Just came back from Florida?

From NY area, I want to plant tropical-carribean, type flowers/greenery in my back yard. Any suggestions?

Just came back from Florida?
Hibiscus is always an option. There are the tropical versions that you will need to take inside in the winter and there is the perennial version, however, I'm not certain that it is hardy enough for a NY winter. It is hardy zones 5-10. Another options is to use potted palms and other plants that you can bring in for the winter.


Pictures of perennial hibiscus:


http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/im...


Large site for exotic house plants:


http://www.houseofplants.co.uk/foliagepl...


Elephant ears and Caladium are very tropical as well.


Pics of Caladium:


http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/im...
Reply:hibiscus,bromelaids,xmas palms, all asst palms are great for the tropical feel,
Reply:Sptfyr's right on the money with hibiscus. We grow some zone 4 varieties here in SD, so your NY climate should be ok. Be sure to mulch them heavily in the wintertime, though. One hard freeze will kill them, zone 4 or not.





The only other options that occur to me are ferns. Everything else I can think of will need to be taken in come fall, and that fills a house up in a hurry.
Reply:There are many plants that do well as houseplants in New York that get to be monsters in Florida.





The most readily available is Pathos, a vine that if you let it run up a tree here has huge leaves, but with less light and a brandy sniffer will grow very well.





Another that you will see a lot in Malls is Ficus Bengemina, or rarely Natilla that also grow huge in tropics but make great bonsai up north.





I was given a banana tree that I thought was just badly treated as it was only a foot tall but ,as it is in the yard, apparently they don't get any bigger . I am not sure where you would find one.





There is a cactus Selenicereus grandiflorus (though Google seems not to hit exactly on mine) with stunning flowers but only one night a year that grows outside as far north as Houston so would only need to come in in the coldest weather and the flowers are spectacular, though only at the summer solstice at midnight..


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/51/124290...