Garden plants for Vietnam
113 plants that appear on garden plant lists for Vietnam: vegetables, herbs, fruit, flowers, shrubs and trees that gardeners there commonly grow, native or introduced. Each links to a growing guide with spacing, sun, water, hardiness, toxicity and sources.
Vietnam spans more than one climate. Being on this list does not mean a plant suits your own site: check its hardiness and water needs against your local conditions, and avoid plants listed as invasive in your area.
Plan a garden with these plants →
Vegetables (21)
- Arrowroot (West Indian arrowroot) Maranta arundinacea
- Bitter melon Momordica charantia · invasive in some regions
- Bok choy Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis
- Cha-om (climbing wattle shoots) Senegalia pennata subsp. insuavis
- Chili pepper Capsicum annuum (hot types)
- Chinese water chestnut (mÇŽtĂ) Eleocharis dulcis
- Cucumber Cucumis sativus
- Elephant foot yam (suran, buk) Amorphophallus paeoniifolius
- Katuk (sweet leaf, phak wan ban) Breynia androgyna
- Konjac (devil’s tongue) Amorphophallus konjac
- Lablab (hyacinth bean, tua paep) Lablab purpureus
- Longevity spinach (sambung nyawa) Gynura procumbens
- Minari (water dropwort) Oenanthe javanica
- Mung bean Vigna radiata
- Phak wan pa (melientha) Melientha suavis
- Ridge gourd (turai) Luffa acutangula
- Tannia (malanga, yautĂa, cocoyam) Xanthosoma sagittifolium
- Tonkin jasmine (cowslip creeper, dok khachon) Telosma cordata
- Vegetable hummingbird (agati, dok khae) Sesbania grandiflora
- Water spinach (kangkong) Ipomoea aquatica · invasive in some regions
- Yanang (bamboo grass vine) Tiliacora triandra
Herbs (12)
- Betel leaf Piper betle
- Black pepper Piper nigrum
- Fingerroot (krachai, temu kunci) Boesenbergia rotunda
- Fish mint (dokudami, rau diếp cá) Houttuynia cordata
- Japanese indigo (ai, dyer’s knotweed) Persicaria tinctoria
- Lemongrass Cymbopogon citratus
- Mint Mentha spicata
- Perilla (shiso) Perilla frutescens · invasive in some regions
- Rice paddy herb (ngò om) Limnophila aromatica
- Thai basil Ocimum basilicum var. thyrsiflora
- Vietnamese balm (kinh giá»›i) Elsholtzia ciliata
- Vietnamese coriander Persicaria odorata
Fruit (29)
- Ambarella (June plum) Spondias dulcis
- Banana Musa x paradisiaca
- Bignay (mao luang) Antidesma bunius
- Burmese grape (ma-fai) Baccaurea ramiflora
- Calamansi Citrus Ă— microcarpa
- Cashew Anacardium occidentale
- Custard apple (bullock’s heart) Annona reticulata
- Dragon fruit (pitaya) Selenicereus undatus
- Guava Psidium guajava · invasive in some regions
- Hog plum (ma-kok, amra) Spondias pinnata
- Indian jujube (ber, phutsa) Ziziphus mauritiana · invasive in some regions
- Jackfruit Artocarpus heterophyllus
- Jamaican cherry (calabura, takhop farang) Muntingia calabura · invasive in some regions
- Langsat (duku) Lansium parasiticum
- Longan Dimocarpus longan
- Lychee Litchi chinensis
- Ma-dan (Garcinia schomburgkiana) Garcinia schomburgkiana
- Malay apple (jambu bol) Syzygium malaccense
- Mamey sapote Pouteria sapota
- Mango (dwarf) Mangifera indica
- Papaya Carica papaya
- Pomelo Citrus maxima
- Santol Sandoricum koetjape
- Sapodilla (chico, lamut) Manilkara zapota
- Soursop (guanábana) Annona muricata
- Star apple (caimito) Chrysophyllum cainito
- Star gooseberry (Otaheite gooseberry, ma-yom) Phyllanthus acidus
- Sugar apple (sweetsop) Annona squamosa
- Wax apple (chomphu) Syzygium samarangense
Flowers (10)
- Bougainvillea Bougainvillea glabra
- Four-season orchid (jian lan, sword-leaved cymbidium) Cymbidium ensifolium
- Jewel orchid Ludisia discolor
- Moon orchid (moth orchid) Phalaenopsis amabilis
- Night-scented lily (giant upright elephant ear) Alocasia odora
- Noble dendrobium Dendrobium nobile
- Queen of the night (Dutchman’s pipe cactus) Epiphyllum oxypetalum
- Rangoon creeper Combretum indicum · invasive in some regions
- Sacred lotus Nelumbo nucifera
- Tropical hibiscus Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
Shrubs (15)
- Bengal clock vine (blue trumpet vine) Thunbergia grandiflora · invasive in some regions
- Chinese perfume plant (mock lime, prayong) Aglaia odorata
- Coral ardisia (manryō) Ardisia crenata · invasive in some regions
- Crape jasmine (pinwheel flower, phut) Tabernaemontana divaricata
- Frangipani (plumeria) Plumeria rubra
- Golden trumpet (allamanda) Allamanda cathartica · invasive in some regions
- Jungle geranium (ixora) Ixora coccinea
- Lady palm (bamboo palm, rhapis) Rhapis excelsa
- Ming aralia Polyscias fruticosa
- Mussaenda (Doña Aurora) Mussaenda philippica
- Night-blooming jessamine (dama de noche) Cestrum nocturnum · invasive in some regions
- Robusta coffee Coffea canephora
- True indigo Indigofera tinctoria
- Water jasmine (mok) Wrightia religiosa
- Yellow apricot blossom (hoa mai) Ochna integerrima
Trees (23)
- Areca nut palm (betel nut palm, mak) Areca catechu
- Beach she-oak (coast she-oak, Australian pine) Casuarina equisetifolia · invasive in some regions
- Burma padauk (pradu) Pterocarpus macrocarpus
- Cassia (Chinese cinnamon) Cinnamomum cassia
- China fir Cunninghamia lanceolata
- Chinese parasol tree (wutong) Firmiana simplex · invasive in some regions
- Coconut palm Cocos nucifera
- Flame of the forest (palash) Butea monosperma
- Indian trumpet tree (broken bones tree, pheka) Oroxylum indicum
- Kadam Neolamarckia cadamba
- Orchid tree (mountain ebony) Bauhinia variegata · invasive in some regions
- Purple orchid tree (butterfly tree, Bauhinia purpurea) Bauhinia purpurea
- Queen’s crape myrtle (banaba) Lagerstroemia speciosa
- Rosy trumpet tree (chomphu phanthip) Tabebuia rosea
- Sacred fig (peepal, bodhi tree) Ficus religiosa
- Spanish cherry (bullet wood, phikun) Mimusops elengi
- Star anise Illicium verum
- Sugar palm (aren) Arenga pinnata
- Takhian (Hopea odorata) Hopea odorata
- Tiew (pink mempat, phak tiu) Cratoxylum formosum
- White champaka (champi) Magnolia Ă— alba
- Yang na (gurjun oil tree) Dipterocarpus alatus
- Yellow flame tree (copperpod, non si) Peltophorum pterocarpum
Grasses (1)
- Rice (Asian rice) Oryza sativa
Groundcovers (2)
- Creeping fig (climbing fig) Ficus pumila
- Lolot (wild betel) Piper sarmentosum
Reference values for planning, not horticultural, veterinary or medical advice. Varieties, soils and local climates differ: check with a local nursery or extension service.