Turn a sunny patio into a tropical oasis

This summer take a tropical vacation in your own backyard. Group some tropical, or tropical-looking, plants on a deck or patio, add a water feature and some comfortable seating, and find the recipe for a favorite fruity cocktail.

If the deck or patio is sunny, beefsteak plants, bananas, cannas, coleus, crotons, hibiscus, mandevillas and sweet potato vines are all candidates for containers.

The foliage of Iresine herbstii, commonly called beefsteak plant or blood leaf, amps up the color in containers. Blazin Rose shows off bright rose, pink and dark red leaves; brilliantissima displays purplish-red foliage with pink veins; and aureoreticulata features yellow-veined green leaves. They grow up to 18 inches tall and wide. Plant beefsteak plants where they will be protected from the hot afternoon sun and pinch stems to keep them from getting leggy.

Bold and grandiose, bananas quickly grow to umbrella-like stature. Plant them in a spot with protection from strong winds to reduce damage to their large green leaves tinted with burgundy. Bananas need consistent moisture so plant them with other moisture-loving tropicals. They are also heavy feeders. Apply a balanced fertilizer every week or two.

Choose cannas for their brilliant, showy flowers and banana-like foliage. Hybridizers have created varieties perfect for containers. Dwarf types are available that grow to more than 2 feet tall. The new Canova series grows 3 to 4 feet tall with flowers that begin blooming earlier than other cannas in eight dazzling colors. Cannas prefer moist soil and deadheading to ensure continuous bloom until frost. Hummingbirds love their flowers as much as gardeners.

There are many varieties of coleus with outstanding foliage. Their leaves may be solid colored or patterned in tones of green, orange, pink, red and yellow. There are cultivars for full sun, full shade and conditions in between. Coleus are prized fillers for tropical containers.

I fell in love with crotons last year. The variety that captured my heart had large, shiny, dark green leaves edged and veined in yellow, pink and red. It was the thriller in a pot with bright green ferns, impatiens and creeping Jenny trailing over the edge. Crotons reportedly prefer sunshine, but they performed beautifully on my shady front porch last summer. Water often enough to keep the soil slightly moist, but not soggy.

Plant hibiscus to admire their tropical flowers in bright shades of pink, red, yellow or white. They can be found as small plants, large bushes and as patio trees. Hibiscus have periods of abundant blooms followed by a period of rest before blooming begins again - so don't be alarmed if they take a break a couple times throughout the summer. Give them respite from the hottest afternoon sun and good drainage. Water only when the soil begins to dry and fertilize with a slow-release balanced fertilizer.

Also chosen for their tropical flowers, mandevilla and dipladenia are often mistaken as the other, but there are differences. The foliage of dipladenias is a bit smaller and their habit is more shrublike than the vining nature of mandevillas. They both boast gorgeous, funnel-shaped pink, red or white flowers and bloom without pause all summer. Moist, but well-drained soil and a bit of shade during the hottest part of the day is preferred.

Sweet potato vines are terrific trailers in tropical planters. Chartreuse-foliaged varieties brighten designs; purple-leaved types add sultry tones.

If sweet potato vines grow too exuberantly for your liking, creeping Jenny is a bright, but less brazen, alternative. Its tiny golden leaves fall like chains over edges of containers.

Think of the money saved on airfare and hotel rooms as you spend an hour or two every evening enjoying the tropical getaway in your own backyard. Homeowners with shady gardens can enjoy a tropical paradise, too. Watch next week's column for tropical plants for shady decks and patios.

• Diana Stoll is a horticulturist, garden writer and speaker. She blogs at gardenwithdiana.com.