Anyone have any ideas for rainforest esque plants I can grow in my Ohio yard that are preferably dieback? Our soil consistently stays above 30F every single year with no fail due to our clay soil that retains heat and the massive amounts of snow we get as I am in the snowbelt of Ohio. I was thinking maybe Hedychium gingers, maybe shampoo ginger and maybe Heliconia schiedeana? Zingiber mioga, Begonia grandis, Fuchsia magellanica, and Aspidistra elatior would be easy as well. Any other ideas?

I'm not convinced the ground there stays so warm. How deep is the water pipe feeding your house?

Z6 seems a bit cold for the gingers. My minimum is 10°F and we get snow or freezing rain about every 5 years. I have planted Rhododendrons and Mountain Laurel out back as anchor plants.

I was once in Manitoba in Canada and did a bit a bit of gardening. All I could really come up with was roses and fruit trees that would survive the onslaught of there winters. And birch trees. The fruit trees will give you that tropical look and a bonus of some fruit, plant them out like a permaculture garden using them as ornamental trees. Zone 6 is way out of my league for growing, Some cherry trees and walnut trees perhaps. Not really die back but certainly deciduous!

5 hours ago, Ohiopalmloverz6 said:

Anyone have any ideas for rainforest esque plants I can grow in my Ohio yard that are preferably dieback? Our soil consistently stays above 30F every single year with no fail due to our clay soil that retains heat and the massive amounts of snow we get as I am in the snowbelt of Ohio. I was thinking maybe Hedychium gingers, maybe shampoo ginger and maybe Heliconia schiedeana? Zingiber mioga, Begonia grandis, Fuchsia magellanica, and Aspidistra elatior would be easy as well. Any other ideas?

Look over plants in the desired category ( ...ies ) grown by Plant Delights..

Seems there should be plenty of interesting things you could experiment with.. Inc. several locally / regionally native Orchids ( Hardy Lady Slippers, Grass Pinks, Pogonias, etc ).

There’s websites that have soil meters that monitor the winter temps. Our soil genuinely does not get very cold in the winter. Most of the winter it is still workable and usually only the top freezes. Again, the clay soil retains a lot of heat and the heavy snow keeps it above freezing. Callas survive winter here, so does kale (as long as it’s below the snow line, pineapple lilies, crocosmia, gladiolus, etc.