COLD HARDY “tropical looking” flowers or plants that add a pop of color and a paradise look?

[mnorell]

For half-hardy tropical perennials that will bloom in a season if knocked down in a freeze, try the following heliconias (and forget H. schiedeana!):

- Heliconia latispatha in variety (this is an extremely variable species with a wide distribution, so many named and unnamed forms, large and small)...pretty much all will bloom in one season (summer-fall), some are root-hardier than others, but most should be okay at your latitude down to about a brief 20F.

- Heliconia sp. 'Mexican Gold' - the hardiest single-season heliconia I trialed when I lived far north of you in Natchez, Mississippi...it came back and bloomed after about 72 sub-freezing hours to 18F in 2010, also after the much colder (but more brief) 13F jab in February 2018. It is a great one, as it produces a "full-sized" inflorescence around October and is quite showy. A rather large plant, however.

- Heliconia latispatha x H. psittacorum 'Carmasita' - a very fast producer, in full sun in the Deep South it goes from shoot-to-bloom as fast as 2-1/2 months. Root hardiness is not as good as the above but it might survive at your latitude due to the (usual) brevity of deep freezes there.

- Heliconia x rauliniana. A big plant in a rather tight, vertical clump, with very showy bird-like twisty inflorescences. Once established this has been known to flower in a season after being cut down in a frost in Central Florida. And it has some root-hardiness (probably not as much as H. latispatha, though).

- Costus (spiral gingers)...many species and cultivars, some take two seasons but many are single-season and really very beautiful. Much more choice than the Hedychium gingers (though I have nothing against that well-known genus).

- Alpinia zerumbet (shell ginger). In a protected spot these will stay good to about 26-27F and will give you a beautiful springtime bloom emerging from the top of the elegant foliage. Needs space as it gets large. If it does freeze down you will have to wait about 14 months from re-emergence for the bloom in spring of the following (hopefully frost-free) year. There is a beautiful yellow-variegated form as well that is quite popular and should be readily available. Both bloom well in New Orleans, even many years in Baton Rouge, so would be a good choice for your location.

Also as mentioned by others, Odontonema stricta, many others throughout the Acanthaceae. A standout in this family, Megaskepasma erythrochlamys, is a winter bloomer, even in deep shade, very showy and with huge tropical leaves. But you will want a usually frostless spot for it, preferably under good evergreen canopy or a broad eave, so that the flower-crop doesn't get ruined by one 9b night. But it can come back from reasonable cold.

There are many others, including several single-season ornamental bananas (M. velutina, M. ornata, et al.)...lots of choices!

[Chester B]

@Dwarf Fan the one thing I would warn you about the cannas is they are highly susceptible to Canna Leaf Roller.  I planted a bunch after moving here as they help to fill in a new garden while the backbone develops,  All of mine had really bad Canna Leaf Roller and treatment only helped so much.  i had never experienced this but I guess its common in the south.  At this point I'm tempted to throw mine out as they look like garbage for most of the year.  It doesn't seem to affect bananas though, which is good.

[NMPalmjunky]

I consider oleanders as a great palm companion.

[tarnado]

So few mentions of the hardy gingers! There are so many, and they are all absolutely crazy amazing. Hedychium here down to 7b, Zingiber mioga in zone 6... 

 

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/t-m-e-branney/hardy-gingers/9781604691733/

[frankcar1965]

My hibiscus moscheutos blooms at least twice a year, they need to be cut back after flushing, I got THREE flushes this year.

I have never seen H. syrica reseed here in the deep South where I live, we have so many exotic species here, I don't worry about invasives.

 

 

[Than]

Cannas are super easy to grow, at least here. They die back in winter but always come back in spring. They take all kinds of abuse without complaining. I have never seen a sick canna either.

[Silas_Sancona]

  On 12/29/2024 at 6:25 PM, Than said:

Cannas are super easy to grow, at least here. They die back in winter but always come back in spring. They take all kinds of abuse without complaining. I have never seen a sick canna either.

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95 -110F -Plus- heat, every day,  ..May  thru ..mid October  ..A single decent rain event  -all summer /  Nothing, besides a sprinkle or two, since August ..and yet,  a neighbor's Canna, which are positioned in all day sun,  are still  blooming...  Most people who have them in the neighborhood have flowers on theirs, 2 days before 2025 begins..

Here, they rarely completely die to the ground, even after experiencing a morning or 4 in the 35-32F range..  Folks will usually just remove whatever stalks have exhausted themselves as new growth reaches flowering size.

Color- wise, Those who might assume Canna are only solid red / yellow,  and/or certain shades of Orange?  ..I'll be the first to tell anyone thinking that that they aren't looking around hard enough for something one of a kind..

No blue or purple colored varieties of course ( ..would be nice ),  but, ...have seen some real unique looking cultivars that i may try here..

Might not be quite as interesting and exotic looking as Heliconia but Canna definitely add a nice touch of tropical to just about any landscape..

Have a big issue w/ leaf rollers?  ..Hit them with B.T.  ..once or twice if necessary to keep them under control.

[Merlyn]

I've had good luck with Canna as well.  The only thing I didn't like was routinely cutting off dead stalks once they had hit maximum height and maximum flowering.  AFAIK the only significant problem with Canna is getting one with the leaf streak virus.  But it's a visible symptom so it's easy to avoid.  They always grew back from freezes into the upper 20s, and aren't uncontrollable spreaders like Heliconia.

[Keys6505]

  On 12/30/2024 at 5:27 PM, Merlyn said:

I've had good luck with Canna as well.  The only thing I didn't like was routinely cutting off dead stalks once they had hit maximum height and maximum flowering.  AFAIK the only significant problem with Canna is getting one with the leaf streak virus.  But it's a visible symptom so it's easy to avoid.  They always grew back from freezes into the upper 20s, and aren't uncontrollable spreaders like Heliconia.

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There's actually 4 different canna viruses that I see regularly here in TX.  They are all untreatable.  I had literally hundreds of canna and unknowingly infected them all a few years back when I must have bought an infected plant and cut them all back with the same knife early before a freeze because they were easier to run through the shredder crisp.  I ended up having to remove all of my plants the following year and went 2 full seasons without any in ground to make sure no lingering seeds of infected plants germinated.  Now I only buy canna from reputable sources that emphasize selling disease free plants.  Karchesky Canna out of PA has been my go-to, reasonably priced and a lot of oddball stuff.