salt air tolerant container plants-tropical??
 

My friend lives five floors above the beach in Manzanillo, Mexico and is wishing to grow pretty things in big pots. He's lost and few and needs suggestions...

any thoughts, photos?

thanx

Re: salt air tolerant container plants-tropical??
 

Salt-Tolerant Plants: Flowers and Foliage

Ivy geraniums (Pelargonium peltatum), commonly used in hanging baskets.
Portulaca: Drought-tolerant annual.
Lantana plants: Treated as an annual in cooler climes, lantanas are perennials in Florida.
Coleus blumei: Traditionally used as an annual to provide foliage in the landscape.
Kalanchoe: Perennial in Florida.
Daylilies (Hemerocallis spp.): Moderately salt-tolerant plants.
Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia spp.)
Salt-Tolerant Plants: Groundcovers and Vines

Bar Harbor juniper (Juniperus horizontalis 'Bar Harbor')
English Ivy Plants (Hedera helix): One of the most popular invasive plants
Lilyturf (Liriope spicata)
Virginia creeper vines (Parthenocissus quinquefolia): Another invasive, but indigenous to North America.
Three salt-tolerant plants grown in Florida are the following vines:

Confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides)
Flowering jasmine (Jasminum floridum)
Bougainvillea
Salt-Tolerant Plants: Shrubs

Rosa rugosa: That hardy, salt-tolerant plant, the "beach rose."
Sumac, including staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina (hirta))
Winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata)
Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica)
Bayberry shrubs, famous for the candles made from their berries, are best grown in zones 2-8. But the "waxy" equivalent for a salt-tolerant plant in Florida is wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera). Three other salt-tolerant plants grown in Florida are the following shrubs:

Florida privet (Forestiera segregata)
Sandankwa viburnum (Viburnum suspensum)
Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria)
Salt-Tolerant Plants: Trees

Norway maples and Amur maples
Pin oaks, white oaks and red oaks
Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana): Salt-tolerant plant commonly grown as far south as Northern Florida.
Southern red cedar (Juniperus silicicola): Salt-tolerant plant grown in Southern Florida
Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens): One of the types of palm trees that tolerate salt very well. Saw palmetto reaches a height of 10-20 feet.
Date palm trees (Phoenix dactylifera) are taller palm trees (50 feet) that are cold-hardy to 18 degrees Fahrenheit. The University of Florida Extension lists date palm trees as moderately salt-tolerant.

Re: salt air tolerant container plants-tropical??
 

About Phoenix palms, they love salt, there's just so many of them around Mediterranean, that it's not funny anymore. The further to the continent you go, the less Phoenixes you see.

Re: salt air tolerant container plants-tropical??
 

what is the point growing something that does not produce food?

Re: salt air tolerant container plants-tropical??
 

Phoenix dactyilifera is cultivated for its fruit fruit (dates) and other uses. Its one of the most usful palms there are in Middle East and many people depend on it.

Re: salt air tolerant container plants-tropical??
 

Ewitte, as an Aroider, I'll tell you that the point of growing some things that are not edible is purely aesthetic. They're pretty.

JJ, your friend can also look at Maranta, Ctenanthe, and that group, and Canna - these are very common seaside garden plants here. If he's very adventurous, he can try a potted Framboyan (Delonix regia).