Tropical Plants with Really Big Leaves

When we think of a tropical garden, one word comes to mind: green. Enormous green leaves, almost prehistoric in their shapes and sizes, drape the rainforest canopy, sway in gentle sea breezes on equatorial islands, and frame Florida pools. Large-leafed plants like giant rhubarb, banana tree and tree philodendron are at the center of tropical gardens around the world.

Scientists have long known that, the plants from humid and hot areas tend to have the biggest leaves, while those in arid or cold climes sport smaller ones. But it is only in the last few years that it has been determined exactly why that is.

Large leaves with lots of green surface area heat up more quickly and provide a greater expanse for photosynthesis. But too much heat will burn and damage the leaf’s surface. Plants cool themselves through evaporation. This strategy is available in the wet tropical environment but not in equally hot, but dry zones, like the desert, where plant leaves tend to be much smaller. Also, those large leaves are much harder to keep warm and so are much more susceptible to cold nights.

Knowing why many tropical plants produce such large leaves can help us understand how to take care of them, be they in a tropical garden or growing in our home as houseplants. They need a consistently warm and humid environment to grow and thrive.

If you are considering putting in a tropical garden, using beds or pots, you will want to grow some of these large-leaved beauties. Here are a few of our favorites:

Most of these plants will grow year-round outdoors only in the warmest of the USDA plant hardiness zones. But many are also popular houseplants that can spend colder months indoors and the summer outside in a sunny spot.

If you do plan on moving some of the large-leaf tropical plants in and out in the house with the seasons, remember to plant them in a pot that is easy to move.