a fantastic native plant here in the Big Bend region of the Chihuahuan desert in west Texas. It's one of my favorite plants here and thank you for adding it to your list.

[@BudgetPlants]

Thanks so much for watching! 😎

[@lindalambert6554]

Thanks for the information. I live on a rugged piece of shore on the Sea of Cortez, near La Paz.

[@BudgetPlants]

Ohh wow!.. bet it’s GORGEOUS 🤩

[@KeyholeK8]

The peacock flower plant is gorgeous. We have Grevillea ‘Superb’ planted in full sun (zone 9b). The hummingbirds love it!

[@BudgetPlants]

Looooove Grevillea Supurb!!

[@wilhelminelichtenau4552]

Lantana has another very desirable effect - it has been found to be a termite repellent

[@BudgetPlants]

I’ve never heard that… Thank you for sharing!

[@nevadaexplorer8399]

Love it need them all

[@berthaduniverse]

Thanks for the episode, luv what you are doing here. Any chance you could cover deer resistant landscape and maybe an episode on various agave like plants...?

[@BudgetPlants]

Great suggestion! we have a lineup of some really cool content coming up and I think a deer resistant palette would make a solid video. 😎

[@jess_ismore]

Arizona gal who HATES (hate, hate, hate) bougainvilleas. Thank you for this list bc I want color and lush, but I will NOT go bougainvillea. I agree that they're beautiful, but my first intro to them was my chore of cleaning up the leaves (esp from the pool) when we moved down here and I learned how incredibly high maintenance they are. That leads me to wonder the maintenance on some of these others?

[@littlemikeism]

Upon reading the variety of resources available about gardening in the southwest, surely someone told you to never plant a bougainvillea near a pool. It is a you say, but don't dismiss it just for that reason. On hillsides and pergolas, the blooms shed and blow away. No maintenance at all.

[@jess_ismore]

@@littlemikeism I was 10, so I didn't have much say in the planting. And whether the leaves go into a pool or not, there's still a lot of shed.

[@littlemikeism]

@@jess_ismore My apologies. They shed tons, but I guess the wind just blows them into the beds.

[@jess_ismore]

@@littlemikeism yeah, based on much I clean up in my yard from other people's trees, I personally don't think it's appropriate to consider wind a complete substitute for maintenance. If I had more land, no neighbors, or someone to do maintenance, they would definitely be viable. Also thorns 😂

[@jess_ismore]

@@littlemikeism but I certainly appreciate the effort to change my mind on bougainvilleas. I probably hate them more than is fair to them.

[@JamesBondsLittleFinger]

What about a cold desert climate?

[@BudgetPlants]

Many of these can take down to 5-10 deg f. You would have to verify your usda zone and make sure it matches with the plants.

[@pamgrimm8850]

I have had every one of these plants in my Las Vegas yard. The lantanas spread beautifully spring to summer, BUT turned an ugly brown every fall. I pruned back all the dead foliage, and they remained ugly for months. I finally removed them all and am replacing the area with specimen cacti. I, too, love the Mexican Bird of Paradise. However, I need mine in large clay pots. I’ve had 5, they die and I replace. Only one remains, has survived for 3 years now, has grown some but slowly and never as full as I’d like. Will it ever look like the ones in your photos since it’s in a pot? I was hoping to block the view of my pool equipment.

[@BudgetPlants]

Thank you so much for sharing! The Caesalpinia can do OK in a pot, however, in most circumstances, they tend to thrive a little better in the ground. They tend to like a balanced mixture of sand, amended topsoil, and a bit of perlite. I also recommend a time release fertilizer. This will help with bloom production and foliage density. 😎

[@staceylam762]

An I plant a bougainvillea next to house? Will the root crack foundation?

[@BudgetPlants]

It shouldn’t. Bougainvilles do not typically have an invasive root system known to lift foundations.

[@doctorhadland6510]

Shangri La Mulberry

[@carrierockwell2447]

Question - how close or how far away should Tacoma Stans be from an inground pool? Thanks

[@BudgetPlants]

The roots are not super invasive so I’d say 3’ should be good.

[@carrierockwell2447]

Thank you for getting back