Cold Hardy Tropical Plants / Unique Plants For Cold Climates 2023

Tropical plant dupes! I have wanted to make a video for a long time focusing on plants that give that nice tropical look, but can also survive the cold. Here is a list of 25 (actually way more) cold hardy tropical plants. While cold hardy bananas and cold hardy palm trees are the standard for a tropical looking garden, there are a ton of plants that have unique characteristics to give any garden an exotic look. Most of the plants in this list are good in zone 6 and some into zone 4 and five. I suggest researching each that you are interested in growing to determine if you will need to protect them and to what degree. Below I will add links to websites with great info on cold hardy cactus and succulents as well as just good sources for where to buy cold hardy tropical plants. All of the plants in the video are listed in the chapters below.

Disclaimer: a true tropical plant is one that grows between the tropic of cancer and tropic of capricorn, along the equator and in areas that are generally free of frost; though some grow at high elevations of course and experience cold. The plants in the list are those that look tropical or just combine well to give an exotic look for gardens in cold climates.

Plant Delights Nursery

Favorite Book! - This is an associate link, a small commission is made off of purchases. By all means, shop around for best prices.
Palms Won't Grow Here and Other Myths: Warm-Climate Plants for Cooler Areas
by Timber Press

Chapters/ timestamps
0:00 intro
1:35 Hardy Orchids
3:15 Carolina Sweetheart Variegated Redbud
4:06 Euphorbia myrsinites Burro Tail Look alike
4:50 Cast Iron Plant Aspidistra
6:28 Voodoo Lilies Amorphophallus
7:30 Hardy Impatiens Omeina
8:00 Arums
8:20 Peltandra
9:08 Caesalpinia gilliesii
9:52 Musella lasiocarpa
11:22 Manfredas
12:25 Ligularia
12:48 Farfugium
13:04 Darmera Umbrella Plant
14:08 Gunnera
14:32 Pampas Grass
15:05 Blue Bayou Pampas Grass
16:05 Arundo donax
16:22 Arundo donax Peppermint Stick
16:44 Ferns
17:20 Sarracenia Pitcher Plants
18:02 Unique Hostas
19:17 Passion Flowers
20:15 Sempervivum el toro
21:15 Chinese Fan Palm
22:00 Cold Hardy Palms

Plants from Part 1
sabal minors
Needle palms
Aucuba japonica Gold Dust Plants
Hedychium Hardy Ginger Lily
Cannas
Cold Hardy Gardenias
Cold Hardy Bananas Musa Basjoo
Crinum lily
Yucca rostrata Cold Hardy Yuccas
Cold Hardy Colocasia Elephant Ears
Northern Bayberry Wax Myrtles
Cold Hardy Magnolias
Crape Myrtles
Heptacodium Seven Sons Flower Temple of Bloom
Begonia Grandis Cold Hardy Begonias
Zingiber cold hardy gingers
Petasites Japonicus Butterburr
Cold Hardy Cactus
Cold Hardy Agaves
Hardy Hibiscus Rose of Sharon
Hardy Hibiscus moscheutos
Cold Hardy Citrus Poncirus
Cold Hardy Camellias
Acanthus Philodendron look a like
Yucca thompsoniana

Links to products shown in videos and some that I just like.
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Creative co op Glass Cloche

Gardening Supplies
GE LED 32 watt Grow Light PAR 38

SANSI 24W LED Plant Light Bulb Full Spectrum LED Grow Light Plant Lights for Indoor Plants, E26 Grow Light Bulb for Hydroponics Greenhouse Houseplants Vegetable Tobacco, Sunlight White UV IR

J R Peters Inc (52064) Jacks Classic No.4 20-20-20 All Purpose Fertilizer

J R Peters Inc 52624 Jacks Classic No.1.5 20-6-22 Petunia Feed

VivaColor Waterproof RGB Color Changing Landscape Lights Bluetooth App Control, 48 Watts Total, Extra Long Cord, Built-in Timer, Programming, Music Sync, Mesh Capable(Complete 4 Light Set)

Some of my Filming Equipment

Sony A7sii Camera

Rhode Video Micro

Tripod

Lighting

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Lens Zeiss 24-70mm

Lens Sigma DG Art 20mm Prime Fixed F1.4

Dji Osmo Mobile 2 Gimbal

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[xenic]

Love the ideas for hardy tropical looking plants.

[wesleyhackney]

Your last plant the Chinese Fan palm is my favorite. Here in Florida 9A do very well even if you get some nights in 20s like we did last winter. Such a beautiful shape

[yeahivekilledthat]

Wonderful video! You are the first Ytuber I've heard to have mentioned omeiana. Such a great plant. And those arums in the winter are such a welcome break from the winter dreariness.

[judymckerrow]

Thank you again, be safe, stay healthy and we’ll see you next time. 🌸💚🙃

[okexotics]

Sabal minors are the most cold hardest palm that can just take anything.. sun, shade, hot, cold, dry, wet, all soils ❤

[judymckerrow]

It took me a very long…….. time to watch this video, it seems everyone HAD to talk to me. I think I need to print out a do not disturb sign and hang it around my neck when watching my favorite YouTube channels. 🤣🌸💚🙃

[jennifergreene]

Hi Jeff 👋 Thank you for the great info! Take care!

[Ohsosilly]

It’s like you knew I needed another video from you😅🌱

[darkartsbyadrienne]

Thanks Jeff!! Happy Wednesday!! Say 'hi' to the fur fam (and feathered, and shelled, and scaled, and hope im not forgetting anyone) those hydrangeas are fabulous 😍

[sandyg]

Hi Jeff! This was another great video about cold hardy plants. There are so many pretty ones that I'd like to try, but would need to make sure they would survive in pots outside all winter because I have no place to put them inside. I'll have to google some. Your hibiscus are beautiful! Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together and share with us!

[judymckerrow]

I have a passion flower vine that is popping up all over my garden. Lucky that I like them. I’m going to be moving some of them over to my tropical room, they can climb all over the huge tree stump that’s slowly decaying. 🌸💚🙃

[judymckerrow]

I’m going to have to start looking for some of these plants for my new tropical room I’m starting. 🌸💚🙃

[jamesclayton]

Japanese rice paper plant and the empress tree both have huge leaves. Great video ❤

[dukeofdoom]

Some of my favourites: Trumpet Vine (Yellow and Red) varieties. Peach Trees can look exotic with the leaves and fruit. Indian Bean Tree and Paulownia tomentosa tree with trumpet flowers.

[judymckerrow]

I’m going to save this video for references 🙂🌸💚🙃

[michaelmccarthy]

Gunnera is the one that I think is the most tropical looking of all of the hardy plants, those huge leaves aren't common in temperate climates.
My favorite Hosta are and always will be the large blues.
I am surprised that missing from the list were the hardy Hibiscus (Rose of Sharon/H. syriacus, H. coccineus, H. moscheutos). If you have a pond, there are hardy water lilies and American lotus. I'd also say a tree form Wisteria gives a tropical feel, with the long panicles in spring followed by the pinnate foliage in summer.

[sherrieromero]

Love all the info! Do you have any suggestions to get rid of grasshoppers. They are completely shredding everything i planted!

[Tminus]

Some plants were already on my list, but I added 4 more 😄 I don't want any more tender plants, don't have room left

[woowooone]

Do you disassemble your containers at the end of the growing season? I have some somewhat large ones that have Heliconia planted in it. I bought a bunch of Heliconia and only three made it through last winter inside. I saw that the ones that survived were in larger containers vs tiny.

When I pulled out my large containers this year, I tried to transplant them and they keeled over and died, and I'm a fairly good transplanter. So I'm afraid to take the one that I still have out of the container. It makes me wish that I had kept it in a pot and put the pot in the container.

[Munekita]

21:44 Is that butterfly ginger lily? If so, what do you do with them in the winter?