Plant library
A working library of the plants we recommend planting in our pots, indigenous-first, water-wise where possible, cross-referenced by climate zone, sun, and companion pairings.
Our complete library of 87 South African garden plants, with sun, water and care notes for growing each one in pots and beds.
Spekboom is the workhorse of South African gardens, an indigenous succulent that handles drought, heat, and almost any soil with grace. It clips into a hedge, grows into a small tree, or trails over a wall. Famously carbon-hungry. Indoors near a sunny window or outdoors from Highveld to coast, Spekboom does it all.
Plumbago covers walls, makes informal hedges, and flowers for most of the South African year in clouds of pale sky-blue. Indigenous, butterfly-friendly, drought-tolerant once established, and forgiving of bad soil. Cut it back hard in winter and it returns thicker.
The Krantz aloe is South Africa's winter showpiece, torches of orange-red flowers light up the dead of July, feeding sunbirds when little else is in bloom. Forms a multi-stemmed shrub up to 4 m tall. Bulletproof in drought, light frost, and poor soil. The perfect anchor plant for a water-wise bed.
Dietes is the plant you put where you've given up. Strappy evergreen foliage clumps into 60–100 cm fountains, topped with delicate white iris flowers every few days from September through March. Frost-hardy, drought-tolerant, indifferent to soil quality. Great in pots, mass plantings, or as a low border.
Agapanthus is the picture of a South African midsummer. Blue or white globe heads on metre-tall stalks rise above strappy clumps of evergreen foliage. Loves moisture but forgives drought once established. Spectacular in pots flanking a doorway, in mass plantings along a driveway, or naturalised along a slope.
Wild dagga is theatre. Tiered whorls of bright orange tubular flowers on tall straight stems, blooming from March through August. Sunbirds love it. Drought-tolerant once established and indifferent to soil quality. Cut back hard each spring for the strongest flower display.
Sour fig is the dune-and-sandy-bank specialist. Fleshy three-sided leaves trail along the ground forming a dense mat, scattered with magenta daisy-like flowers each spring. The autumn fruit is genuinely edible, sharp and tangy, the foundation of traditional Karoo jam.
Bulbine is the soft, sociable cousin of the aloe family. Fine grass-like succulent leaves form 30–60 cm clumps, sending up spike after spike of small yellow or orange star-flowers from late winter through summer. The sap soothes burns. Practically indestructible. Goes with almost anything.
Most English lavenders sulk in our humidity, but the 'Margaret Roberts' hybrid was bred for South African gardens, heat-tolerant, summer-flowering, and bushy. Plant it in full sun, water sparingly, prune hard each winter, and you'll get six months of violet flower spikes and a constant hum of bees.
Rosemary asks for nothing except full sun and well-drained soil. In return: aromatic needle-leaves all year, masses of pale-blue flowers in late winter, and a constant flow of leaves into your kitchen. Grows happily in a pot, lives 15+ years if pruned, and bees adore it.
The Bird of Paradise is South African horticulture's calling card, paddle-shaped leaves and orange-and-blue crane-head flowers that sunbirds drink from. Slow to bloom (3–5 years) but rewards you with cut flowers that last weeks. Tender to severe frost; perfect for Cape and coastal gardens or as a Highveld pot plant brought under cover.
Clivia is the shady-courtyard hero. Dark, glossy strap-leaves fan out year-round, then in late winter and early spring it sends up umbels of fiery orange (or rare yellow) trumpet flowers. Drought-tolerant once established. Lives 30+ years and gets more impressive every season.
Crassula ovata, the jade plant, is the South African indigenous succulent that landed in living rooms worldwide. Plump oval leaves stack into a small tree shape over decades. Drought-tolerant to the extreme, light-frost-hardy, indoor or outdoor. The plant equivalent of a sourdough starter: nearly impossible to kill.
Cape honeysuckle is the indigenous answer to bougainvillea, scrambling, fast-growing, and dripping with orange or apricot trumpet flowers from autumn through spring. Train it on a fence, let it sprawl as a shrub, or contain it in a big pot. Sunbirds visit daily during peak bloom.
Vygies are the Western Cape's signature spring show. Low fleshy mats explode into daisy-like flowers in magenta, pink, orange, yellow or white. Drought-proof, salt-tolerant, perfect for hot dry banks and rockeries. Plant a mix of colours for the full Namaqualand effect.
The snake plant is the indoor plant for people who think they can't grow plants. Tough strap-like leaves stand upright in green-and-yellow bands. Tolerates low light, dry air, and weeks without water. NASA tested it for indoor air purification. Outdoor only in frost-free zones.
The King protea wears South Africa's coat of arms for a reason, its bowl-shaped flowers reach 25 cm across, the largest of any protea. Native to the Cape Floral Kingdom, it demands acidic, sandy soil and a Mediterranean climate. Not a beginner plant, but the showpiece of any Cape garden that gets the conditions right.
Star jasmine is the climber you'll smell before you see. Glossy dark leaves cover a fence or trellis with dense evergreen coverage, then in spring the whole vine releases waves of small white star-shaped flowers with a near-overpowering sweet scent. Frost-hardy enough for the Highveld, fast-growing, and surprisingly drought-tolerant once established.
Society garlic is the workhorse of low-maintenance South African edging. Strappy grey-green leaves smell of garlic when bruised, and the lilac star flowers bloom for most of summer. Reportedly repels moles, snakes, and aphids, making it a useful planting at the front of vegetable beds.
Kapokbos brings the silver palette and the aromatic punch of the Cape fynbos to any water-wise garden. The white tufts of late-winter flowers turn into fluffy 'kapok' seedheads that gave the plant its Afrikaans name. Excellent informal hedge or filler between succulents.
Confetti bush is a tidy, rounded fynbos shrub that flowers for half the year. The needle-like foliage releases a citrus-spice scent when brushed, ideal next to pathways. Slightly fussier than kapokbos: it needs good drainage and dislikes both drought stress and waterlogging.
Cape pelargonium is a clumping perennial with soft, silver-grey heart-shaped leaves and improbably dark velvety flowers held high on wiry stems. It thrives in Highveld winters that finish off most plants. The root extract is the active ingredient in the well-known cold remedy Umckaloabo.
Gazanias are the classic Cape coastal ground cover, silver-backed strap leaves that hug the ground and oversized, sun-tracking daisy flowers in every warm colour. They establish fast, ask almost nothing, and bloom for the entire summer.
Wild gardenia is the larger, hardier cousin of the popular florist gardenia, same intoxicatingly fragrant white pinwheel flowers on a tall, structural evergreen shrub. The grey, ribbed fruits last for years and are famously eaten by buffalo and elephant. Plant near a path so the night-scented flowers can do their work.
Plectranthus ecklonii is the workhorse of the shady South African garden, fast, soft-textured, and finishing the year with vertical spires of purple, pink, or white flowers that bring sunbirds in by the dozen. Perfect for filling awkward gaps under trees.
Bride's bush earns its name in November when the entire shrub turns into a cloud of small, sweetly fragrant white flowers. A reliable, compact, evergreen indigenous shrub for mixed beds, and a magnet for swallowtail butterflies.
Sagewood is one of the most reliable indigenous butterfly plants, fast-growing, tough enough for the Highveld, and covered in honey-scented lilac spikes through late winter and early spring. The grey-green leaves smell like sage when rubbed.
When most of the garden is asleep in June, Tetradenia opens great mauve-pink plumes that perfume an entire courtyard. The hairy, soft-textured leaves smell of nutmeg and have a long history of traditional medicinal use. Best in frost-free gardens.
Pig's ear is one of the easiest South African succulents, flat, powder-blue paddle leaves form a low cushion and tall stalks of nodding coral-orange bells appear in mid-summer. A reliable sunbird plant.
Aloe ferox is the iconic single-stemmed aloe of the Eastern and Southern Cape, slow but architecturally striking, with a candelabra of fiery winter flowers that bring sunbirds, weavers, and bees in droves. The sap is the source of the famous Cape bitter aloe extract.
September bush is the workhorse of the coastal Cape garden, fast, tough, and improbably long-flowering. The purple pea-like flowers, each with a fringed white keel, appear from August right through to autumn.
Blue African sage gives the structure of Mediterranean rosemary with the bluest flowers you'll find in an indigenous shrub. Aromatic when brushed, water-wise once established, and a magnet for solitary bees.
Felicia amelloides flowers more than almost anything else in a sunny Cape garden, small sky-blue daisies on wiry stems from late winter right through autumn. Stays compact and dense if regularly deadheaded.
Pride of De Kaap can be grown as a sprawling shrub or trained against a fence as a climber. Either way, you get armfuls of dramatic brick-red flowers shaped like little orchids from November to autumn. A signature lowveld plant for warm, frost-free gardens.
Dymondia is the closest thing South Africa has to a true silver carpet, flat, tough, drought-resistant, and walkable. Slow to establish but, once knit together, it's an almost zero-maintenance alternative to lawn in dry coastal gardens.
The Meyer lemon is the most forgiving pot citrus you can grow, semi-dwarf, hardy to −3°C, and willing to fruit on a sunny patio in a 45 cm pot. The fruit is rounder and less sour than a standard lemon; the flowers smell incredible.
Calamondin is the ornamental citrus everyone falls in love with, a compact tree absolutely loaded with tangerine-orange fruit at the same time as new white blossoms. The fruit is a kitchen workhorse: marmalade, garnishes, calamansi juice.
The kumquat is the most cold-hardy of the pot citrus, happy down to about −5°C if root-protected, and the tree stays naturally small. Fruits are bright orange, finger-tip sized, eaten whole: sweet skin, tart flesh.
The Tahiti lime is the seedless, easy-zest workhorse of cocktail and curry kitchens. Trees fruit almost continuously in warm coastal gardens, but they hate frost, so they're a coastal/lowveld plant in SA.
Figs have been grown in pots for 4,000 years, restricted roots actually encourage fruiting. Choose a self-fertile cultivar like Brown Turkey or Brunswick for SA conditions. Big leaves, low maintenance, two crops in a good year (breba and main).
'Bonanza' is a genetic dwarf, it never grows above 2 m, fruits in its second year, and gives a properly heavy crop of full-size, sweet, yellow-fleshed peaches. Needs Highveld-style winter chill (250+ hours below 7°C) to set fruit reliably.
Cast iron plant earns its name, it survives total neglect, deep shade, and dry air better than almost any other foliage plant. Long, leathery, dark-green leaves rise from underground rhizomes. The single most reliable plant for a really shady corner.
Mondo grass is the easy answer to 'what do I plant under that tree?', strappy dark-green tufts that look like grass but tolerate deep shade, frost, drought, and being walked on. Perfect for cool, shaded courtyard pots.
The peace lily turns a dim corner into a tropical scene. Lush dark-green leaves and pristine white spathes that look like flags. Frost-tender, so it's an indoor plant in winter on the Highveld but lives outside year-round in coastal gardens.
Heucheras have taken over the part-shade pot world thanks to their wildly coloured foliage, bronze, lime, plum, silver, almost-black. Tiny coral bell flowers on tall wiry stems in spring. Hardy enough for the Highveld but hates baking afternoon sun.
Hostas are the ultimate shade-pot foliage plant, broad, sculptural leaves in blues, greens, golds, and creams. They die back in winter and re-emerge spectacularly in spring. Cold-loving, Highveld winters suit them well, hot lowveld doesn't.
Mackaya bella is the most graceful indigenous shrub for dappled or morning sun, masses of pale lilac trumpet-shaped flowers veined in purple, on a tidy, evergreen frame. Forest understory in habit, ideal under a tree canopy or on a south-facing patio.
Mandevillas are the showiest pot-friendly climber, bright, trumpet-shaped flowers in pink, red or white, blooming non-stop through summer. Frost-tender, so a coastal/lowveld plant. Train up a small trellis pushed into the pot.
Cape ivy is South Africa's elegant answer to English ivy, fleshy, ivy-shaped, waxy leaves that catch light and small yellow daisies in winter. Climbs softly, doesn't damage walls. Perfect for shaded patios and morning-sun balconies.
'Iceberg' is the most reliable climbing rose for South African pots, disease-resistant, generously flowering for most of the year, lightly scented. Needs a really big pot (45 cm+), good rose food, and a trellis.
Common sage is one of the easiest, most useful Mediterranean herbs for sunny South African pots, frost-hardy, drought-tolerant, and ready to be picked all year. Bees love the summer flower spikes.
Chives are the ultimate beginner pot herb, almost impossible to kill, snip-and-come-again leaves with a delicate onion flavour, and a flush of cheerful purple pompom flowers in spring. Dies back in winter, returns reliably.
Mexican petunia is one of the easiest summer-long bloomers for a sunny SA pot. Slim arching stems carry purple trumpet-shaped flowers from spring to autumn. Doesn't mind missing a watering. Cut back hard if it sprawls.
Pentas earns its place in the warm-climate pot rotation, flat-topped clusters of tiny star-shaped flowers cover the plant for most of the year. Butterflies and sunbirds love it. Pinch tips for bushier growth.
Black-eyed Susan vine scrambles up a small trellis in a single season, covered with orange or yellow flowers with a deep purple-black throat. Indigenous to SA. Will self-seed gently in warm gardens.
Coleus is grown for foliage so loud you forget the flowers. Hundreds of cultivars in burgundy, lime, pink, chartreuse, often patterned. Loves a warm bright shady patio. Frost will kill it, Highveld treatment is an annual.
Olives are one of the toughest pot trees you can grow in South Africa, drought-tolerant once established, frost-hardy to -8°C, and slow enough to live happily in a 50 cm pot for years. Fruit takes 3–4 years and benefits from cross-pollination, but the silvery foliage alone earns its keep.
The 'Nana' dwarf pomegranate stays under 2 m and is the easiest fruiting shrub for SA pot gardens, handles Highveld frost, Karoo heat, and Cape wind. Bright scarlet flowers in summer turn into smaller-than-supermarket fruit, but every bit as flavourful.
'Issai' is the only mulberry worth growing in a pot, self-pollinating, dwarf-statured, and capable of fruiting in its first year. The 3-month berry season runs Oct through Jan; expect a steady trickle rather than a glut, perfect for a family of four.
Guava is the easiest fruit tree for warm SA gardens, frost-tender, but in Lowveld and coastal areas it'll out-fruit any citrus. Pink-fleshed cultivars are sweeter; white-fleshed types are tangier. In a 50 cm pot, it'll fruit twice a year.
'Wurtz' (a.k.a. 'Little Cado') is the world's only true dwarf avocado, stays under 3 m, self-pollinating, and capable of producing pear-shaped Hass-like fruit in a 55 cm pot. Needs winter protection in any inland garden; coastal Cape and Lowveld are ideal.
'Sunshine Blue' is the easiest blueberry for SA gardens, semi-evergreen, self-fertile, and the lowest chill-hour requirement of any cultivar. The catch: blueberries need acidic soil (pH 4.5–5.5), which is exactly why a pot full of azalea or ericaceous mix is the ideal home.
'Albion' is a day-neutral strawberry, it flowers and fruits continuously from August through to autumn, doesn't care about day length, and is happy in a 20 cm pot. Plant 3–5 runners per medium pot for a steady supply of dessert berries.
Cape gooseberries (called appelliefies on most SA farms) are short-lived perennials that fruit prolifically in their first year from seed. Each plant produces hundreds of golden berries inside papery husks, eat fresh, jam, or chocolate-dip. Self-seeds readily if you let one fruit drop.
Goji berries thrive in tough conditions, frost-hardy to -15°C, drought-tolerant, and content in poor soil. Each plant produces hundreds of small, bright orange-red berries with a sweet-tart flavour. Pot growing actually improves fruiting by stressing the roots.
Granadilla is the most rewarding climber in any SA garden, extravagant purple-and-white flowers, intensely fragrant fruit, and capable of swallowing a trellis in one season. In a 45 cm pot against a wall trellis or pergola, it'll fruit prolifically from year 1 for about 4–5 years before needing replacement.
'Anna' is the most widely-grown pot apple in South Africa. Bred for low chill hours (only 200-300, vs 700+ for most apples), it fruits reliably from Lowveld to Highveld. Self-fertile but cross-pollinates beautifully with a 'Dorsett Golden' for double yields.
The naartjie (mandarin) is South Africa's favourite winter fruit. In a 45 cm pot it stays under 3 m, fruits every winter from year 3, and shrugs off Highveld frost down to -3 C. Cultivars like 'Satsuma' and 'Clementine' are seedless and pop off the segment with no effort.
'Santa Rosa' is the easiest pot plum for South African gardens - self-fertile (no second tree needed), frost-hardy to -10 C, and willing to fruit in a 50 cm pot. The flesh is wine-red, juicy, and best eaten straight off the tree.
'Bulida' is the apricot most SA nurseries stock - bred for hot dry summers, frost-hardy to -8 C, and self-fertile so a single tree fruits. Expect 5-10 kg of fruit per pot tree from year 3 onwards.
Nectarines are essentially smooth-skinned peaches - same family, same care, same pot size. 'Flavortop' is the SA grower-favourite for its balance of sweetness and acidity. Self-fertile, frost-hardy, and prolific in a 50 cm pot from year 2.
'Super Dwarf Cavendish' is the only banana sensible for a pot - it tops out at 1.5 m and still produces a full bunch of real Cavendish bananas. Tropical, frost-tender, and thirsty, so best on a sheltered Lowveld or coastal patio. In the Highveld treat it as a movable pot and bring indoors below 5 C.
Aloe vera is the staple succulent in every SA garden centre - drought-tough, sun-loving, and the gel inside its leaves is the classic remedy for kitchen burns. Indoors on a bright windowsill or outdoors in a Cape, Lowveld or Garden Route patio. Frost-tender, so bring under cover below freezing.
Bougainvillea is the riot of magenta papery 'flowers' (technically bracts) you see draped over Cape Town garages and Lowveld walls. In a 45 cm pot trained against a wall trellis or pergola it grows fast, flowers for half the year, and barely needs water once established. Frost-tender below -2 C.
Each Hibiscus flower lasts only one day, but a well-fed plant pumps out new blooms continuously from October to April. In a 40 cm pot it stays a compact 2 m shrub, perfect for coastal, Lowveld, or sheltered Cape patios. Frost-tender, so wheel under cover or treat as a movable feature plant in cold gardens.
Frangipani is the tropical bare-branched feature tree with intensely-perfumed waxy flowers from November to March. Deciduous in winter - looks like dead sticks - then bursts back into leaf and flower. A 45 cm pot suits a 3 m specimen perfectly. Best in Lowveld, coastal, and Garden Route gardens. Frost will kill it.
Hydrangea is the floral workhorse for shady SA gardens - big rounded blooms from November through summer. Flower colour follows soil pH: alkaline = pink, acidic = blue. In a 40 cm pot you can tune the colour by changing the soil mix. Frost-hardy but the leaves wilt fast in dry heat, so morning sun only.
Mint is the kitchen herb everyone needs and nobody should plant in the ground - it spreads aggressively via underground runners. In a 25 cm pot it stays contained, fills out fast, and gives you a year-round supply for tea, mojitos, and lamb. Frost-hardy: it dies back in winter and re-shoots in spring.
Sweet basil is the pesto and caprese herb - a heat-loving annual that bolts at the first cold snap. In a 20 cm pot on a sunny patio (or kitchen windowsill) it'll keep you in fresh leaves from November to autumn. Pinch the flower buds off to extend harvest.
Parsley is technically biennial - leaves year one, flowers and seed year two. In a 20 cm pot a single plant feeds a family. Frost-hardy and prefers a bit of afternoon shade in hot Lowveld gardens. Flat-leaf has more flavour than curly; better for cooking.
Thyme is a Mediterranean low-grower that thrives on neglect - dry, sunny, free-draining and that's it. In a 20 cm pot it forms a tight cushion of tiny aromatic leaves. Lilac flowers in early summer are a bee magnet. Harvest sprigs all year. Frost-hardy to -10 C.
Oregano is the dried-herb staple of every kitchen - and the flavour is at its best when the plant is slightly stressed (drier soil, hot sun, less feed). In a 20 cm pot it forms a low spreading clump that flowers in midsummer. Cut back after flowering for a second harvest.
English box is the evergreen structure plant - tight glossy leaves you can clip into balls, pyramids, low hedges, or geometric shapes. A pair of clipped box balls in concrete pots is the signature SA formal entrance. Slow growing (10 cm/year), frost-hardy, and lives for decades.
Carex 'Frosted Curls' is the ornamental sedge that pairs perfectly with a concrete pot - its silvery-green hair-thin foliage tumbles over the rim like a fountain. Evergreen, frost-hardy, and asks for almost nothing. Pet-safe, low-maintenance, and a designer favourite.
Most cycads need huge pots. The cardboard cycad is the exception - it stays under 1.5 m, has stiff feathery leaves that feel like thick paper, and lives happily in a 40 cm pot for decades. Drought-tough, sculptural, and a fraction of the price of indigenous SA cycads.
NZ flax is the high-architecture pot plant - upright sword-shaped leaves in green, bronze, or maroon, perfect against a smooth concrete pot. Drought-tough, frost-hardy, pet-safe, and lives for 20+ years in a 45 cm pot. The dramatic red flower spike in summer attracts sunbirds.
Camellia flowers from autumn into spring when nothing else does - perfectly-formed pink, red, or white blooms set against glossy dark evergreen leaves. Needs acidic soil (ericaceous mix), morning sun, afternoon shade. A 40 cm pot of acid-mix gives you the right conditions even if your garden soil is alkaline. Long-lived.