Get to know 20 plants selected from Laos. Discover their scientific names, identifying features and growing needs.
Codiaeum variegatum
Codiaeum variegatum, commonly known as croton, is a striking evergreen shrub grown primarily for its bold, leathery leaves. The leaves come in a dazzling array of colors including green, yellow, orange, red, and purple, often with variegate
Learn more →
Delonix regia
A tropical, evergreen tree to 10m tall and wide in its native Madagascar. It bears elegant, fern-like leaves and clusters of exotic-looking, bright red flowers. In frost-prone areas grow in a temperate greenhouse as foliage plants, since th
Learn more →
Alocasia macrorrhizos
A tropical rhizomatous perennial grown for its huge, glossy mid-green leaves. The leaf blades have pale green veins and can reach 1.2m long; they are carried on erect leaf stalks to 1.2m tall. It may produce a pale green flower in summer. G
Learn more →
Phoenix roebelenii
P. roebelenii is a dwarf palm with a slender trunk, occasionally clustered, bearing pinnately-divided leaves to 1m in length; panicles of small yellow flowers may be followed by small edible black fruit
Learn more →
Psidium guajava
An evergreen shrub or small tree up to 6m tall with prominently-veined, ovate to oblong leaves up to 15cm long with serrated margins. White flowers to 2.5cm across with brush-like clusters of long stamens are borne singly or in small groups
Learn more →
Ocimum gratissimum
This is a tropical shrub or small tree cultivated mainly for therapeutic products, but with all the usual culinary uses of basil. It grows to around 2m tall with green leaves which are furry when young, less so as they mature. They may hav
Learn more →
Tagetes minuta
A tall, upright, half-hardy annual to 1.5m high with deeply-divided, aromatic foliage and heads of small white flowers with yellow centres. Often grown for its reputed ability to repel nematodes and kill weeds by means of root secretions ra
Learn more →
Schefflera arboricola
Schefflera arboricola, commonly known as the Dwarf Umbrella Tree, is an evergreen shrub native to Taiwan. It features palmate compound leaves typically composed of 7-9 leaflets, glossy and leathery. The plant has a compact, bushy habit with
Learn more →
Spathiphyllum wallisii
S. wallisii is an evergreen perennial with erect, lance-shaped, glossy dark green leaves, and ovate white flowering spathes to 15cm in length, each with a slender cream spadix within
Learn more →
Begonia rex
R. rex is an evergreen perennial to 30cm, with large, obliquely ovate leaves which are metallic green with a silvery zone on the upper surface, reddish beneath; panicles of small pink flowers in winter
Learn more →
Aegopodium podagraria
Better known as Ground Elder. A vigorous and invasive clump-forming perennial, it has soft green leaves and white flowers from spring through until the autumn
Learn more →
Helichrysum italicum
H. italicum is a small bushy evergreen sub-shrub with linear, silvery-grey, curry-scented leaves, and small yellow flowerheads in domed clusters
Learn more →
Scadoxus multiflorus
A bulbous perennial, to 1m tall, with broad lance-shaped to oval leaves, up to 45cm long, forming a "stem" of sheathed leaf stalks. In summer produces spherical flowerheads, 10-25cm across, of up to 200 narrow-petalled, red flowers with lon
Learn more →
Phaseolus vulgaris
The wild common bean from which a vast number of edible beans have been bred, including all the 'French' beans. They are annual, twining climbers with green tri-foliate leaves, though many selected varieties are dwarf. The flowers are mostl
Learn more →
Zea mays
Sweetcorn is relatively easy to grow and without a doubt tastes so much better that shop bought. There's a great range of varieties to grow, both heritage and modern, and something to suit most gardens and the shorter British summers. If y
Learn more →
Adenium obesum
A succulent, shrubby perennial with very swollen stem-like caudex tapering to a branched apex bearing small clusters of red, pink or white flowers, which open before the ovate leaves
Learn more →
Dendrobium nobile
An epiphytic orchid often evergreen in cultivation to 30cm tall and with oval leaves 5-8cm long. Trusses of fragrant, rose-pink flowers to 5cm across and with a maroon lip are borne from winter into spring
Learn more →
Tulipa gesneriana
A perennial bulb, with broadly lance shaped green leaves. This tulip was first described in the 1500s, and the species is of uncertain origin; many bulbs with this label are actually hybrids. Flowers are single, and may be red, orange, yell
Learn more →
Podocarpus macrophyllus
Podocarpus macrophyllus is an evergreen conifer with narrow, leathery, dark green leaves that resemble yew. It develops a dense, upright to columnar habit, often branching from the base. Male cones are catkin-like, while female trees produc
Learn more →
Sinningia speciosa
Sinningia speciosa, commonly known as Gloxinia, is a clump-forming perennial with large, velvety, oval leaves that form a rosette. During summer, it produces spectacular trumpet-shaped flowers in shades of purple, red, pink, or white, often
Learn more →