How to get a Bali Style Garden in Melbourne

It would be nice if everyone could live and garden on a tropical island, but unfortunately we can’t. With good species selection and an understanding of how to create a good microclimate, though, even gardeners in Melbourne and southern NSW can give their gardens a resort-style tropical feel — many cold hardy tropical plants will tolerate frost and freezing temperatures once established.

Understanding Your Climate and Microclimate

A zone map of Australia is a good place to start, though Australian zone maps tend to differ from international ones because our winters are comparatively mild.

Temperature isn’t the only factor in plant survival. Soil moisture, humidity, wind and position in the garden all play a role — and some tropical plants simply don’t tolerate wet winters (as in Sydney) and will rot regardless of cold tolerance. The microclimate of your own garden will strongly influence which tropical plants succeed for you.

A few ways to build a better microclimate for tropical plants in a cooler climate:

• Walls protect from wind, radiate heat at night, and keep plants cooler during the day in drier climates
• A canopy planted overhead protects from frost and increases humidity
• Water features or paving add warmth and humidity to the immediate area
• Urban heat works in your favour — cities are usually warmer than surrounding rural areas thanks to the “urban heat island” effect, a bonus for tropical gardeners in Sydney and Melbourne

When and How to Plant

Spring is the best time to buy tropical plants for a cool climate garden. Pot them until they establish roots, then plant out into the garden by summer — this gives maximum growth before winter hits. If you have a greenhouse, you can plant any time of year. Many tropicals will go semi-dormant once temperatures drop below 15°C, which is normal and not a sign of ill health.

Cold Hardy Gingers (Hedychium)

While we think of gingers as tropical, a surprisingly high number come from cooler parts of China and the Himalayas — which is exactly why they’re some of the hardiest tropical plants available. Hedychiums are the easiest gingers for cool climate gardeners. They’ll even grow in frost zones, simply becoming deciduous over winter. Plants grown in cooler gardens are typically shorter than their tropical and subtropical counterparts, but still flower well. Their lush foliage and scented flowers make them a must-have for cool climate tropical gardens, whether in borders, as bedding, or in containers.

• Hedychium coccineum — hardy to -18°C. Purplish stems, flaming orange flower spikes in summer. Tolerates full sun to light shade.
• Hedychium aurantiacum — an Indian variety similar to H. coccineum but with narrower, more upright leaves.
• Hedychium ‘Dr Moy’ — hardy to -15°C. A hybrid of flavum and coccineum, semi-dwarf in habit. Heavy bloomer with tangerine flowers, though it’s the variegated foliage that makes it one of the best hedychium hybrids around.
• Cream hedychium — hardy to -10°C. A robust grower with a long flowering season.

One further note: a sheltered, semi-shaded position suits the more delicate hedychiums best — look for varieties with white flowers and unusual corkscrew stamens if that’s the look you’re after.

Cold Hardy Gingers (Zingiber)

Several zingibers will also grow well outside the tropics and subtropics.

• Zingiber spectabile — hardy to -7°C, may become deciduous. Plant in a well-drained bed or keep potted to avoid wet winter soil.
• Zingiber zerumbet ‘Darceyi’ — hardy to -10°C, deciduous. Bold variegated foliage, flowers basally. Also known as shampoo ginger.

Cold Hardy Alpinias

Alpinias are another good choice for cool climate gardeners.

• Alpinia formosana — hardy to -12°C. Native to Taiwan, with subtle pinstripe variegation.
• Alpinia galangal — hardy to -12°C. An edible ginger widely used in South-East Asian cooking, with lush, dense foliage and aromatic white flowers held on large sprays in summer.
• Alpinia nutans — hardy to -10°C. Often called false cardamom, with aromatic foliage and tough glossy leaves in small dense clumps under 1m tall.
• Alpinia zerumbet (“Shell Ginger”) — hardy to -12°C. Likes a warm, sheltered, sunny spot with plenty of water. Drooping bracts resemble pearly shells, with orchid-like flowers emerging from them.
• Alpinia zerumbet ‘Variegata’ — hardy to -12°C, as above, with yellow and green variegated foliage.

Cold Hardy Costus

Most costus species aren’t suited to temperate gardens, but a handful have proven themselves genuinely hardy.

• Costus comosus — will grow as far south as coastal Sydney in a sheltered position. Red bracts elongate with age, appearing from both the top of the leaves and basally. Leaf undersides are fuzzy.
• Costus pulverulentus — hardy to -7°C. Fuzzy leaves, long overlapping scarlet bracts from the top. A good bed filler.
• Costus spiralis (“Strawberry Bud Costus”) — hardy to -4°C. Pink flowers emerge from rounded, deep pink bracts. Makes an excellent cut flower.
• Costus woodsonii (“French Kiss”) — deciduous in cold climates. Small bright red cones on tall, cane-like stems. Often grown commercially as a cut flower.
• Costus scaber (“Indian Head Costus”) — hardy to -10°C, flowering up to 9 months of the year. Naturally evergreen, but adapts to a deciduous habit and reshoots in frost-prone climates. The largest of the cold hardy costus.

Cold Hardy Curcumas

Curcumas are exclusively deciduous, having evolved dormancy to cope with dry seasons in monsoonal climates — which makes winter dormancy one of the reasons they’re some of the hardiest neotropical gingers available. Most curcumas in our catalogue are suitable for cool climates, but Curcuma australasica — sometimes called the Cape York Lily — is the hardiest of all, and is native to the Top End of Australia.

Cold Hardy Cordylines

Cordylines are one of the easiest ways to bring bold tropical colour into a cool climate garden, and several varieties handle frost without complaint. Their strappy, often richly coloured foliage reads as tropical year-round, and mass planting them (see our budget garden guide) gives an instant designed look even in a small space. They need protection from strong sun and do best in a layered garden when planted outside of the tropics.

Cold Hardy Heliconias

Heliconias are more climate-sensitive than the plants above. In some parts of Victoria (including Melbourne), heliconias will grow, but success depends heavily on microclimate — this is genuinely one to get right, and we’d recommend against planting heliconias in a Victorian garden without an assessment of your specific site and soil.

Ones of the most important things to understand is that there are other factors that will influence your success rate besides temperature and water. Microclimate is the mini climate created in an area that can increase humidity, protect from wind/frost and increase temperature. Urban Island Heat is another concept that allows some tropical to grow better in cities because of the microclimate buildings create. Amending your soil so it is light fluffy and has lots of organic matter is extremely important in cool climate tropical gardens. Winter rain can also be problematic in cooler climates as most tropical become dormant in cooler temperatures and their roots will rot if drainage is insufficient. Excellent drainage is a MUST for heliconias and gingers in Sydney and Melbourne. You’ll find more information on these concepts here.

Heliconias and Gingers will need more protection from the sun and wind in cooler climates. That means you will need morning sun, part shade or a canopy. Heliconias and Gingers will most likely look scrappy in full sun in your climate.

Now armed with a reasonable amount of knowledge you can get into the meat and potatoes of the subject. Which of the heliconias and gingers here will grow best in cooler climates?

First off, I need to say unless you are growing in a hothouse STAY AWAY FROM TORCH GINGERS ANYWHERE BELOW BRISBANE. Yes, they are gorgeous and I know you want them but they’ll be dead long before they flower. They have no cold hardiness.

HELICONIAS

 The good news is, in Sydney and on the Central Coast of New South Wales there are a surprising number of heliconias and gingers that will grow well.

Small to Medium Heliconias for Sydney

Papsiana- dark stems, bright red and white bracts, strong consistent Sydney heliconia (1.5 m tall)

Pendula Bright Red- Deep green leaves, pendulous bright red and white flowers, excellent landscaping plant for Sydney (1.5 m tall)

Pendula Red Waxy-  Beautiful Waxy looking foliage makes it a year round stunner, pendulous red flowers, highly recommended for Sydney Tropical Gardens (2 m tall)

Yellow Dancer- Dark stems, Canary Yellow upright flowers, Excellent cutflower and popular heliconia for Sydney (2 m tall)

Rostrata-   Pendulous red and yellow flowers, striking and a must have for any tropical garden, widely grown dependable, definitely need a bit of shade (2 m tall)

Tropic- Very upright habit small yellow and orange flowers, excellent landscaping plant, good screening heliconia.

Mathaisiae- smallest of the heliconias we sell that is suitable to cooler climates. Red and yellow flowers, flowers well in pots (1 m tall)

Large Growing Heliconias for Sydney

Rauliniana- upright large grower with twisting pendulous red and yellow flowers, excellent

Building a Cold Hardy Tropical Garden

A tropical resort-style garden is genuinely achievable in a cool climate with the right species selection and a good microclimate. The plants above — hardy gingers, alpinias, costus, curcumas, cordylines and selected heliconias — give southern gardeners a real starting point for lush, tropical-feeling planting that survives frost and freezing winters.

Happy gardening!

Ann

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