Hi,
I live in N.CA where we don't get any rain from april until oct or nov. and its hot here so it requires lots of water. That being said I love tropicals and this is my best suggestions. Compost, lots and lots of compost. It help keep the soil damp and helps keep the weeds out. I put about 4 inches on top of the soil all around the plants. Something else that I have not tried yet is lasanga bed. you put down newspaper and put compost on top of that and more newspaper and more compost. It sounds good but like I said I haven't tried it yet. I have quite a bid of shade in my yard. My brugs get no more than 1/2 day sun the rest is shade. It seems like every time they start to bloom we have a heat wave ( its 104 today and very dry) and the flowers only last a day. Just my luck. I sure hope that is at least a little help.
Linda