Proteas are grown commercially in Southern California.
Tropical flowers are frost-tender and require warm temperatures and high humidity. Most areas of the country are not appropriate, since freezing temperatures in the winter would kill the plants. If you live in USDA hardiness zones 8 or below, plan on bringing any tropical flowers inside to overwinter or getting new plants in late spring. Does this Spark an idea?
Water Garden
Lotus brings up images of the Nile and ancient Egyptians. The plant holds its leaves and flower above the surface of the water. It requires a larger pond than water lilies, since the leaves reach over 2 feet across with flowers the size of grapefruits. Tropical water lily blooms in purples and blues, as well as pinks, yellows, orange and white. Night-blooming lilies scent the evening air.
Sun
Full sun tropical flowers include hibiscus, lantana, pentas and firespike. Hibiscus is a shrub growing to 5 feet high. The flowers are flared, with five petals and a prominent stamen in the middle. The flowers only last a few days on the bush. Colors include red, white, yellow, pink and orange. Lantana has two growth habits. Spreading lantana grows to only 24 inches high but spreads to 5 feet or more. The flowers are tiny, clustered in flat disks an inch across. Upright lantana grows to 5 feet tall and tends to get leggy without trimming. Pentas has star-shaped flowers in vivid pinks and white. The flowers are clustered at the top of the stems. Firespike doesn't bloom until late summer, but when it does, it goes all out with tube-shaped flowers in bright red.
Shade
Cannas have broad leaves from 18 inches to 3 feet long and up to 8 inches broad. Cannas throw up stems up to 5 feet tall with clusters of brightly colored pink, yellow, orange, red and white flowers at the top. Some varieties, such as Canna americanallis, have leaves streaked with yellow or red. Butterfly ginger blooms in white with several hundred flowers at a time that last only a day or so. The flower spikes are up to 5 feet tall. Bromeliads are usually found indoors as potted plants, but under tropical conditions, they will grow outside. Most of the color comes from the bracts, or specialized leaves. However, they will bloom.
Exotic
If you can duplicate the growing conditions of a tropical climate such as Hawaii with lots of humidity and filtered sun, it's possible to grow exotic flowers such as orchids. Proteas, those flowers that look somewhat like pincushions, are grown commercially in well-drained sandy soil with full sun in San Diego.
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