Hi Toni Sorry I have no idea what kind they are. The sticker on the pot just says Asst. Fancy and I doubt thats the type. LOL I don't have a balcony for them. I just play musical spots. I move them from their corner over to the window. Luckily the sun rises and sets on my side so they can get sun all day. After two or three days of that its back to the corner for indirect light and an organized livingroom. So far so good. In the winter the sun will be lower so I won't have to move them so far the sun usually comes all they way across teh room. I've one sprout that was coming out when I brought it that is fully out and ready to start uncurling and another small new one from another one. They do grow fast!

So many tropical do well in SF,it is more what does not do well. Cold winter rain will also kill some tropicals even without any frost, but most sturdy tropicals will do well. Jacaranda is a nice tropical tree that does well in SF, but look around, most of the street trees are tropicals. Flame eucalyptus, Victoria Box, Indian laurel (Ficus indica) and Acacias are tropical trees used as street trees in the city. Palms come in two basic types, fan and feather. Fan palms are hardier in general and you can grow many many types. (Chuson, Windmill, California, Mexican, Mediteranian, Palmeto, Chilian Wine, to name a few), Feather palms (like Coconut Palm)are more cold sensitive. Two basic types do well in SF. Date palms (5 or 6 species)and Queen palms. A few other feather types will grow in SF, but are rarer, blue palm and jelly palm come to mind. In really protected areas you can grow Raphis, Kentia and bamboo palms but they are all relatively small scale plants. The big palms on Dolores and up Market are Date Palms. Mexican Fan Palms are the most common fan types and are seen everywhere in CA. They are cheap and fast growing. Most other fan palms are slow growers Just about any type of banana will grow in SF, but won't produce fruit. My fave is the red or Abasynian banana. As well as bananas, also think about giant bird of paradise and giant taro or elephant's ear. The only problem with these plants is that wind will shred the leaves. When they get big enough giant philodendron and monstera have arial roots. I live in Sacramento and can grow 90% of what you can grow. I have mexican fan, queen, windmill and pigmy date palm, bananas and giant bird of paradise. I also have some philodenron with arial roots. The low humidity is the most limiting factor. Most of the tropical trees I mentioned don't grow here because of it, but oleander and gardinia do great here and we can grow plants like crepe myrtles without too much fear of mildew, which is a big problem in the Bay Area. I guess it is a trade off. Happy planning

Hmmmm, Amy...a challenge. LOL OK, first thing you need to realize is that BOPs are native to South Africa, specifically a biodiversity hot spot that runs from CapeTown to Mozambique. Why is this important? Because the western part of this region is Mediterranean subtropical with wet mild winters and dry summers. Go up the coast a little bit and it turns to a warm-humid subtropical (like Florida). BOPs straddle this line, which is why they thrive in both types of climates. That being said, BOPs can be drought tolerant...they can also take summer rains (remember the northern part of their range), thus they are one of the few flowers that can be the official flower of Los Angeles and also be a symbol of the wet tropics. My experience is that they flower more (peaking near winter) in California than they do in wetter climates. So...the bottom line is that you can do either and it will work. BOPs prefer not to be soaked and can handle considerable dryness, but not bog conditions. They are equally at home with impatiens (water hungry) at their base, as well as xeriphytic plants such as aloes (same origin) and smaller succulents. Depends on whether SE Asia interests you more or the Palm Springs look. ;-) If you want SE Asia in your Zone 8 garden, you can go the annual route, BUT use indoor plants commonly available at big box retailers (go with the 4"). To replicate most Balinese/Thai tropical styles, go with a three-level planting with the BOP as a centerpiece. You can use things like pothos (grows like crazy until it gets cold), shorter bromeliads like vreisias, and peperomias (especially the variegated ones). To frame the BOP (especially since it's in plenty of shade, you can use anthuriums (the bigger, red flowered ones like "Florida" are typically tougher), crotons (from a 2-3 gal), and smaller ti plants. Also tuck in a fern or two...like maidenhair to green up the base. Despite their reputation, most tropical plants abhor constant wetness...deep water the area and wait until the soil dries on top. The only thing I might suggest is bumping up the humidity in the area on those really dry days with a mister (or small water feature). Again, the previous list must be treated like annuals where you live, but they'll definitely give you the SE Asia look that's common in Bali, Singapore, Bangkok and it won't hurt the pocketbook. I'd recommend orchid masses (in our case cymbidiums would have to substitute for the phalenopsis they use), but the leaves don't provide enough contrast to a BOP. You can also cheat a little bit with another South African plant that loves shade and flowers in the winter/early spring, clivia lilies. They are a little tougher and though you won't see these in Singapore, if you're BOP survives, this will too. Same with the old standby, agapanthus. Common, I know, but it will be in bloom when your BOP isn't, though light may be an issue. That's the wet look...I'm sure you can handle the dry since you know succulents, but you can't go wrong with smaller aloes (shade tolerant). Some of the blue-green senecios or lower growing sedums will give a nice contrast in color with the BOP leaves. Apple-green aeoniums in masses might look good too, as well as some of the echeverias. One good coffee table book for xeriphytic ideas is Desert Gardens. B&N or Borders will probably have it and it's full of great pics of succulent combos. I hope this helps, Amy. Good luck. spectre

Where in south Louisiana are you? I'm in Lake Charles, same zone as you. Heliconia Schiedeana is root hardy for me in a protected spot with a southern exposure. But it has not bloomed in 3 years (was growing it in a pot when it bloomed) A frost will kill the stalks but it almost immediately begins to put out new stalks, even in the winter, when it warms up between fronts. Heliconia Rostrata, the hanging lobster claw heliconia, is marginally root hardy in the ground. It can withstand temps around 28 to 30 for a few hours and survive but anything below will kill the stalks. It will begin to regrow in May but both of these heliconia bloom on second year growth so your chances of getting them to bloom is marginal unless you provide some protection. I cover my Rostrata with a portable greenhouse during the winter and add an electric heater when it drops below 32 and mine are blooming now. I don't protect Schiedeana. The orange bird will do just fine for you. It will survive 24 with a little leaf damage. The white one is a little more cold sensitive. I have two plantings of both. They are protected from frost but get the full force of the north winds. They won't look too good coming out of winter. Just trim them up and they will do fine. The orange bird blooms in the late summer or early fall for me. The white bird starts showing blooms in late winter for me but I've had them bloom all year long. I'm not familar with the canna. Steve