What about thunbergia? Comes in blue, white and fairy moon. The fairy moon does try to revert back and needs to be pruned.

Thunbergia, while attractive, looks like it falls in the same ballpark as Ixora. It might work for one or two cold fronts, but then will either defoliate or die back to roots. It looks like it 'should' recover come spring, but it won't hold up for the long haul. If I had room in my tropical corner for one, I'd get it. But things are already getting cramped in there!

I may have found my shrub. Nightblooming Jasmine looks like it could fit the bill. From what I am reading, it might take some winter damage, but it shouldn't die back completely. And since it will be 'upwind' of my lanai, it will make sitting out there at night all the more pleasant.

I am open to other suggestions though.

Hi,
I live in Lake Mary, zone 9B. Here is how my shrubs fare during the winter: Night Blooming Jasmine, loses it's leaves. Allamanda, Mallow, and Jatropha same thing. Mature Hibiscus keeps foliage, yellow Cestrum, cape and coral honeysuckle keep foliage during average winter. Duranta "Sweet Memories," loses about half of it's leaves, kind of semi dormant around here. Pineapple Guava doesn't flinch, so far as far as hedges, it's a star. Night Blooming Jasmine, unfortunately looks almost dead below mid thirties in my yard. However, it is so easy to propagate and grows fast. Does come back after cold. Ixora has never been reliable in my yard, but we did have two unusually cold winters and they never came back after that.

They have two pineapple guavas down at the Lake Co. Extension office. They're planted probably 15-20 ft from each other and pruned in a way to create a natural arch between them. I love the look and plan to replicate it some day... but that wide spread tells me they might take up too much space for my yard. I'll take another trip to their demonstration gardens next week and look at the guavas with a more critical eye.

Thanks for the info on the night blooming jasmine as well as the other suggestions.

Michelia figo aka banana shrub can take some freezing and has small fragrant banana and vanilla flowers on it. The fragrance is strongest in the afternoon and very tropical smelling. It is my DH's favorite. It is not grown as commonly here as in Louisiana but it was hardy for me there as well..the winters were a little colder than mine now.
Mine bloom winter, spring, early summer, and late fall. They are in the Magnolia family. I grow it just the same way as camellia, azalea, and gardenias so they like a little acidic fertilizer once in a while. They do not defoliate in the winter and can grow quite tall. You can grow them in sun or with shade. Mine are in sun most of the day and get a little afternoon shade. They flower more if given a little more sun.

This post was edited by sultry_jasmine_night on Fri, Apr 18, 14 at 21:59

Cherry of the Rio Grande. Very cool looking peeling bark, nice white flowers and provides edible fruit (if you can get it before the birds and squirrels). The two I have are fruiting right now.
Mature ones may survive a temp drop to 22 degrees (F), grows in Orlando and Tampa and succeeds as far North as St Augustine.

DM

After we'd been here for 3 harsh winters, I vowed NOT to waste time and money on tropicals anymore. Anything that was taken out by cold temps were not replaced by the same plant. We lived only 45 miles further South from here for years and had many tropical plants that survived, but not here (Hernando County). I never realized what a difference a few miles could make. I do miss the hibiscus, crotons and bouganvillas and wish I could do the tropical fruits but I'm not a wealthy person. We also wound up moving to a pocket with clay soil, a long ways from the sand we used to deal with. So I have learned which plants will survive or come back in the Spring. Yes, last Winter was a mild one for the most part but there will come a bad one some year in the future for sure.

Rita, I am very much on the same page as you. Aside from my Tropical corner, the rest of my yard is planted with things that I don't have to worry about, if something gets taken out by frost, it is replaced with something else that will survive.

This corner is the only exception and the only reason it exists is because last fall I inherited some bananas. During this past winter I played with a pvc frame that allowed me to cover the entire area with a few blankets and it seems to have worked. So now I have plans for a folding frame that will allow me to turn the area into a greenhouse for the winter.

But the area where the shrub(s) would go is well outside the area that will be framed. Like you, I don't have money to simply blow on plants that won't last. I stretch every dollar by either growing from seed or buying plants that can be divided or otherwise easily propagated. So that's why I am picking the brains and experiences of others. Often times books might say one thing about a plant (like the Night Blooming Jasmime) and actual real world experiences suggest something else.

Yeah, I looked at the tag for Night Blooming Jasmine at Lowes recently, would love to have one, but the tag said the lower end was somewhere in the 40's, so I had to walk away. There are a lot of shrubs/hedge plants that will work here, but not so much that actually "look" tropical. I don't mind if something gets knocked back and then comes back, but when it gets killed off that's another story. I like plumbagos, and this past Winter they came through pretty well. I also have Walter's Viburnum, Camelias, Texas Sage, and Junipers, but they aren't tropical looking.

I must say, I quite like the look of the michelia figo. It might not be truly tropical looking, but it is close enough. I don't think I have ever seen one at the local big box stores, so I will unfortunately have to check with the overpriced local nurseries or find an online supplier. Thanks Sultry for that suggestion.

So glad you mentioned michelia figo, since I have a shrub I didn't know what I planted and after a search found it to be that one. So thanks. :o)

Leekle, you will love this shrub. Once you smell the flowers, you will be hooked!. I really don't know why more people don't grow it here....they don't know what they are missing lol. I probably wouldn't have known about them either but in Lousiana all the nurseries carried them. Once I got here I had to have some again.

Rita, I am in zone 9a NE FL and I have NBJ all over the yard. It does die to the ground in the winter but comes back reliably from the roots every spring. With a little fertilizer, they are tall as the roof of the house by July. I love anything with fragrance :)

Katkin, glad I could help !

The cestrum mentioned is a great large shrub. I have one in front of my chicken run for shade and it is hardy (I am very close to you). It has tiny tubular flowers that are loved by butterfly's. It is evergreen here in zone 9. If you do want to give that a try it is supposed to be easy from cuttings and I will share.

Yellow Cestrum is indeed easy to root, put cuttings in ordinary soil, keep moist but not soaking initially and you will have new plants. I usually use about 4 inch cuttings. Night Blooming Jasmine is also easy to root. Would be happy to provide cuttings of either one. I also have a Sweet Almond bush that roots easily.