Taste of the Tropics: Mandevilla, Hibiscus and Bougainvillea

Start your own heat wave with these exotic beauties.

By: Lynn Coulter

Photo By: Image courtesy of Costa Farms

Photo By: Image courtesy of Suntory Collection

Photo By: Image courtesy of Costa Farms

Photo By: Image courtesy of Sunvillea

Photo By: Image courtesy of Costa Farms

Hibiscus like full sun and warm temperatures.

This new multi-colored hibiscus variety adds beautiful color to the garden.

This lush mandevilla features a high impact red color.

This sumptuous hibiscus features double-ruffled pink blooms.

Sunvillea ‘Rose,’ which grows only about 4-8 inches high and 3 to 6 inches wide—it really is small, for a bougainvillea!

This hibiscus cultivar features showy blossoms and a sunset-evocative color pattern.

This hibiscus does best in moist, organic soil. Regular and deep watering is advised to keep this beauty blooming.

Winner of a Royal Horticultural Society award of Garden Merit, 'Blue Bird' provides reliable summer color with its lovely violet hue.

Dinner-plate sized blooms and hot pink flowers make this hibiscus a garden show-stopper.

This gorgeous twining mandevilla boasts trumpet-like flowers and is a great plant for an arbor or trellis.

If you're looking for drama from your bougainvillea, a plant called 'Scarlet O'Hara' is just the ticket.