Hello, my name is John, I'm a civil engineer working for the Navy in north Florida. I bought a house here a year ago and have been busily landscaping it to suit my notion of what looks "tropical." (They tell me everyone who moves to Florida goes through this phase.)
Along with the obligatory palms and citrus, I put in three Musa "ice cream" bananas last spring (purchased from a local nursery) and was amazed how fast they put out leaves and shot up.
It was also nice that one of the three adult ice creams (planted near a heat-radiating south-facing wall) made it through half a dozen freezes still with green leaves on top, while the pups on the other two already are putting out green leaves like crazy (mid March).
Since the bananas have been so much fun, I've decided to branch out and try all kinds. I have ordered three Siam rubies for a special place in the front, so there's a start.
I haven't found any specialty nurseries in my area, but I'm planning to do at least one "road trip" down to central/south Florida over the next couple weeks to hunt bananas and maybe ginger too.
I'll be reading through your past threads in coming days to glean wisdom and locate neighbors in the region, and also hope to share some photos and accounts of my own adventures if only to document how not to do things.
Looking forward to participating in the forum, thanks for letting me be one of the bunch!