Tropical Plants that flower and fruit in winter.
Winter flowering plants earn their place twice over. They lift a garden when everything else has gone quiet, and they feed birds through the leanest months of the year.
These plants flower through winter here on the Cassowary Coast. Our winters are mild and the Wet Tropics rarely stops growing. Further south, expect flowering to shift later or pause in the cold — worth checking against your own conditions before you buy.
For nectar feeders, winter matters most. Honeyeaters and lorikeets work harder for food when little is in bloom. A few well-chosen plants can carry them through.
The visual payoff is just as real. Colour in July, when a garden would otherwise be all foliage and waiting, changes how the whole place feels.
We grow these in the Wet Tropics, so they arrive established and ready to flower in their season.
Flowering Trees, Shrubs and Vines
Must have winter flowering shrub for tropical gardens!
Flowering Trees, Shrubs and Vines
Great for pots or massed planted. Low maintenance, high performance landscaping plant for tropical gardens. We also have bulk buys available because we love it so much.
Flowering Trees, Shrubs and Vines
Dombeya wallichii (Pink Ball Tree) is a fast‑growing tropical shrub with big pink flower clusters that bloom through the cooler months. It’s perfect for adding winter colour, attracting nectar feeders like bees and butterflies.
Flowering Trees, Shrubs and Vines
Scutellaria costaricana can flower all year round and is great for attracting nectar feeders to your garden. The yellow form being sold here packs a solid punch of rich yellow in garden beds. Generally grows a meter or less, can be cut back to maintain shape. In cooler climates this makes an excellent pot plant, it does not like wet feet but needs regular watering. .
Flowering Trees, Shrubs and Vines
Starburst Clerodendrum is an attractive large growing shrub native to New Guinea and the Philippines. Clusters of pink to white, colored flowers that burst into bloom through late winter till early spring.. The explosion of blooms is truly stunning, with each flower head being made up of dozens of smaller 5cm long flowers. The foliage is attractive with a green top and strong purple underside. This is an excellent feature plant/landscaping plant for tropical and subtropical gardens. It's a shame that it isn't used more. They make a spectacular hedge.
Flowering Trees, Shrubs and Vines
I highly recommend Aphelandra hartwegiana as an interesting feature plant but more so as a sunbird attractor. The long lasting flowers attract nectar feeders all though the winter.
Flowering Trees, Shrubs and Vines
Clerodendrum paniculatum is semiwoody shrub with large evergreen leaves and huge showy clusters of orange-red or scarlet flowers held above the foliage. Showy display lasts from summer through autumn with additional sporadic flowering throughout the year in frost free climates. Also known as Butterfly Bush as it attracts many nectar feeders including sunbirds and butterflies.