They grow them all the time in Austin and that is 8B. I grow Tumeric and that is a Curcurmin. I think it really depends on the exact ginger or species that you have . There is quite a variation in the hardiness between the species. Some are hardy to 7b and maybe colder. They like rich moist ground with good drainage. My Tumeric got to 16F last winter un mulched and It was very late appearing in spring. I thought they were dead but they came back nicely. There are 2 curcumas's and lots of gingers at Plant Delights and they list them at 7b and 8a mostly but some are colder. They list the Zones. I bet some judicious mulching might get it through the winter and give the plants some good drainage. It is always risky pushing the envelope but I know people who area successful. Here is a link that might be useful: Plant Delights Ginger list.

Well........ Not sure about quite a few of those, but I think you'll be fine with the following: Saba Mysore Raja Puri And these are pretty reliable here in zone 7 (and even colder): m. lasiocarpa m. sikkimensis These probably would NOT be good choices: Hua Moa Dwarf Red I'm not sure about the others. Ones that I can recall off the top of my head that wouldn't be suitable in zone 8a would be: Jamaican Red musa beccarii AeAe Cavendish musa zebrina (or Rojo, Sumatrana) Too tired to think right now, but that's a start. And to be sure, none of the fruiting types are really completely reliably hardy in zone 8a without some form of protection, usually in the form of mulch. Species bananas, such as musa sikkimensis, and of course musa basjoo, are hardier on average than the fruiting types.

I am in central Arkansas in the new part of zone 8a (not b like listed by the name). My I ground Satsuma has done very well over the past year. On the few nights it did get cold, I just put a sheet over it. I had a bit of yellowing on some leaves, but the spring fertilizing toolk care of that very quickly. The tree is currently growing and holding fruit. I am still pretty new to citrus, but I wish my container plants were as easy as the ones in the ground. I think there is a nursery in South Carolina that specializes in the more cold hardy plants.

I have a Daphne odora marginata that I planted maybe 20 years ago even though the experts say Daphnes are short-lived and difficult. (My name is Daphne so I had to have one!) It is planted on the west side of my house and now gets very little sun since the pear tree above it has grown so much. I have watered very little the last few years and it is still quite healthy. (I read somewhere that Daphnes die more from overwatering than anything else.) I usually pick a few blooms to bring in the house and they will scent the whole room. Some bearded iris are very fragrant. A friend let me pick a beautiful bouquet of them for my house, and the following day my living room was full of the loveliest, light scent. It took me a while to figure out that the iris were scented, as I had never heard of this before. The iris growers don't care about fragrance, so they don't make mention of it in catalogs. (I got this info from one of the owners of a huge iris nursery. He seemed annoyed that I wads bothering him with a question about fragrance !!!) You'll have to find iris in bloom iin the spring and sniff yourself or get recommendations from other gardeners. Make a note of the variety and then order that type for the following year. I also have a scented camellia (pale pink). The tag said 'fragrant' so I bought it even though I was very sceptical. Since I love camellias, I thought I'd give it a try since I knew I would like the plant, scented or not. I planted it several years ago next to my front steps where it didn't get much sun until it got tall, but now it is over 8' and had a ton of blooms last year. The scent is only noticeable outside when the temperature is warm, but then it is lovely.