Stromanthe Triostar in zone 8a?

[Denis.green.garden]

I heard of people growing stromanthe triostar in zone 6b/7a with moderate protection(heavy mulching and sheltered location) and that they can be grown as regular perenials in zone 7b/8a. I can’t find anything else about in online tho. Does anybody have any experiences with growing them outdoors in cooler climates?

[Keys6505]

Mine didn't even make it through a 9b winter, albeit an abnormally cold one.  I don't think it has a chance in Z8 or below.

[Dartolution]

I think this entirely depends more on region than what we classify under the USDA growing zone designations. 

I live in the deep south US, and have had 30-40% of Stromanthe plantings return after a low of 10F and ~40 hours below freezing. 

I am in the middle of 8a and 8b (technically now classified as 8b). However keep in mind this is only a temperature designation. 

 

This year I have 8 plantings - we shall see how many return after this winter. 

The ones that have returned in the past haven't been mulched more heavily than normal (maybe 1-3") of standard hardwood mulch. 

 

All that being said, I think the bigger question is if they are an appropriate landscape planting for the cooler zones. 

I would say they are not based on the rate of return, and speed of recovery. 

 

 

 

[NC_Palms]

I have seen Stromanthe in the SC Lowcountry and Savannah GA area. This is about zone 9a - 9b depending on where youre at. But I tried growing one in zone 8b NC last year and it did not come back up. I do not know if it rotted or was killed from the cold, but I did dig it up last spring to see if the roots were growing and they just barely were. 

[Denis.green.garden]

11 hours ago, NC_Palms said:

I have seen Stromanthe in the SC Lowcountry and Savannah GA area. This is about zone 9a - 9b depending on where youre at. But I tried growing one in zone 8b NC last year and it did not come back up. I do not know if it rotted or was killed from the cold, but I did dig it up last spring to see if the roots were growing and they just barely were. 

I think i‘ll plant one this year and dig most of it up before winter comes around and protect what i left in the ground as good as i can and see what happens 

[meridannight]

6b seems a stretch, 7 maybe. Personally I'd still lift them for the winter in zone 7.

They can actually be quite tough plants although they don't look the part. I've had one of mine come back from rootstock after lows of 5ºC or so after I inadvertently planted them out with some other plants of mine and survive a short-term freeze (0 to -1ºC) undamaged in the fall. Don't expect large and tall leaves in zone 6/7 though. They will be painfully slow and tiny. 

[Denis.green.garden]

On 12/20/2024 at 11:38 PM, meridannight said:

6b seems a stretch, 7 maybe. Personally I'd still lift them for the winter in zone 7.

They can actually be quite tough plants although they don't look the part. I've had one of mine come back from rootstock after lows of 5ºC or so after I inadvertently planted them out with some other plants of mine and survive a short-term freeze (0 to -1ºC) undamaged in the fall. Don't expect large and tall leaves in zone 6/7 though. They will be painfully slow and tiny. 

I‘m in zone 8 anyways i just Figured if they survived zone 6/7 conditions they’d be fine in zone 8