Oklahoma tropics?
 

I have discovered here at this site that grow zone 7 happens to be good for tropics.(via chat)

With the lack of them growing here, I had no Idea!

what else can I grow here? I love tropical plants!

Any information will be greatly appreciated!

Re: Oklahoma tropics?
 

Jeremy,

I beleive if you look back through some of the old threads in other plants you will find one labeled Zone 7 tropicals.:waving:

Re: Oklahoma tropics?
 

I tried to search around but I didn't find anything. I was hoping that maybe someone might have some links to some old threads or some suggestions.

Re: Oklahoma tropics?
 

Here's one:
http://www.bananas.org/f8/tropical-l...-6-a-4024.html

I might add that the Ginger - Hedychium Coronarium, or White Butterfly Ginger, is rated for Zone 7. Also, some Canna varieties.

Re: Oklahoma tropics?
 

What are you looking to grow?

Re: Oklahoma tropics?
 

I'm looking fore large tropicals for landscaping.
As of right now I only have the banana trees and some canna's

Re: Oklahoma tropics?
 

Jeremy, what part of OK do you live in? Did you know that Sabal minor is native to OK? There is a population of it in McCurtain County.

You really need to check out this site! It will give you a great idea of some of the subtropical plants that you can grow in zone 7.

Frank

Re: Oklahoma tropics?
 

You should definitely try growing some of the many different types of elephant ears (Alocasia, Colocasia, and Xanthosoma). Some will be hardy in your area, others will not. The tender ones can either be grown in the ground and then lifted in the fall and stored for the winter or grown in a pot and stored for the winter.

Re: Oklahoma tropics?
 

What are some good cold hardy Elephant Ears that I can leave in the ground?
zone 7

Re: Oklahoma tropics?
 

There's one from Brians Botanicals called Colocasia Hardy pink china that is super hardy., and maybe check out some of the larger Petasites species that are similar, but more hardy. There are also quite a few palm trees that are hardy when they get to a good size, like some Trachycarpus, Sabal, Rhyphidoplyllum hystrix, Butia(a species or 2). Like Chong said Hedychicum is a nice tropical, and H.'Tara' is and awesome hardy one. Once you get into trees there are quite a few that have a tropical look.
And then there is bamboo, definatly check out timber bamboos, Phyllostachys vivax 'Huangwenzhu Inversa' would be a nice one(bottom right corner of page).
Timber Bamboo

Re: Oklahoma tropics?
 

Like already mentioned, Pink China is very hardy. There is also a very common one (forget what its called) that is sold pretty much everywhere as bulbs.

Sabal sp. Birimingham should be the hardiest trunking palm for your climate but it grows very slow. Sabal minor var. Louisiana doesn't trunk but it will form very large leaves

There are also many large Yuccas such as Yucca rostrata that will get huge overtime.

Re: Oklahoma tropics?
 

I had no idea about the timber bamboo's that would grow here.
The moso's are quite impressive but seem to have a long maturity span.
exspenive too.

Re: Oklahoma tropics?
 

Palms and bamboo make a great tropical look. there are a large number of cold hardy palms and clumping bamboos that can do well in cold weather.

Give them a try!

Re: Oklahoma tropics?
 

Moso is the toughest timber bamboo to get established, and alot of stands look tiny compared to vivax, and dulcis at the same age (which are the faster growing ones of the timbers). Bamboo plantation is one of the more reasonably priced mail order nurseries.
Do you get alot of summer rains?

Re: Oklahoma tropics?
 

This year we recived a lot of summer raines but that's pretty unusual.

The bamboo plantaion is a little better priced.

The only bamboo I have seen growing around here were extremly tall and skinny. (Like a cane fishing pole)
I assumed that was the only option for this location.

I'm impateint so I like things that grow fast. I'm getting better at the waiting part.
Especially if I have something worth anticipating.