fargesia rufa bamboo, yellow groove bamboo, petasites japonicus, musa basjoo, ensente, shell ginger, heliconias (expensive), hardy opuntia cactus, hardy cholla cactus, hardy corypantha cactus (vivipara and sulcata), hardy agaves (cover from winter water), yuccas, annual eucalyptus, castor beans, tree ferns, hostas, ostrich ferns, rhododendrons, rose of sharon, lily of the valley, ligularia, begonias etc. lol. not all of those are hardy in zone 5, but you can easily store most in the house for winter.

Hit the fruit section at the market and load up on Taro Root. Plant it and you get these great plants that look like smaller elephant ears.

taro root = elephant ears, that term refers to the families colocasia, alocasia, xanthosoma, caladium and even some philodendron. the type sold in the common super market i believe is colocasia esculenta. i also think that you might end up paying more for the ones at the store, you can get the plants for cheaper, each one with several bulbs beneath. but jacklord is right about the fruit section, most tropical fruits in the market today have quick germinating seeds in them, just eat the fruit, plant the seeds and viola! you have a nice papaya plant or opuntia cactus x50 :).

Thanks for the post! I, too, am in zone 5, with a tropical heart!

I have kniphofia, crocosmia, Louisiana iris, ostrich fern and hosta growing together - looks like a tropical marsh, with creeping jenny standing in for the water. Also red buckeye and Gamecock azalea, which look tropical against a Sum and Substance hosta.

Problem is, bloom time is limited with this, even though the leaf contrasts stay pleasing. One of the crocosmias repeats, cardinal flower and red hibiscus bloom later in the season. Throw in some coleus and sweet potato vine and annuals for more color. I'm trying castor bean the first time this year as my children are old enough.

Rice paper plant and nandina are hardy for me - don't know if they'd make it thru z5 unless your soil is real favorable.

If you cut back a catalpa or paulownia to the ground they'll make GIANT leaves for you.

Edith Bogue magnolia is supposed to take z5; big leaf magnolia and sweet bay also worth trying.

Cannas, dahlias and brugmansia will go completely dormant if you dig them - just store between 35 and 55 deg and ignore all winter.

Staghorn sumac tiger eyes looks tropical and should be hardy in z5 Also variegatd giant reed arundo donax soups be hardy. Castor beans are annuals and add to the tropical look

I definately recommend Edith Bogue and Bracken's Brown Beauty Southern Magnolias for zone 5b and maybe a little lower

I travel a lot and got the feel that tropical was more of a lush feeling than lots of flowers. Everything was big and tight. If you plant in a controlled garden plan it will not look tropical.

I stuff lots of stuff in and concentrate on color leaves. The bigger the leaves the better. EE, Hosta, Banana, Brunnera, work good for me to get the look. Canna has worked great for ease of care and winter storage than any of the tropical plants.

Canna Intrigue with hardy Hibiscus
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Canna Bengal Tiger, Oriental lily, Hosta flowers, Yarrow
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My plan is when I want color in height I use Banana and cannas. For lower color I use Coleus.

Look for big lush foliage and stuff the gardens and you will have the tropical look.

I forgot to say mimosa. There are mimosas that are hardy in zone 5 and those that aren't. Also some crepe myrtles are root hardy in zone 5.

There are quite a few cacti and succulents that are perfectly hardy in zone 5, or even zone 4. Yuccas too. The key is to keep them from being waterlogged in winter, by planting in full sun on a slope (preferably facing south or southeast) or a mound with good drainage. I grow several different Opuntias, a corypanthus, yuccas and delospermas (ice plants) here in zone 6 RI.

Bill brings up a good suggestion with the Yuccas. I picked up 3 Yucca Color Guards this year.

Bananatree94, in zone 6, same as me. You mentioned tree ferns. Have you successfully grown a tree fern in your zone? I mean indoors or out. If I can successfully have one outdoors in the growing season and overwinter one in my basement in winter, come on and share some info how you do this. I have heard that the winter storage is not so simple for tree ferns. If it is just the same as for other tropical, I have heard wrong.

If you like cacti the eastern prickly pear is a native in most zone 5 areas but hardy hibiscuses are the best REAL hardy foreign looking plants

Gardeninglife, I already have 2 Prickly pear cacti. Thanks for the suggestion though. I actually got some blooms on both of them this year. If memory serves me right I planted them last year or the previous year. I just recently planted an Agave plant that is rated zone 6 hardy, but,..... we have gotten rain EVERYDAY for 4 days in a row and my planting bed that i have it in has weeds that I REALLY think are on steroids, joking but, these weeds have covered the area where I planted the little Agave plant. I used roundup in the actual planting bed I put it in, and I will check it tommorrow unless it rains all day. I didn't spray any on the little plant of course. I like the rain in a way, but, it makes it hard to keep up with the darn weeds. well, thanks for your suggestions, any other info that comes to mind, I would love to hear, Bye Poaky1

Oh, and BTW, I know my local Wal-mart has hardy Hibiscuses, I will likely get one eventually, but I may wait until next year, I want to get some railroad ties, and make a new bed, then I can get the Hibiscus. My best friend has a hardy Hibiscus in her yard, I stupidly bought a tender one, it died in my basement over winter, not from cold, my basement stays around 60F all winter, so it died for other reasons, my Bird of paradise and house plants did great down there in front of a south facing window. Maybe it got too dry? Well, whatever. Thanks GL

tikigadener, are you in a solid zone 5? In a sheltered spot you might try Aucuba japonica. Evergreen here in zone 6 with nice spotted leaves, it looks tropical to me, like a house plant. Also tolerates shade if that's good for you.
I have a Brackens' Brown Beauty magnolia that is in bloom now and is completely hardy here in Providence (z6). Even if ravaged by winter cold and wind, it retains most leaves until new growth starts, then drops them after the new ones show up. Most years though, it doesn't lose many leaves.

Aucuba japonica is a nice shrub, just keep in mind, that evergreen plants can be very attractive to hungry deer and deer LOVE Aucuba japonica (and Fatisia japonica, and Euonymus japonica..., when everything else is covered in white). I practically have my Aucuba in my outdoor shower area to protect it from their appetite. Southern Magnolias are good to about Zone 6b (highly recommend the cultivars 'Edith Bogue' and 'Victoria', btw). Deer HATE to eat their leaves, BUT this past winter was SOOO bad I did see one eating lower leaves on the grandiflora and even my Yucca. (On the other hand, during the autumn rut, all Magolias are their very favorite tree because of their smooth wood.) In colder zones, I would suggest some hollies (Japanese Holly, Inkberry, Blue hollies)..., Osmanthus heterophyllus 'goshkki'..., Laurels to Zone 6 too, though I don't really think of these as "tropical".

My southern Magnolia, the pure evergreen Mag, has done great for the 3 winters it has been here, but, bananatree zone 6 Michigan, mentioned "tree ferns" in their list of what they have grown. I am hoping they can mention how they have grown it. Even if they brought it indoors, I am hoping to grow one. If they only had it last one season(over spring and summer) I hope they would mention that. I would like to grow one IF they did indeed grow one for AT LEAST A FULL YEAR, or in other words overwintered a tree fern successfully. Poaky1