Evergreen Tropical Looking Plants for Zone 6b

[LouisvillePalmer]

On 3/26/2022 at 11:40 PM, Allen said:

What clumping bamboo are you looking at?  I've been told by the bamboo experts locally that none will grow here and you are not too far away.  

Fargesia, specifically F. Rufa (-15F) or F. Nitida (-20F). 

 

Source: https://bambubatu.com/clumping-bamboo-for-cold-climates-ornamental-options/#:~:text=But among the roughy 1%2C500,belong to the genus Fargesia.

[Allen]

32 minutes ago, LouisvillePalmer said:

Fargesia, specifically F. Rufa (-15F) or F. Nitida (-20F). 

 

Source: https://bambubatu.com/clumping-bamboo-for-cold-climates-ornamental-options/#:~:text=But among the roughy 1%2C500,belong to the genus Fargesia.

I'd call a local grower and ask them to be sure.  Looks like those varieties need some shade and are rather small.  Maybe that's why the locals told me no to it.  They also look like slow growers.

[Chester B]

I have F. rufa. It’s a small bamboo and very hardy, thin canes and max height of maybe 8ft. I’ve heard Fargesia is a no go in the SE on here before due to the heat and humidity of summer. It definitely does not like a lot of sun, it burns and yellows with it too much. 

[LouisvillePalmer]

On 4/7/2022 at 8:31 PM, Chester B said:

I have F. rufa. It’s a small bamboo and very hardy, thin canes and max height of maybe 8ft. I’ve heard Fargesia is a no go in the SE on here before due to the heat and humidity of summer. It definitely does not like a lot of sun, it burns and yellows with it too much. 

Are there any clumping varieties that do well in the SouthEast?

[Calosphace]

Some great suggestions here, definitely echoing the needle palm, hummingbird yucca/hesperaloe, and christmas fern.

 

To me, tropics are defined by dominance of animal dispersed and pollinated plants (as there is less seasonal wind) and larger leaf area. I especially associate hummingbird-pollinated plants with jungles but also fragrant plants (warm enough for night pollinators).  

There’s many options with this look hardy to zone 6b but finding ones evergreen through 6b is going to be more difficult as few plants native to such areas are going to have big leaves through such a climate as that’s a recipe to lose a lot of water. 

 

Additional evergreens I can think of:

Abelia grandiflora might be evergreen

Kalmia/Mountain laurel

Viburnum rhytidophyllum

Trochodendron aralioides

There’s a lot of dwarf Inkberry shrubs on market now and to me the leaves look more tropical than most hollies, e.g. ‘Shamrock’ Inkberry

Hardier varieties of Camellia

Hardier varieties of Mahonia/Oregon Grape (shade plant so it is easy to site in protected spot)

Florida red star anise (likes moist soil, and semi-shade)

Hardy forms of Carolina jessamine

 

Any cultivar of a conifer with a more spreading or oval form instead of usual pyramidal will look more tropical too

 

Lonicera sempervirens/Red trumpet honeysuckle probably wouldn’t be evergreen for you but is very worthy,  in a protected enough site they bloom through at least low 20s F and many forms rebloom as long as they are happy. I’d place one on a south-facing wall and see what happens.

 

Not evergreen:

Red buckeye has very tropical-looking leaves in my opinion in addition to the red hummingbird flowers

Aralia spinosa

Aristolochia macrophylla <-- look up the Pipevine swallowtail and its caterpillars, very tropical-looking

Asimina triloba Pawpaw tree, northernmost member of an otherwise tropical family 

Calycanthus

Coral bean Erythrina herbacea might be hardy with good siting in zone 6b I’m unsure

Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’

Salvia greggii 'Radio Red', especially if kept dry

Spigelia marilandica

Monarda didyma 'Jacob Kline'

Hardy hybrids of North American hibiscus

Passiflora caerula and Passiflora incarnata 

Rhododendron calendulaceum

Crossvine Bignonia capreolata

Magnolia macrophylla

Some cannas in good siting might return after mild winters at your location

 

Edited January 28 by Calosphace

[Patrick]

On 11/12/2020 at 6:52 AM, LouisvillePalmer said:

I actually did briefly meet him a couple weeks ago. His father runs Berl Williams Landscaping which both businesses are on the same property. They had some really neat stuff there and that's where I learned about the trunking Yucca Rostrata, which is truly a beautiful plant when it gets to maturity over 10 feet tall.

 

I didn't get to see everything they have but I plan on going over there mid-January to see what all is alive and what all is dead. They both seemed very involved in tropicals and have been doing it for a long time now so that might be my local go-to source for information.

Yeah, I get BB's emails. His website is just the full name of the company and then a .net on the end. Lucky you're so close, the extra cost of shipping is always obnoxious, not from Brian specifically, it's just that I'm cheap! 

 

Try Plant Delights Nursery also. They have lots of tropical looking options, give good descriptions and lay out zone hardiness very well.