Help Me Make A Tropical Zone 5

Hi ya Kneevin - Sounds like a very kewl idea. I'm going to try making a tiny water feature with a tropical flair this summer. You know what they say, great minds think alike! So far, I've picked Umbrella Bamboo (Fargesia murielae), Hostas and Ferns inc. Tassel Fern, it's evergreen for me (Polystichum polyblepharum) and Hakonechloa. I have all but the bamboo already. I have a potted spilt-leaf philodendron,and some cannas and EEs that might join the party, or create a "bridge" to the yard, placed up on the deck. I know gingers are slow growers here, but these look like they'd be fun to try.

Wild Ginger http://www.ncwildflower.org/plants/asarum_minor/asarum_minor.htm

Asarum shuttleworthii http://www.ncwildflower.org/plants/asarum_shuttleworthii/asarum_shuttleworthii.htm

I'm taking notes from this thread, Hikaro you da man!

This message was edited Feb 12, 2007 10:33 AM

You might like Viburnum rhytidiphyllum- it has a vaguely tropical feel to it. It looks a little sad here just north of Chicago, but does very well.

Paulownia is great! I'm trying to overwinter two twigs. I got one from Forest Farm that got broken in two the day after unpacking, and promptly shot out new leaves.

Alstromeria psittacina 'Variegata' and 'Freedom' are both rated z5. They've spent the summer happily growing in a flowerbed and are now heavily mulched, so we'll see if they make it.

I found Agapanthus 'Hardy Blue' at a local nursery, again rated for z5.

Nelumbo nucifera is definitely hardy here! If you leave it outside, just be sure to sink it 3' below the top of the water.

Arisaemas are spectacular, my fave is A. sikokianum:

There's a (relatively) new cut-leaf sumac out that is very tropical looking, 'Tiger Eyes' . It comes out in the spring with very bright golden foliage which holds color in full-sun, changing to chartreuse in less sun. In the fall, it "bursts into flame" - the colors are so spectacular they rival a good sugar maple (see photo). Spreads by suckers, but not invasive in my experience.

How about one of these?
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1778/

I would use a good amount of bamboo
http://www.bamboosourcery.com/bamboo.cfm

Take a look through here for cold hardy palms.
http://stores.ebay.com/Coconut-Climber

I would load up on hardy hibiscus for color and foilage. Something like this.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/982/

Ferns would be good too. I also think a catalpa tree with it's big leaves might work well for you.

Hope this helps.

What a great list of tropical-looking plants so far.
Horseradish has pretty large leaves and the wild Rhododendron maximum has leaves that are about as large as anything evergreen gets around here.
I've read of people cutting catalpa to the ground annually so they would get those giant leaves on a shrub-like plant, especially with the golden one (though I'm not sure the golden one would be a color that I think of as tropical.)
An annual, Nicotiana sylvestris, gets to between 4 & 6 feet with big leaves and large numbers of whiteish flowers. It will self-seed and unwanted ones are easy to remove, so once planted it will come back annually.
New Guinea impatiens are an easily available annual that always look very tropical to me - those shiny dark green leaves and fluorescent pink, red, and orange flowers.
Asparagus has a rather bamboo-like texture, though a bit finer, and gets pretty large in fertile soil.
How about some vines, like clematis or some of the faster-growing annuals. Maybe even mandevilla or bouganvilla which can overwinter indoors. Campsis looks pretty tropical if you can find a variety that's not rampantly invasive.