Cold hardy tropicals?

[BeaumontTropics]

hey palmers,

does anyone know of any tropical looking plants that will take a freeze? I know bromeliads are most likely out, even though some tell me there are types that are cold hardy. I have cana liilys as those are great, they cut down in the winter but they bounce back big time in the summer. Is there anything else I can use throughout my landscape? I'm looking to fill in a planter for smaller plants to grow underneath palms. Pictured is the area i wish to totally consume with cold hardy tropical plants, (if there are any?)

[Xenon]

I think cordyline, caladium, phormium, sansevieria, calla lilies, spider plants, agaves, aloes and a lot of begonias, philodendrons, and gingers are frost hardy.

Jonathan

Edited July 10, 2010 by Xenon

[BeaumontTropics]

I think cordyline, caladium, phormium, sansevieria, calla lilies, spider plants, agaves, aloes and a lot of begonias and gingers are frost hardy.

Jonathan

what about water needs? I know many varieties of succulents appear tropical, however, under the umbrella of the palms I have featured, (sabals, roystoneas, kings, etc.) i fear they will get too much water..Cordylines sound appealing, I didn't think they were very hardy..thanks for the info, I'm going to delve into research mode now!

[Kailua_Krish]

As far as bromeliads they grow Achemea gamosepala in Gainesville which is a zone 8b/9a. I also have heard that Bilbergia nutans is hardy to around 8a temps and Bilbergia pyrimidalis is good to around 9a, but I havent had either of these overwinter in my garden. Then of course you have the aroids like alocasia and colocasia which can survive quite cold weather, and some of the larger crinums look very tropical. Heliconia schnideriana supposedlu grows well but doesnt flower where it gets really cold. Also bananas look really tropical. Hope this helps some!

-Krishna

P.S. I had a Laelia aniceps survive our winter unscathed which was freezing down at 20 degrees or possibly lower for quite some time.

[kahili]

what are the lowest temps that you get in the winter? there are lots of tropicals that are root hardy that I can grow here in zone 7b/8a that will come back every spring. Many types of gingers (esp hedychiums), some different types of bananas, many alocasias and colocasias, some lantanas. All of the above, for sure you can easily grow-also at least one type of helicona, agapanthus, agaves, yuccas. aloes. All of the above can handle lots of water. I don't think that caladiums can handle frost that well, let alone any freezing temps, same with some of the cordylines (ti plants).

Check out what grows in your neighbors yards and areas right around you-esp yards where there is a lot of variety, that will give you a pretty good idea of what you can do.

[Xenon]

I think cordyline, caladium, phormium, sansevieria, calla lilies, spider plants, agaves, aloes and a lot of begonias and gingers are frost hardy.

Jonathan

what about water needs? I know many varieties of succulents appear tropical, however, under the umbrella of the palms I have featured, (sabals, roystoneas, kings, etc.) i fear they will get too much water..Cordylines sound appealing, I didn't think they were very hardy..thanks for the info, I'm going to delve into research mode now!

Cordyline fruticosa does quite well during Houston warm spells so they should do quite well for you, considering you're growing Roystonea, Archontophoenix, Chambreyonia etc.

If C.fruticosa is too tender, there are plenty of C.australis cultivars available, hardy to 17F. I think Phormium/New Zealand Flax should do really well for you.

Edited July 10, 2010 by Xenon

[Kailua_Krish]

If you can grow kings and royals then many tropicals should do well for you, all the advice given so far has been assuming you lived in 9a or less

-Krishna

[BeaumontTropics]

If you can grow kings and royals then many tropicals should do well for you, all the advice given so far has been assuming you lived in 9a or less

-Krishna

I have kings and royals and some other tropic palms. However, in order for them to survive my winter, I wrap them in cotton, then layer over with burlap sacks, xmas lights, low voltage landscape lighting, etc. Even still they don't flourish. They do great in summer, like right now for example. Our extreme heat temps around 92F-102F are great for some of those palms, especially when incorporating misting systems, heavy mulch and pearl stone soil toppers for maximum humidity.

We get fairly cold here in the winter. This winter was unusually wet, and we received snow on three different occasions! The Chamberyonia did not like the idea of a winter wonderland at all. At one point this winter, we touched down to 24F for a few hours. We are usually right there in the high 20's to low 30's during our coldest months, dec and January. Our elevation is almost to 3000 ft. Our biggest rival is the wind. Those cool, dry Santa Ana Winds come down off of Big Bear Mountain and the San Gorgonio Pass and we get whipping cold winds at 50mph gusts, for several days sometimes. That's where the real challenge comes into play with some of these more exotics.

As for the other tropical plants I'm considering, I just need something that's a little more reassuring than the kings, royals, chambos, etc. It's a tall order already to care after the ones I have, so I'm not looking to make my troubles any more daunting. And I'm looking for plants that can take some sun, like the shade, be a good fill for underneath palms, and not mind a large amount of water. Even with mulch, my arid conditions here in the summer require a lot of water for some of these palms. Especially the royals, kings, majestys, and caryotas.

thank you for your input thus far. I've already researched a ton online for some of these you've mentioned. I'll be nursery hunting for many of these this weekend! thanks again!

[peachy]

All the bird of paradise varieties are frost hardy, but the giant bird of paradise gets tatty looking. Also agapanthus can take a freeze.

Peachy

[BeaumontTropics]

what are the lowest temps that you get in the winter? there are lots of tropicals that are root hardy that I can grow here in zone 7b/8a that will come back every spring. Many types of gingers (esp hedychiums), some different types of bananas, many alocasias and colocasias, some lantanas. All of the above, for sure you can easily grow-also at least one type of helicona, agapanthus, agaves, yuccas. aloes. All of the above can handle lots of water. I don't think that caladiums can handle frost that well, let alone any freezing temps, same with some of the cordylines (ti plants).

Check out what grows in your neighbors yards and areas right around you-esp yards where there is a lot of variety, that will give you a pretty good idea of what you can do.

kahili,

The only thing my neighbors grow are liquid ambers and magnolia trees. With the exception to queen palms/ canary/washie/and pygmys, there's only one other grower in my town with anything other than those palms. Nobody grows interesting palms here, i have no idea why. The climate can be challenging sure, but there's still so many species that will thrive here that no one has. I guess everybody here just thinks we grow cherry trees!

[Alicehunter2000]

As has been mentioned, many types of alocasia's and calocasia's (elephant ears) would do well there. They might die back in the winter, but come roaring back with warm weather. Buy a bag of potting soil....plant them, water heavily and stand back. Very tropical looking. Caladiums will also come back and add some color. Banana's and Bird of Paradise will die/spring back as well. I struggle with my zone, which sounds somewhat similar to yours, every year...but always manage to find suvivors. Sometimes it is just hit and miss and experimentation. Don't get bummed out if something doesn't work. Just try something else. I am currently looking into "Hosta's" as they are plenty cold hardy, shade loving, lots of varieties and tropical looking IMO. Cast Iron plants are great too....evergreen and tough as nails for shady areas.

[Kailua_Krish]

If you can grow kings and royals then many tropicals should do well for you, all the advice given so far has been assuming you lived in 9a or less

-Krishna

I have kings and royals and some other tropic palms. However, in order for them to survive my winter, I wrap them in cotton, then layer over with burlap sacks, xmas lights, low voltage landscape lighting, etc. Even still they don't flourish. They do great in summer, like right now for example. Our extreme heat temps around 92F-102F are great for some of those palms, especially when incorporating misting systems, heavy mulch and pearl stone soil toppers for maximum humidity.

We get fairly cold here in the winter. This winter was unusually wet, and we received snow on three different occasions! The Chamberyonia did not like the idea of a winter wonderland at all. At one point this winter, we touched down to 24F for a few hours. We are usually right there in the high 20's to low 30's during our coldest months, dec and January. Our elevation is almost to 3000 ft. Our biggest rival is the wind. Those cool, dry Santa Ana Winds come down off of Big Bear Mountain and the San Gorgonio Pass and we get whipping cold winds at 50mph gusts, for several days sometimes. That's where the real challenge comes into play with some of these more exotics.

As for the other tropical plants I'm considering, I just need something that's a little more reassuring than the kings, royals, chambos, etc. It's a tall order already to care after the ones I have, so I'm not looking to make my troubles any more daunting. And I'm looking for plants that can take some sun, like the shade, be a good fill for underneath palms, and not mind a large amount of water. Even with mulch, my arid conditions here in the summer require a lot of water for some of these palms. Especially the royals, kings, majestys, and caryotas.

thank you for your input thus far. I've already researched a ton online for some of these you've mentioned. I'll be nursery hunting for many of these this weekend! thanks again!

Ok! I assumed with your palm list that you were in a warmer zone, man you are dedicated to those tropical palms! If you dont mind die-back palms many people here plant majesties in the shade and although they loose their leaves during the winter they grow them back fairly quickly in the spring as long as they are kept moist (although the leaves begin to take on a more stubby look). I would also try to get Cham. radicalis as it blends in well with other tropicals. Pothos dies back but is so fast growing that it tends to fill in again the next year. Philodendron selloum is super tropical looking and is a staple of a tropical garden here. Palmgrass looks tropical and is a dieback perrenial groundcover, as is peacock ginger. I have had good luck with butterfly ginger, shampooginger/pinecone lilly, and edible ginger (just plant what you buy at the grocery store). Also several clumping Bamboo should do well for you and would help cut down on wind problems, I have Bambusa textilis which is really pretty and Im aiming to get Bambusa chungii and Bambusa "alphonse carr" as both of these did well in our freeze this year in Gainesville (abt 17 degrees); I just bought Mexican weeping bamboo and it seems to do well but it has not been winter tested. As peachy said Agapanthus do really well and are beautiful, especially mixed in where their large blue flowers are like exclamation points in the landscape. I also had a birds nest fern survive outdoors which was surprising. I'll keep posting as I think of anything else as most of what I grow (survives down to 20 degrees) should do well for you.

-Krishna

P.S. Just remembered, if sheltered by other plants Peace Lilys come back every year.