Evergreen Tropical Looking Plants for Zone 7b

[knikfar]

Hello all, 

     I've been searching for evergreen, tropical looking plants for my zone 7b garden that aren't palm trees. I have a few fatsias, some cast iron plants and cycads. But I'd love to find other plants to add, especially some that have some color to their leaves. When I try and search google, I just get list after list of hardy tropicals that are perennials my zone 7b. I want plants that won't die to the ground in the winter. Anyone have any suggestions? 

[Chester B]

The issue is most of the tropical looking ones below zone 9 tend to be green.  Here are a few suggestions and you can decide if they are tropical enough.  Some are the edge for your zone so I can't say for certain if they are suitable long term.

Loropetalum varieties - these are the only red and purple plants I can think of.  Don't trim them tight and let them grow more wild looking.  They have pretty nice flowers too.

Nandina - lots of colorful varieties like burgundy wine or firepower

Acanthus mollis (Bear's breech) Variegated form

Acuba japonica - lots of varieties like Mr Goldstrike.  Kind of a replacement for TI plants

Choisiya ternata (Mexican orange) - Sundance or Goldfingers

Cinnamomum checkiangense - green

Corokia cotoneaster

Daphne odora 'Aureo-marginata'

Dendropanax trifidus - green

Drimys lanceolata (mountain pepper)- regular and variegated forms

Gilt Edge Silverberry - Elaeagnus x ebbingei 'Gilt Edge'

Fargesia robusta and Fargesia rufous - Easy clumping bamboos - but they're green

Fatshedera x lizei ‘Variegata’

Garrya fremontii

Garrya x issaquahensis ‘Glasnevin Wine’

Mahonia x media ‘Charity’

Metapanax delavayi - green

Metapanax davidii - green but new growth is red

Pieris japonica - lots of different varieties

Osmanthus heterophyllus - many varieties available

Schefflera delavayi - green but huge leaves - new growth is gold

Eucalyptus - maybe?  Try E. pauciflora - that's the hardiest.  E neglecta can be a good one too

Yucca Rostrata - kind of tropical??

There are a ton of Euonymus varieties that when placed with the right plants can have whole different appearence.

[knikfar]

16 minutes ago, Chester B said:

The issue is most of the tropical looking ones below zone 9 tend to be green.  Here are a few suggestions and you can decide if they are tropical enough.  Some are the edge for your zone so I can't say for certain if they are suitable long term.

Loropetalum varieties - these are the only red and purple plants I can think of.  Don't trim them tight and let them grow more wild looking.  They have pretty nice flowers too.

Nandina - lots of colorful varieties like burgundy wine or firepower

Acanthus mollis (Bear's breech) Variegated form

Acuba japonica - lots of varieties like Mr Goldstrike.  Kind of a replacement for TI plants

Choisiya ternata (Mexican orange) - Sundance or Goldfingers

Cinnamomum checkiangense - green

Corokia cotoneaster

Daphne odora 'Aureo-marginata'

Dendropanax trifidus - green

Drimys lanceolata (mountain pepper)- regular and variegated forms

Gilt Edge Silverberry - Elaeagnus x ebbingei 'Gilt Edge'

Fargesia robusta and Fargesia rufous - Easy clumping bamboos - but they're green

Fatshedera x lizei ‘Variegata’

Garrya fremontii

Garrya x issaquahensis ‘Glasnevin Wine’

Mahonia x media ‘Charity’

Metapanax delavayi - green

Metapanax davidii - green but new growth is red

Pieris japonica - lots of different varieties

Osmanthus heterophyllus - many varieties available

Schefflera delavayi - green but huge leaves - new growth is gold

Eucalyptus - maybe?  Try E. pauciflora - that's the hardiest.  E neglecta can be a good one too

Yucca Rostrata - kind of tropical??

There are a ton of Euonymus varieties that when placed with the right plants can have whole different appearence.

Wow, this is extensive. I already have a few of these but I'll look at the rest to see if any of them pop to me. Thank you SO much! 

 

[Chester B]

I thought of one more Abelia kaleidiscope.

Your welcome!

[Merlyn]

I am not sure how cold they can stay evergreen, but Musa Basjoo is supposed to be cold hardy to 7B without unusual protection.  Here's some more info on bananas from PDN, who have been trying out species for cold hardiness. 

https://www.plantdelights.com/blogs/articles/banana-tree-plant-hardy

[Allen]

2 hours ago, Merlyn2220 said:

I am not sure how cold they can stay evergreen, but Musa Basjoo is supposed to be cold hardy to 7B without unusual protection.  Here's some more info on bananas from PDN, who have been trying out species for cold hardiness. 

https://www.plantdelights.com/blogs/articles/banana-tree-plant-hardy

They die to the ground after frost and a bit colder.  Christmas ferns and bamboo stay evergreen in 7B

[mulungu]

A few more-- these are at least reported hardy in zone 7b, although I live in a different zone and can't vouch from personal experience whether or not they stay pristine in leaf in zone 7 temps:

Daphniphyllum macropodum

Ilex latifolia

hardier forms of Magnolia laevifolia (Michelia yunnanensis).

 

[ColdBonsai]

Not too extensive but a few of my favorite "tropical" looking evergreens that I grow in 7a:

Asplenium scolopendrium - Harts Tounge Fern

Cyrtomium fortunei - Japanese Holly Fern

Polystichum munitum - Western Sword Fern

Yucca gloriosa 'Variegata' - Verigated Spanish Dagger

Aucuba japonica - Gold Dust Plant

Edited August 12, 2020 by ColdBonsai

[Silas_Sancona]

A couple unusual smaller trees to research:  Magnolia tamaulipana, particularly a form called " Bronze Sentinal " which is supposedly a touch hardier than the species.  Another is Clethra pringlei, which, besides tropical-looking foliage, will produce sprays of white flowers that have a Cinnamon or Vanilla-like scent. 7b is supposedly the currently known limit of this species hardiness but it's becoming more available in the Southeast and might tolerate 7a if planted in a protected spot.  There's also another Mexican Clethra sp. ( C. mexicana ) being trialed in some botanical gardens there and has supposedly tolerated sub zone 9a cold well thus far also.

Both Clethra pringlei and the Magnolia originate in Northeastern Mexico where numerous tropical looking plants with surprising cold hardiness have been discovered and brought into cultivation. Thinking Clethra mexicana is from either the mountains in Central or South Central Mexico.. Another region that contains  numerous -surprisingly hardy- plants.  All 3 sp. are evergreen.

[Swolte]

Knikfar, umm, if you truly live in Raleigh, you shouldn't be asking that question but enlightening us instead! Could you please visit http://www.jlbg.org/ and let us know what they recommend (bring a notebook! :p). That place is a renowned collection of plants and they have one of the best nurseries in the world with high-quality offerings that are impossible to get elsewhere.  

Chester's a real treasure, btw. I just discovered his youtube channel which contains some great additional information.

There's tons more but, out of the top of my head, I would add the following:
-  Yucca recurvifolia - Indestructible plant and extremely tropical looking (just plant in a sandy and well-draining medium and don't water it, ever) 
- Euphorbia (lots of varieties available now, in all sizes and colors)
- Pittosporum (a lot of choice here. I am currently excited about P. illicioides 'Fine Green') 
- Ajuga reptans ‘Black Scallop’
 

[SailorBold]

This tree yucca is cool..  not sure its name tho.. Faxona? 

[Silas_Sancona]

5 hours ago, SailorBold said:

This tree yucca is cool..  not sure its name tho.. Faxona? 

Leaves  look a little short for Faxoniana. Looks like Yucca treculeana to me but not 100% certain. Pretty sure Y. faxoniana has a lot of fibrous " hairs " along the lower section of the leaf margins while the other sp. does not.  Nice specimen(s) regardless.

[WSimpson]

Ensete Maurelii Thailand Giant EE , Agave , Yucca rostrata , Citrumelo ( around Christmas   time ) , Mekong Giant banana ( along the walkway ) 

Edited August 26, 2020 by Will Simpson

[amh]

You might consider pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana) depending on how cold of a 7b you are. They are somewhat tropical looking and produce pink flowers.

Hardy yuccas are a good idea too.

Edited August 27, 2020 by amh

[NCFM]

On 8/11/2020 at 11:11 PM, ColdBonsai said:

Not too extensive but a few of my favorite "tropical" looking evergreens that I grow in 7a:

Asplenium scolopendrium - Harts Tounge Fern

Cyrtomium fortunei - Japanese Holly Fern

Polystichum munitum - Western Sword Fern

Yucca gloriosa 'Variegata' - Verigated Spanish Dagger

Aucuba japonica - Gold Dust Plant

I have an Aucuba japonica in my yard. Pretty plant but a slow grower:

Edited August 31, 2020 by NC_Palm_Enthusiast

[Merlyn]

I thought of another one that *might* stay green, or at least survive a cold winter.  PDN has their "Icebox" Ficus palmata ssp. virgata.  They say it's a "dieback perennial" but survived 7F unprotected.  I have no idea how cold it can survive before defoliation, heck it might defoliate at freezing.  But it may be worth looking into! 

https://www.plantdelights.com/products/ficus-palmata-icebox