Careful there, Bihai- we get a couple of hard frosts here every year, some worse than others, and sun in the summer that is as hot and DRY as it gets. Maybe we should ammend the post to say "Z9-10 except AZ".

Tell you what- send me some and I'll see how they do in my Z9.......;-)

Lynn

Tropicals, tropicals, tropicals. :) The ones I can't grow without my greenhouse.

Leona

What 'wouldn't' I grow would be an easier question!

I am in zone 10 so I guess I`m spoiled. I can grow many plants outside from Travellers Palms and bananas to Cherimoya and Mahogany trees, but the the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

I'd like to live in zone 12 where I could grow everything from Red Sealing Wax Palms and all kinds of Heliconias to Breadfruit and Durian trees.

Hmm. I live in zone 10, but I assure you, it isn't tropical. More like dry subtropical. No jade vines here, night temps are too cool. Also winters, though generally frost-free, are much too cool for many heliconias and such delicate beauties as cyrtostachys renda. Also, being on the coast, there isn't enough heat to satisfy some plants, certain palms, for instance. Yes, they grow fairly well, but you have to find the right sunny microclimate for certain palms to really thrive.

I agree with Cagary, 10 is good, but oooo, wouldn't I like zone 12!

Maybe z 9-10 in Florida is a better question...

The real difference is semi-tropical vs sub-tropical.
Southern coastal California is sub-tropical (dry and lower humidity)
South eastern and Gulf coast areas, or semi-tropical, have higher rainfall and humidity. Some areas have to contend with rare winter cold pushing down from the north.

So therein lies the promlem with USDA zones. They don't tell the whole picture. My zone 8 (Pacific NW) is much different than zone 8 (Texas).

Cheers, Barrie.

Zone 10 Florida isn't that great..Not at all.. I'm a native, have lived here all my life.

It is brutally hot for much of the year. Too hot to work outside, so the weeds take over and the mugginess encourages nasty fungal diseases. We never get the insect kil-off that cold zones get- we have pests year round. We have hurricanes, floods, hail, tornadoes, terrible lightning storms, and an endless supply of hungry squirrels.

I long for cooler zones so I can grow fruit trees that need more chill hours, like Apricots, Cherries, etc.

That said, I've been filling the property with fruiting plants to try to provide us with healthy food and make the place beautiful. It is working okay, except for the hurricanes/squirrels/blah/blah...

I have over 100 varieties of fruiting plants. Got to eat a few Apples, Peaches, Figs, Mangos, Atemoya, Citrus, Grapes, Blackberries, Mulberries, Strawberries, Plums, Nectarines, and Miracle Fruit. Fruit flies destroyed the Papayas and Guavas. Squirrels ruined the main crops of the orchard, which has 11 Apple trees and 9 Peach trees. Hurricanes ripped apart my adult citrus trees last year, but they are recovering.

So all is not easy in zone 10.. Every place has its limitations and problems.

I want SNOW!!!

Lisa

Aahhh, so the grass is greener.....

Azreno,

Shhhh.....Well, keep the frost thoughts to yourself (joking) and don't let my Mango, Guava, Bananas, Pineapples, Papayas, Avocados, White Sapote, Passion Fruit, Cuban Royals Palms, Foxtail Palms, Dypsis Baronii, etc hear that. All growing OUTSIDE in NE Phoenix.

You must be in a really cold spot or something. On the new USDA zone chart, central phoenix is zone 10 now. Downtown is virtually frost-free. Sunset zones are more appropriate for us in the west. You're right azreno, 'except AZ' (or the west).

I'm not downtown and I have to protect the small stuff now and again but if you utilize microclimates it is fine. The 'silver-lining' of urbanization (if there is one - gag-gasp) is that our night temps (in the winter where frost is concerned) are staying warmer.

Sonotaps,

Yeah, radiant heat is something isn't? I am working the microclimate, and working on more. We have a large pond with an area behind it that's covered in those bamboo sheets. It stays cooler in summer (evap effect from pond helps as well the shade) but has strong filtered light, and is protected from frost as well. Haven't actually been able to plant in the ground yet (still a construction zone), but am collecting tropical plants for that purpose- they absolutely loved it out there this summer. I have a temporary greenhouse to keep them warmer this winter, since they are in pots, but I expect them to do very well back there year round when planted.

Zone 10? Nope, I'm gonna have to say we still have a couple good hard frosts every year (some worse than others) in Mesa.

Hope to see you around!
Lynn

Lynn in Mesa!

I know of two people that grow things in East Mesa and one gets really brutal frost (and has a huge greenhouse where he grows lots of amazing things) while the other is pretty much frost free and grows the most amazing things outside! It just depends on where you are I guess! It's crazy, isn't it?

Good Mesa weather site and data:

http://www.twinknolls.com/

AZrfg.org

Good luck!

Sonotaps,

It certainly does depend on where you live! No way did it get to 107 today.

You're really into your fruits, huh? That's a nice website. We're not too much into fruits. I'm planning to grow my first edible anything next spring- caigua, it's a peruvian vine that has a fruit/ veggie with lots of health benefits. Now to get DH to eat them! Supposed to taste like cucumber, shouldn't be too hard if I throw it in a salad.

Do you happen to grow any of the passion vines for the fruit? Are they tasty?

Lynn

I grow Passiflora Edulus 'Frederick' and the fruit is very good. I use the juice for drinks, ice cream, etc. It freezes pretty well too.

Good luck with DH to eat caigua (never heard of it but I like cucumbers!) I'm not a picky eater at all and like to try new things but I know people who are picky and you may have a tough battle.

Hope the info helps.

I can grow pretty much alot. Some of my papaya trees are about 12 feet tall and are bearing fruits heavily this year. First time I ever see this many fruits in a year!! They lose some leaves last year but weren't killed by the hundred year snow event.

A Hayden mango would be my first planting (Fond memories of grandma's tree in Hawaii.), Lychee, Loquat, Avocado, Pineapple, Guava, Lilikoi (passionfruit), Apple Banana (firm, tart flesh, very different), Pamalo (Chinese grapefruit), Mamo Sopato, and more if I could think straight and stop drooling.

My Dream House would have a greenhouse atrium in the center to allow me to grow my mango trees.

Oh, lots of bamboos -- the big stuff (Moso, Vivax -- lots from the Phyllostachys genus).

Actually, many of those only require zone 7 or so, but here in lovely Minnesota (4a), zone 7 may as well be zone 9 or 10.

Also some palms; a coconut palm would be wonderful, but I'm not sure just how tropical those are...

Coconut palms are too tropical for Southern California unless located in a very warm microclimate; I've heard of one that has survived several years in Santa Monica - surrounded by a sidewalk and against a south wall - but very slowly growing. If I were in a more tropical zone (presumably the wet tropics?) I would likely grow Mangosteen, sealing wax palm, jade vine and other extreme tropicals.

Ryan

Coconut Palm in Newport Beach.

http://pages.sbcglobal.net/jeffearl/coco.jpg

Z9 west central gulf coast FL - everything thrives that loves heat & humidity, it's like living in an outdoor greenhouse for 6 months. Portability is key for me, a few cold windy nights, hurricanes, & strong storms make it necessary for me to be able to move every plant either inside or near shelter of some sort. I have about 50 orchids & 100 assorted other tropicals, palms, cycads, succulents, etc . . .

I live in Southern California. The raining season here is from January through May. Last December, I bought a 24" box Loquat tree with fruit on it. Just recently noticed that all the leaves are wilted and burned on the edges. Even the new leaf sprouts look the same. Can anyone tell me the possible cause? Is it too much watering or too little? Fireblight??

Please help.

According to this map, I am in zone 11, which seems accurate, since I've never known it to get below 42° here, but I could not successfully grow a coconut palm. I do, however, have heliconia, ginger, mango, and many citrus trees. I used to have a dwarf avocado tree, but it got bad infestations of white flies. I also had papaya and passionfruit, but both of those attracted possums, and so I got rid of both. The passionfruit made way too much fruit. I do like my bougainvillea, however, and my ex-roommate grew many kinds of orchids successfully outside here. I have a tropical waterlily in the pond, which blooms until January.

Never plant bamboo in zone 9-10 -- it becomes a huge pest, like many other plants that can take over when not killed back by frost. I'm battling several such pests myself now.

Shawn, you might have a problem with fertilizer - either too much or not enough. Take a sample of a leaf to the nursery where you bought it.

Lars

I live in zone 9.

I'm growing lots of Cannas, Heliconias, some Gingers, several bananas, Bougainvillea, pink mandevilla, elephant ears, Castor Bean, Root Beer plants, and others.

I've only been here 2 years. What surprised me more than anything, in growing tropicals, is how many of these plants want shade.

When starting a garden from scratch, there is no shade, and my garden design is centered around shade-producing plants.

The other problem is that it's HOT here. It's difficult to work in the garden during the day. I get out in the morning, before it really heats up, and in the evening, before the mosquitos come out.

I think the zone designations are too general. I live in Las Vegas - zone 9. It's so hot and dry here in the summer that almost everything in the garden "fries". Nighttimes are 85, Daytimes are 108. I would love to find an orchid that would grow outside in these conditions. Very few of my flowering plants will not fry out in July and August. The flip side is that all my flowering plants last all winter. If anyone knows of a heat-loving orchid that doesn't need any humidity, let me know!

A lot of my plants would die of the cold!

Could I grow a low-chill apricot in Zone 9 or 10? I'd like that.

Here in St. Pete Florida, the only plants I can grow are tropicals with tough leaves and shallow wide spreading roots. Nearly everything else dies from terrible insect attack or issues related to the soil.. But I love it here and have adapted to growing unusual tropical fruits. Don't miss the snow one bit. Only wish I could grow bearded irises. Man I miss those. I had so many up north. I'm going to give the reblooming ones that don't require much chill a chance and try to plant them where they won't get waterlogged and won't be devoured by the huge voracious grasshoppers here that begin to appear like locust when the summer rains are about to start.

you could set-up a cage (like a pool cage) for protection at least of some precious plants. so many people have them and hardly have any plants inside.

I think it would be just perfect for a nice protected garden. can even put the shade cloth up for summer . except the pollination - has to be self pollinating or no pollination required. anybody ever considered setting it up just for plants? just curious. I know they are quite expensive , but I see them everywhere around the pools (which largely go unused anyway). and up north people do spend money on greenhouses, for example. so why not pool-cage/giant shade-house in FL?

you can then perhaps grow irises in earth-boxes to mitigate nematode/sand problem...just a thinking out loud..

When this was first posted,Hayward was a 9b. in 2012 it moved up to 10a. Now,I'm a better gardener then 20 years ago,but now I have things I would never have thought I could pull through winters before. Mango starts the list,Pachypodium lameri,and lots of smaller plants. Cattleya's have done well on the porch for 2 years now.

Now, this winter was a 10b here. If that is the new norm ( I doubt it!) Then plants like Crotons and Royal palms would be doable.

Soon,I might just try.

Thanks petrushka, yes a lot of people in Florida have screen houses around pools and sitting areas. I have nearly all of my property planted and I have really huge palms and trees all throughout so theres really no place sunny to put a screenhouse. I guess I could try irises in earth boxes on the deck. The grasshoppers seem not to like to venture onto the deck and maybe having them in earth boxes will allow their roots to be cooler in winter

Most people here are in z 9&10 LOL I was expecting more lower zone pushers.

Citrus and more fruit trees would be nice. It's really amazing the difference in things you can grow from z 9b to 10b.

most citrus and fruit trees require chill periods that u won't have in 10b.

ha! LARS..I have had Possums eat half my lemon Guava's,my Monstera fruit I waited a year to ripen. They go after fallen Sapote fruit.

They are also living garbage disposals...I put old food out on the porch, they clean it up. Never have to throw chicken bones away.

You do realize citrus was first discovered in New Guinea, about 5 degrees south of the equator. Citrus does just fine with no chill hours at all. Peaches, pears, and apples, on the other hand, won't grow in the high number zones.

If I lived in an area that never dropped lower than the high 30s, I would grow plumeria, bougainvillea, bird of paradise, and citrus.

dchall, plumeria are the easiest things to over winter if you keep them in pots. Just trim them back, let them go dormant and put the pot in a frost free garage, shed, closet etc. Forget about it till spring. Then pull it out and place it in the shade and water it. When you see new growth, slowly move to full sun. They benefit from repotting every few years. Ive kept even very large plummies in small pots with holes in the sides of the pots. In spring, sink the pots in the ground, fall dig them up and trim the top back.

If I lived in a 10b or even 11, I would try to have a cannonball tree and a bread fruit tree, I could leave all my tropical stuff out and not have to move everything into the gh all the time. I'm sure I won't want to do keep moving all these large plants when I'm older lol.

I managed to get all 15 of my little jackfruit seedlings through this winter. I never can seem to get the cacao seedlings through winter even in the heated gh. They look great when they go in..Im thinking maybe its too dry in there.

I hope possums don't eat my Monstera fruit! I have one ripening right now..I think it still has a ways to go but we have a ton of possums around here. I didnt even realize they liked Monstera fruits!

~Sjn

>>> Citrus does just fine with no chill hours at all.

not true for all citrus. not all citrus is the same..

'chilling hours' for various fruiting trees are specifically defined. it's not the same temp for all. for stone fruit it's 45-55F, but for others it can be defined as 55-60F.

longans and lychees cannot be grown in So FL:

they require exposure to cool winter temperatures to flower properly the following spring. Chilling temperatures for these crops are temperatures below 55°F to 60°F, respectively. Lychee and longan trees that do not receive sufficient chilling temperatures may flower poorly or not at all.

some citrus require cool nights like blood oranges to develop color red.

satsuma cannot be grown in so fl (10a-10b) as they require cool nights , etc.

note that commercial citrus in FL is grown in 9b only, and NOT in 10a-10b (So FL).

in tropical climates oranges will stay color green, they will not develop orange color if the nites are too warm...so ..they have to gas them with ethylene ...to pretty them up :)...

and for example grapefruit will not grow in tropics except at higher elevations - it also needs cooler nights. and coastal So Fl has been rezoned as 11 now..

Idk about zone 10b or 11 but I personally get fruit every year on my oranges, grapefruit, lemon, tangerine, calamondin and lime trees. Most of which are producing buds right now. And my lychee tree is absolutely loaded with flowers. The lychee didn't bloom last winter/spring but that may have to do with the fact that we had so very very little rain until the summer and I didn't irrigate it. My mango also didn't bloom that year so that's telling. I'm in zone 10a.

I agree with Petrushka, there are a few hundred species of Citrus, let alone all the hybrids and cultivars. There's a vast range of growing conditions for all this diversity. Citrus was grown by the Romans, long before the Western World became aware of the existence of New Guinea. The main growing areas for most commercial citrus is outside the tropics as they do need the cold. Within the tropics some of the limes are the most suited to the conditions. But any of the orange varieties that will grow there produce green fruit that only turns yellow as it rots. Plant species can be limited by low zones but others will also be limited by higher zones. So as you move to different zones you'll gain the ability to grow some plants but lose the ability for others.

The peels of ripe oranges in tropical countries remain green because the chlorophyll in the peel stays alive and active even after the fruit is perfectly ripe.

In more northern climates chilly temperatures make the chlorophyll in the peel die and so it looses it's green color turning bright orange similarly to how leaves in the northern states turn bright colors in fall.

In the tropics, the chlorophyll in the peel dies only as the fruit goes bad. Orange or yellow colored peels on orange fruit in the tropics indicate that the orange is old, overripe or has even gone bad. Green peels on fully grown oranges is what you'd want in the tropics.

and like , you'd KNOW when to pick fruit by fruit? ;)..it's all green ..all the time...

just saying...it's kinda inconvenient, how do you know they are ripe , when they take 8 mo to ripen? take pics and compare? just kidding...

The peel on damaged fruit can change color before ripening so it's not always a sure fire way either. If you get an early frost for instance, the peels may turn orange long before the fruit is ripe. I always feel my home grown oranges for ripeness, I never go by color alone. But I'm certain commercial growers in tropical countries have developed a method of knowing when their fruit is ripe.

I've seen green oranges here, but they're more of a farmer's market type of produce. The colour puts most people off so there's not much interest in going into them on a commercial scale. Without the chill they don't get the same sweetness either. I have a lemon that stays green. It's not much of a producer, I usually go by the size and feel of the fruit. But sometimes they go too far, only good if you want the penicillin.

Yes, in the USA, where people are accustomed to brightly colored peels on their citrus , they would automatically just assume the orange is unripe if the peel is green so I doubt many people would buy them as is.

That's exactly why some commercial distributors in this country artificially dye their peels. I've seen oranges, limes and lemons that have clearly had their peels dyed.

I used to pick all citrus at market by the color of their peels but after picking many citrus fruit at market with beautifully deeply colored peels in the past only to find them hard, dry and pithy inside, I now know better. Juicy ripe citrus will give a bit to pressure when filled with juice and fully ripe

if i lived in zone 10b i would grow Plumerias and all sorts of tropical flowering vines like Thunbergia grandiflora.

Right now..I grow Plumeria,Crotons..only in pots. The Crotons are very marginal. So,I think it would take another half zone of GW or more here near San Francisco to grow them in ground,. Remember San Francisco itself is a true 10b..but the lack of summer heat means many tropicals just sit there and fade away. Never killed by a frost,just all year never above 70f sometimes and countless highs in the 50's or 60's.

so we need to qualify, CA or FL 10b ? i really meant FL..and what is now rezoned as 11 ;).

In St. Pete Florida, zone 10A crotons are very hardy in the ground. They're way way way over-used here. Everyone has in ground plumerias, with older ones having turned into tall trees. Coconut palms and poinciana are hardy here too. Rubber plant turns into a massive tree. My thunbergia grandiflora vine is only two years old from cutting and it's grown all the way up a 30' tree already. The picture below is of a ficus here in the park

True. Then you have to remember the Azores,some of the Canarys,Lord Howell Island-home to the Kentia palm- are up to z11..no coconuts grow there ( some on the beach of some Canary islands) and other tropicals are in bounds..not rampant growers. Its more of a wetter climate San Diego then a z11 Key West.

Actually the Azores and Canarys sounds like great people climates. Nights are never hot..days never sizzling or oppressive humid. Unless you like that..and many people do like hot and humid. Great pool weather!

the vegetation on photos look stunning! reminds me of hawaii.. but much closer to eastern US :). perhaps, i need to visit ;)! Terra Nostra gardens look superb!

Well the Azores are humid and it rains year round hence how lush and green they are. I personally love warmth and humidity so that would be my choice. The Canary islands seem dryer and closer to a Mediterranean climate