Hardy tropical plants can turn your temperate garden into an exotic tropical plant garden reminiscent of a Hawaiian rain forest with cold hardy tropical plants. You may be surprised at just how many varieties of tropical looking plants are hardy for your zone.
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Ensete maurelii
Item #: 4790
Zones: 8a to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 120" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Eastern Africa
Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.9 L)
Regular price $30.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outEquisetum giganteum 'El Tabacal'
Item #: 8490
Zones: 8b to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 120" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Argentina
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $29.00Regular priceUnit price per
Next crop available: 03/20/2026Sold out -
Erythrina x bidwillii
Item #: 487
Zones: 7b to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 72" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $30.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Erythrina herbacea 'Woodlanders Pink'
Item #: 3065
Zones: 7a to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $29.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Eucalyptus neglecta
Item #: 1001
Zones: 7a to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 360" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Australia
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $30.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Eucomis comosa 'Sparkling Burgundy'
Item #: 1796
Zones: 6b to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 20" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: South Africa
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $26.00Regular priceUnit price per
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Farfugium japonicum 'Crazy Curls'
Item #: 16031
Zones: 7a to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Light Shade to Shade
Origin: China, Japan, Korea
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $27.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outFarfugium japonicum 'Jagged Edge'
Item #: 16860
Zones: 7a to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China, Japan, Korea
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $27.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Farfugium japonicum 'Kaimon Dake'
Item #: 7957
Zones: 7a to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China, Japan, Korea
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $30.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Farfugium japonicum var. giganteum 'Marco'
Item #: 2743
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 20" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $27.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Farfugium japonicum var. luchuense 'Basho Ogi'
Item #: 16650
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 8" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China, Japan, Korea
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $28.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Fargesia robusta 'Ping Wu'
Item #: 6634
Zones: 7a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 96" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $39.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Fargesia rufa
Item #: 6563
Zones: 5a to 8a, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 72" tall
Culture: Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $39.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Fargesia sp. 'Jiuzhaigou I'
Item #: 6564
Zones: 5a to 7b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 120" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $39.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Fatsia japonica 'Spider's Web'
Item #: 5141
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 48" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Shade
Origin: Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $35.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outFatsia japonica 'Variegata'
Item #: 5618
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 96" tall
Culture: Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $29.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outFuchsia 'Sanihanf'
Item #: 7450
Zones: 7a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 30" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $24.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Gloxinia 'Little Red'
Item #: 11082
Zones: 7b to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 16" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Gloxinia nematanthodes 'Evita'
Item #: 5556
Zones: 7b to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Argentina
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Hedychium 'Anne Bishop'
Item #: 9272
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 60" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.8 L)
Regular price $34.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Hedychium coccineum 'Applecourt'
Item #: 1844
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 72" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Himalayan Mountains
Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.8 L)
Regular price $34.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Hedychium coccineum 'Slim's Orange'
Item #: 8231
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.9 L)
Regular price $34.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Hedychium coronarium
Item #: 1308
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 60" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Tropical Asia
Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.8 L)
Regular price $32.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Hedychium 'Daniel Weeks'
Item #: 3218
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 50" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.8 L)
Regular price $32.00Regular priceUnit price per
More Information About Tropical Looking Plants
It's a jungle out there! We have a large selection of cold hardy tropical plants including Curcuma (Hidden Cone Ginger), Canna (Canna Lilies), Musa (Banana), Hedychium (Ginger Lilies) and more. These exotic plants make your temperate garden resemble a tropical paradise.
Some of us here in the cool latitudes (and even some people in the nerdy latitudes) have exotic plant envy and want a garden full of tropical looking plants. Luckily for us, there are a few equatorial plants that have developed some cold hardiness and there are a few temperate zone plants with a distinct tropical exotic plant look. Make your temperate garden reminiscent of Hawaii today with tropical-looking exotic plants like bananas, cannas and aroids.
Hardy Tropical Plants
Exactly which cold hardy tropical plants you can grow in your garden depends on where you live. In our zone 7b garden in Raleigh, NC we have many hardy tropical plants for sale including:
- Bananas like Musa, Musella, and Ensete
- Large-leaved perennials and tall perennials like Tetrapanax, Philodendron, Heliconia, Manihot, Hedychium, Canna, and Curcuma
- Hardy forms of exotic tropical ginger lilies like Zingiber and Alpinia
- Elephant ears like Colocasia, Alocasia, Remusatia
- Exotic aroids like Amorphophallus
- Tropical tall ornamental grasses and other grass-like plants such as Arundo, Saccharum and Chlorophytum
- Exotic-looking bamboos like Fargesia, Borinda and Bambusa
- Shade-loving exotic plants like Aspidistra, Rohdea and Tupistra
- Tropical flowering exotic plants like Bauhinia, Begonia, Cuphea, Gloxinia and tropical Dahlia
- Woody-perennials like Cycas, Hibiscus, Abutilon and Brugmansia
- Tropical-looking hardy Ferns like Coniogramme
- Hardy Palm trees such as Phoenix, Sabal, Washingtonia, Rhapidophyllum and Butia
Exotic Desert Plants
In addition, there are certain temperate zone and desert plants that are distinctly exotic- looking in temperate climates including:
- Succulents like Agave, Aloe, Yucca, Dyckia, Echeveria, Nolina, Opuntia and Dasylirion
- Bulbs like Dracunculus, Zantedeschia and Hymenocallis
- South African natives like Eucomis and Scadoxus
- Ferns like Onoclea, Thelypteris and Pteris
The list below contains many more cold hardy tropical plants for all types of gardens. When you are ready to buy tropical looking plants for your garden, check out our online list of exotic plants for sale.
Additional Resources
Read our article - How to Over-winter Tropical Plants
Check out our Gardening Unplugged videos
Gardening Unplugged is our series of short garden chats recorded during our Open Nursery and Garden Days.