staghorns! Sorry, that is all I have, if you said in sun and in pots I would have recommended clematis.

Roses?

With all these cold fronts, Antique Roses seem more and more appealing to me :) But, shade is a no-go..

Maybe various ferns? Back to orchids, some are cold hardy -like cymbidiums..Unless it is 33 and below, I am not moving mine. During the last freeze, I just covered mine with sheets...

I'd say camellias, some cacti (with large blooms), osmanthus, jasmines, gardenias and Michelia figo are a few.

I didn't see the shade part so yes, roses would be difficult. Maybe hydrangeas if you can get at least part sun. They like the same amount of sun as the gardenias and camellias. A camellias looks like a rose I guess? Are you sure you can't find a sunny spot for some roses? Sorry, I am just a rose lover; I can't let go of the idea.

Full shade is going to limit the pretty smelly flowers you can grow.

There are quite a few Croton collectors in Tampa. Yes, they lose leaves in a cold winter, but they will come back in the spring. Nothing beats a Croton for color and they do best in dappled sun or shade. You can underplant them with ferns that survive in your zone, as they also like the shade.

Ferns is a good suggestion. I already have two staghorns and am trying an elkhorn and have lots of basic ferns in the front yard, but nothing too unique or with much "wow" factor.

Roses, cacti and the other sun loving shrubs are out. My yard is mostly shade and becoming more so each year. And I'll have to ponder on Crotons. It's a good idea, but I'm not sure I want bare plants for a couple of months every year. But they do have some 'wow' factor to them, don't they?

Any more suggestions?
Lori

In my shade garden, I always get WOWS when folks see the bromiliads-all varietes with some deep, deep maroon, some white, some varigated
- some have blooms, others flush with color. Grouped together, they are very interesting. the possiblities are endless, but you won't find them easily or cheaply except at places like Tropiflora (at least in my area)
Look around and see what you think.
Hester

Hester - how well do your Bromeliads handle the cold?

Since my broms are mostly under a tree canopy, they do fine.
Last year in that intense, prolonged cold, some of the leaves browned a bit but that was all.
In my new house I have some a bit more out in the open and they didn't have any problem this year.
Hester

Bromeliads are a great idea. I already have probably close to 10 varities, most only a single plant or so, but I go to the Tropiflora festival if I can at least once a year so I can get more, lol.
The reason I didn't give them too much thought is that I have a bunch of pine trees and when the needles drop, the broms look horrible...and if I try to reach in and get them out then I look horrible (scratched up and raw!)
Lori

My bromeliads under the oaks do very well in the cold. The ones that are exposed never even batted an eye last winter when everything else froze. Another thing that did well was snake plants (sanseveria). I have several kinds, and they did great under the oaks in the cold.

Of course, keep in mind that I don't get as much cold for as long as you do.

Since you liked orchids - what about bonsai? You can plant them in plastic containers (the clay ones will crack when they freeze). Run drip irrigation through them (so you don't violate water rules - they do need to be watered a lot). And perhaps arrange them on attractive display stands (or in a small lath house). My late mother (in south Florida) had a small lot - and did both orchids and bonsai. I took a couple of bonsai after she died - but most weren't hardy where I live (in NE Florida) - and I have an acre of land (bonsai doesn't pack much of a punch on an acre lot). There are all kinds of bonsai - some like sun - some like shade - some have flowers - some don't. One of the bonsai I took was a crape myrtle (which flowers beautifully in the summer). Robyn

Lori, how abt. a 'shade house' ? there was a post not long ago on the Greenhouse Forum I think, that showed a shade-house built with lattice, she had it full of orchids and tender stuff, and had plastic-sheeting (visquine?) fastened around the top-roof that she dropped down for cold-spells, she had a small heater she used for extra-cold spells..... Lou here on the Fla. Forum has a pic of his greenhouses, and he lives further north than we do.... would be fairly cheap to construct with lattice... something to think abt. it maybe could be put on the side where you come in from the driveway... you already have an arbor there and could be put just past it, from the house to the fence...... sally

hi
have runa SH Gh for many years actually a converted screen room mostly for orchids but
I'm getting old and the up keep is way too much so have downsized the orchids and trying temporary structures out in the yard. I love growing them on trees which works great 90 percent of the year. At one time I had 50 in an orange tree. Not quite as spectacular as you'd think but did have it's moments. The Vanda hedge that I started 3 years ago is coming along. For temporary structure used frostcloth along with infrared heat on a thermostat .
have 7 species in the group and now adding some epicats
and dendrobiums. Has grown well in spite of the cold BUT wow what a tangled mass. Not exactly "easy care lol but I can't bear to part with them Going to also add some terrestrials at the base. Those are still being lugged into the house. I find the orchids the MOST difficult to part with. the shadehouse will not be heated any more but the large terrarium will be at least for a couple of years.
For your new interest . How about "Aroids" though you're limited to less than a thousand species lol
Some are very cold sensitive but many are not .
gary

Cycads are cold hardy & drought resistant. They don't bloom, but are very tough & fit into most ladnscapes.There are hundreds of different kinds.
Staghorns are cold hardy to about 20 degrees-I didn't even cover my big ones the last freezes we had, but I brought my smaller ones in when we had hard freeze warnings.
Shirley

I have a 40+ year old staghorn and a 10 year elkhorn, both do wonderfully all year round (I have mine chained to an upper branch and lower them into wheelbarrows when hurricane weather comes).

For color: CALADIUMS! Caladium world in Lake Placid sells out immediately, I'm placing my order for "Candidum" this year. Have White Queen, Candidum (my favorite)"Freida Hemple" "Red Flash" and "Aaron"

You can put caladiums ANYWHERE (some will take the sun) and you'll forget they're there during the winter, but one day you'll wake up and have hundreds of little spikes sticking up (I grow mine around the oaks, and randomly in the ferns...striking) A week later, you'll have gorgeous, heart shaped leaves splashed with the most amazing colors!

They don't have any fragrace, but they're gorgeous, last all summer into fall and fairly maintenance free.

Here are a few plant groups that do very well in my winter yard.

The Tabernaemontana's --Crepe jasmine, pinwheel, double pinwheel, varigated in the crepe and pinwheel. If you grow T. holstii- you'll have to keep in a large pot- it will freeze and die- but it blooms year around and fragrant!!

Gardenias- not all the them, but my varigated, Heaven Scent and Vietnamese Gardenia have not lost a leaf and Heaven Scent is still blooming.

Justicias- Not one of mine has cold damage.

For perennials - how about salvias.
If they start to look bad, cut them back.
I love the S. van houtii's,
S. leucantha "Mexican salvia",
Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue' .
Plus the ones that reseed all over my garden.
The coccineas - red, nymph, white - love those!

..........cheryl

So many great ideas coming in, thanks everyone! I've been looking into the varieties and cultivation of all the suggestions, with ferns, bromeliads and now caladiums being front runners.

It occurred to me that one of the "things" I love (or hate at times) about a plant "interest" is lusting over one that you can't find or can't afford. So far, it seems every category suggested will provide me with that "activity", lol. So now it's up to the pocket book and availability I guess!
Lori

I like the idea of salvias, many tolerate shade and they produce beautiful flowers that attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

If you want the wow factor I suggest some of the highly fragrant camellias. They are new varieties. Used to be that one could not find fragrant camellias. Now one can, especially if one visits Apopka.