I understand the Philodendron selloum is surprising hardy and it is quite tropical looking. Also, consider Magnolias if you like the tropical look and big, aromatic flowers. M. grandiflora (with numerous cultivars) is the native evergreen one and its deciduous cousin Bigleaf Magnolia is even more tropical-looking and cold hardy even in much of the North. Equally cold-hardy are the Hosta (and some have very large leaves). Also, consider some bananas (Musa basjoo, and the Chinese banana Lasiocarpa are both cold hardy but will die down in the colder months. Acuba and Fatsia japonica are two cold hardy shrubs that are quite tropical-looking. Then of course there are the palms--native Sabals, Mediterranean fan palms, Chinese windmills (Trachycarpus), native Needle palms (Raphidophyllum) are safe choices.--Cycas revoluta (Japanese sago) should also be hardy in the area. In addition to big leaves, consider plants vines and ferns to add a tropical element. Good luck!

If Savannah is zone 8, you can grow several gingers, which are extremely popular in Hawaii. Almost all of the Hedychium gingers(butterfly gingers) will survive zone 8. And they are very fragrant. They will die back completely to the ground in the winter but come back reliably in late spring and be blooming by the middle of the summer. A lot of the hidden gingers (Curcumas) would work. A few of the spiral gingers (Costus) will survive zone 8. You can easily grow plumeria in a container and store it in a garage during the winter since winter is the natural dormancy period for plumeria. You could also grow shell ginger, Alpinia Zerumbet, but not many more of the alpinias since they are not, as a group, as cold hardy as some of the others. There are other bananas, like Orinico, that will make it and possibly fruit on zone 8, if grown in a protected location. Good luck.

Steve

Die back cold hardy perennials are always a safer bet, especially if you can't be bothered to move things in and out of the house/garage in winter. The various gingers already recommended, I'd add Cannas to that recommendation, Various Alocasias and Colocasias, (look at Plant Delights on line catalog to see all the choices). I think Gardenias might be winter hardy there, but other fragrant shrubs, not necessarily tropical foliage looking, but excellent fragrance and often in winter would include Daphne odora and Osmanthus fragrans and Osmanthus heterophyllus. Brugmansia can also be grown in a large tub and hauled into the garage in winter, great for summer into fall fragrance and tropical foliage/flowers. Crinums would be worth seeking out also, they look plenty tropical. Maybe some Mahonia species like M. lomariifolia. Annuals such as Nicotiana sylvestris, Cleome, Amaranthus, Dahlias also love your heat and look tropical.

I would definitely get a few ginger. Some of the Alphina's might stay evergreen all year long under a shady tree!
Butterfly gingers are very common in Hawaii, but they are also very common in the south! You cant enjoy then year-round in the south because they die back sometime around November-December, but you will see them up and growing from early March to late November which is almost 9 months out of the year!

Cape Jasmine is a southern fragrance and they look fantastic climbing a brick wall. The fragrance during the spring and early summer is amazing! A fully grown plant will give the ENTIRE yard a beautiful scent!

Plumerias are great potted plants to try in Savannah. Anyone who lives in Hawaii has seen them because they are everywhere! They grow into huge trees, but they can last at least a decade as a potted plant and make blooms every summer when established! I live in New York, but I have plumerias as potted plants and I always have blooms during the summer and nothing reminds me more of Hawaii! I take them in before the first freeze and keep them inside a normal room. I only water them maybe 3 or 4 times the entire time they are indoors and then I start watering them again when they go outside and it gets into the 80sF. They lose their leaves indoors, but grow them back when they go outside. Evergreen species of Plumeria will likely keep all their leaves indoors and out!

You should also look into some bromeliads. If you have a nice microclimate that doesnt get frost, you can mount a few on an evergreen tree (like a Live Oak). Spanish moss and ball moss are very common (and native) bromeliads that thrive in Savannah, but they arent the kind of showy bromeliads everyone loves!

I love Crinums so you should give those a try too.

Palm trees are symbolic of the tropics so you should definitely add some Pindo palms, date palms, trachycarpus, sabals, washingtonas, and needle palms. If you have a shady spot you should definitely give Chamaedorea radicalis and Chamaedorea Microspadix a try. They look very tropical, but they can handle a Savannah winter with no problems! Rhapis Palms are probably too tender to grow in Savannah, but if you have a nice protected spot and maybe give it some protection, I think they should pull through also!

Cannas and elephant ears are great perennials and very common and hardy in Savannah. I have heard of people getting Papayas to survive in Savannah with just some mulch and if you dont like the idea of protecting plants, then you can just regrow them every year. Just get some seeds and germinate the seeds around September. Keep them in pots indoors until the Spring and plant them in the ground. By fall, you might even see some fruit developing if you give them lots of sun and care!

Citrus have a great fragrance and you get the added benefit of some delicious fruit. Lemon Trees do great and the more cold tolerant Orange Trees should have no problems either. Im not sure about Grapefruit, limes and Kumquats, but those might be okay too.

Ferns make a great ground cover for shady wooded areas and they might help bring that Hawaii look a bit too.

Add a water feature with some waterlilie, cannas, elephant ears, umbrella palm, and a waterfall and that will really help make you yard look tropical. Some tiki heads and tiki torches kind of give a bit of Hawaiian Culture as well.

Good luck!
-Alex

I forgot to also add Tree Philodendrons and Queen Palms to the list. Both can survive in Savannah, and both can help with the Hawaiian look (tree philodendrons are very common in Hawaii and also look a bit like Monstera which is extremely common in Hawaii!.