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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Amorphophallus x konbus 'Mary Sizemore'
Item #: 15753
Zones: 6a to 10b
Dormancy: Winter, Spring
Height: 46" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: Bare Root / 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $29.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Amorphophallus x konbus 'Meister Eckardt'
Item #: 17092
Zones: 6a to 10b
Dormancy: Winter, Spring
Height: 30" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: Bare Root / 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.20Regular priceUnit price per$29.00Sale price $23.20Sale -
Amorphophallus konjac
Item #: 783
Zones: 6a to 10b
Dormancy: Winter, Spring
Height: 60" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China
Pot Size: Bare Root / 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $29.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Amorphophallus konjac 'Gordon's Gold'
Item #: 15750
Zones: 7a to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Shade
Origin: China
Pot Size: Bare Root / 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.20Regular priceUnit price per$29.00Sale price $23.20
Sale -
Amorphophallus konjac 'Nightstick'
Item #: 1166
Zones: 7a to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Shade
Origin: China
Pot Size: Bare Root / 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $29.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Amorphophallus konjac 'Yunnan Dwarf'
Item #: 16771
Zones: 6a to 10b
Dormancy: Winter, Spring
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China
Pot Size: Bare Root / 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $30.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Amorphophallus titanum
Item #: 1775
Zones: Tropical
Dormancy: Winter, Spring
Height: 180" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Indonesia
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $90.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Arisaema consanguineum
Item #: 2524
Zones: 5a to 8b, possibly colder
Dormancy: Winter, Spring
Height: 30" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China
Pot Size: Bare Root / 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $29.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Arisaema costatum
Item #: 6171
Zones: 6a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Winter, Fall
Height: 40" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Nepal
Pot Size: Bare Root / 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $29.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Arisaema fargesii
Item #: 3126
Zones: 5a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter, Fall
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China
Pot Size: Bare Root / 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $30.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outArisaema ringens
Item #: 2531
Zones: 5a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter, Fall
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China, Japan, Korea
Pot Size: Bare Root / 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $30.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outArisaema speciosum 'Himalayan Giant'
Item #: 7474
Zones: 7a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Winter, Fall
Height: 30" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: India
Pot Size: Bare Root / 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $30.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outArisaema tortuosum
Item #: 1383
Zones: 6a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter, Fall
Height: 50" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Himalayan Mountains
Pot Size: Bare Root / 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $30.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Arisarum vulgare 'Lady Lakki'
Item #: 17725
Zones: 7a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Summer
Height: 4" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Shade
Origin: Crete, Greece, Italy, Spain
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.20Regular priceUnit price per$29.00Sale price $23.20Sale -
Aristolochia fimbriata
Item #: 3031
Zones: 7a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Argentina, Brazil
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Arum x diotalicum 'Love Child'
Item #: 16302
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Summer
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $27.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Arum italicum 'Silver Arrow'
Item #: 16248
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Summer
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Europe
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $27.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Arundo donax 'Peppermint Stick'
Item #: 6677
Zones: 6a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 144" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Mediterranean Europe
Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.9 L)
Regular price $23.20Regular priceUnit price per$29.00Sale price $23.20
Sale -
Sold outAsarum nobilissimum 'Netscape'
Item #: 13295
Zones: 7a to 9b, guessing
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 10" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $24.80Regular priceUnit price per$31.00Sale price $24.80
Next crop available: 11/13/2026Sold out -
Asarum nobilissimum 'Super Shield'
Item #: 14995
Zones: 7a to 9b, guessing
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 10" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $24.80Regular priceUnit price per$31.00Sale price $24.80
Sale -
Asparagus setaceus 'Lowestoffe'
Item #: 8648
Zones: 7b to 10b, possibly colder
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 96" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: South Africa
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $24.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Aspidistra elatior 'Asahi'
Item #: 2538
Zones: 7a to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 30" tall
Culture: Light Shade to Shade
Origin: China, Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $34.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Aspidistra elatior 'Fuji-No-Mine'
Item #: 7064
Zones: 7b to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Light Shade to Shade
Origin: China
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $29.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outAspidistra elatior 'Mangetsu'
Item #: 15296
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 30" tall
Culture: Light Shade to Shade
Origin: China, Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $29.00Regular 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.