Are you dreaming of a beach vacation? I suppose you are imagining a palm tree. Do you fantasize about life on a remote island? You’re probably planning a walk among the birds of paradise, cannas and bananas. Nothing evokes the feeling of the tropics like giant plants with lush leaves, and if you live in tropical or subtropical regions, you’ll be able to enjoy them all year round.

The rest of us have to buy them every year and treat them like annuals or, if we’re in the know, keep them from year to year. After reading this, you’ll fall into the latter camp, saving money and making your next summers at home an exotic getaway.

Elephant Ear Cannas and Caladiums

If you purchased potted elephant ears (Colocasia), cannas or caladiums, bring the pots indoors instead of throwing them out on the curb. Place them near a sunny window, water often, and fertilize occasionally with a regular houseplant fertilizer diluted to half strength.

If they are too large for the house or have been planted in the garden, leave them outside until the first frost turns their foliage brown, then cut the plants back to six inches tall and dig them up.

Rinse and separate their bulb-shaped roots and let them air dry completely, then place them in peat moss in a box in which you have drilled holes for ventilation. Milk crates work well for storing large quantities. Place the box or crate in a cool, dark place such as a crawl space or cellar.

Check them about once a month and spray them with water if they start to shrivel, and throw away any that start to rot. Plant outdoors and fertilize when the soil has warmed in spring (around the time you plant tomatoes), or give them a head start by planting them indoors in potting soil a month earlier and placing them near your sunniest window or under grow lights. , keeping the soil slightly moist.

Potted hibiscus and angel trumpets

Potted hibiscus and angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia) should also be brought indoors before the first frost and treated as houseplants near your sunniest window during the winter. The plants will likely lose leaves and may even look diseased, but they should bounce back when returned outdoors in the spring.

If you don’t have room for plants in your living space, you can induce dormancy by storing the pots at 40-45°F, checking them twice a month, and watering very lightly when the soil is dry at finger depth.

Place the plants in a warmer, sunnier location, prune lightly and fertilize about a month before the danger of frost has passed, then return them outside.

Banana plants

Potted banana plants should be cut back to ground level when the first frost turns their foliage brown. Store containers in a dark place at around 40-45°F. Inspect the soil once a month, watering very lightly only when it is completely dry. Growth will resume in spring, but keep plants indoors until danger of frost has passed. Fertilize and resume regular watering.

Do not cut buried bananas in the fall. Simply dig them up, put their roots in a plastic trash bag, and store them as you would their potted counterparts. Cut them back to six inches in the spring and plant them in the garden after the danger of frost has passed.

Then, invest the money you would otherwise have spent on new plants in a water feature, fire pit, or ingredients for a tropical drink. After all, it’s always five o’clock somewhere, and starting this year, your tropical oasis will be somewhere.