Cold-Tolerant Flowering Perennial Tropical Plants

Beehive Ginger

• Plant the unusual shaped beehive ginger to give your garden a tropical flare. As its name suggests, the yellow or red inflorescence (or flower) of this perennial is shaped like a beehive. You may have come across It In a floral arrangement, as florists use it to add distinction to cut flower arrangements. Beehive ginger is cold-hardy to temperatures of 15 degrees Fahrenheit in Zone 8b.

Passionflower

• Passiflora incarnata (the biological name for passionflower) "Maypop" is another exotic-looking tropical perennial that is surprisingly cold-hardy. Passionflowers can make it through the cold of a Zone 5 winter and show off their beautiful pinkish-lavender flowers in the spring. Despite its tropical look, the Maypop variety is actually a North American native. Its fragrant flowers can grow as wide as 3 inches across and the plant can be trained to climb a trellis or fence.

Gardenia

• Gardenia jasminodes "Frostproof" is the answer to the prayers of gardeners looking for a cold-hardy gardenia. Frostproof is cold-hardy to Zone 6. It is quite easy to grow and a profuse bloomer. Flowers are pinwheel-shaped and have that well-known gardenia fragrance. Frostproof also has a long blooming season. The lovely flowers stick around from spring all the way to fall.

Roseglory Bower

• Clerodendrum bungei, or roseglory bower, is quite the show-off in the garden. It has bright, intricate rose-pink flowers that make provide a color explosion against dark green foliage of this perennial shrub. Rose glory bower is cold hardy to Zone 6. It can display a tendency to dieback in winter, but not to worry. Rose glory is just dormant, not dead. It will rise and return in spring.

Sweetflag

• Acorus calamus, or sweetflag is a good choice for a cold-hardy and tall growing flowering perennial. Sweetflag flowers are chartreuse in color and look a lot like irises. When you pinch off a portion of the leaf and crush it between your fingers the plant will emit a heavenly fragrance. Sweetflag is cold hardy in Zones 2 to10, which means it can stand up to the cold weather from the Great Lakes states to the shores of the Atlantic. It is shade tolerant and will grow as tall as 4 feet at maturity. While not strictly a tropical, it will make itself at home in a tropical-style backyard garden and add beauty to an outdoor pond.