Hi
Would suggest you google "tree ferns" There are some that are quite cold tolerant as well as some that are quite heat intolerant. So careful choice of species for your area would be necessary.
All but the Australian type are usually harder to find but certainly worth the effort to get the proper kind and how to manage it. The most beautiful of all the ferns IMO. gary

While they may be able to handle your low temperatures easily I would caution you that they require a TON of supplemental watering and really thrive best in moist, well-draining soil. I had several of these at a nursery I worked at near Vero Beach and they were one of the hardest to keep looking nice in the containers and the ground. They're one of those plants that needs the "perfect spot".

That's been my personal experience with them and I would never have chosen one for my personal garden of average Florida sand.

I lost mine to freezing temps last year here in Micanopy (south of Gainesville) so I expect that they may be difficult to keep going in the panhandle.

I have a huge (15'x 30')south facing screened porch. Perhaps tree ferns would work as container plants with a winter bubble wrap to protect from the cold. I was hoping to turn the porch into a little tropical Bali style paradise with plants that mostly look tropical but could survive in the porch shelter over the winter.

Well...your tree fern would want only early morning, dappled sun. I found watering to be the biggest struggle in maintaining them as they want their soil medium to be consistently damp. If you let them go once they fry. They may recover, but it's very slow and they're unforgiving. You'd be far better off with a palm or dracaena of some sort.

Guapogardener,
Thanks for the input. I am the type of lazy, forgetful and "rushed for time" gardener who has lost countless hanging basket plants because I forgot to water them first thing before work and came home to find them only fit for the compost. Perhaps I should look for other fern and tropical looking substitutes for the gorgeous but tricky tree fern.

You're welcome!