I planted a southern Magnolia this spring. It's one of the cold-hardier varieties, but still....

I still haven't decided whether I should wrap it in burlap this winter, or just pile up lots of leaves and cross my fingers.

I have every expectation it will be an expensive mistake, but hope springs eternal.

I forgot about the Magnolia. I also planted one this spring and it's doing great. Mine is "Bracken's Brown Beauty" and was sold as fully hardy here. What variety is yours?

I have had a Braken's Brown Beauty in the ground since May 2001. I brought it home in my car and over the last 8 years it has proven to be a vigorous grower, through some tough winters and some very mild winters along the way. It is now about 20 feet tall and seems happy. I also planted a camellia "autumn spirit" this spring--a very small 1 year old plant I bought on-line ($14.00), from a southern nursery. Amazingly, it has set 2 flower buds that I am waiting to open. It is advertized as hardy to zone 6a, so it should be OK. Deep down, I want to try a palm. Any suggestions?

Rockman,
I'm guessing you got if from CamForest. It's a hybrid of C. oleifera and should be hardy no problem. If you look at my post in this forum "Some Photos of My Flowers" (Sep. 19), there are two pictures of my Camellia "Snow Flurry". I've had it for about nine years or so, and it has proven totally hardy. It also has C. oleifera as a parent. The flower looks a lot like your Autumn Spirit but white. Right now there are probably more than 400 buds. If mild weather persists through early December, they will probably all bloom, but some will be open any day now and continue until we get cold days and nights.

As for a palm, the Needle palm (Rhapidophyllum hystrix) is said to be hardy to -20ºF when established. It grows more as a mound rather than a trunked tree. For the trunking types, some people have had luck with the Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei or T. takil). They would need protection, especially for the first few winters. There are people who grow lots of palms in cold areas who post on the "Palms" forum. That would be a good place to start.

Cedrus deodara 'Gold Cone' is listed everywhere as z7-9.
I have one for 3 years in a ground, but it's in so sheltered (read shaded and not very well visible) location that it show its cold color only in a spring when new growth emerges then become fully green. Also, being shaded it lost lower 3' of branches. Nevertheless, during this 3 years it grew from 4' to 8-9'.
I like it so much that this spring I bought another one, planted it in a semi-open part sun and praying...
Another 2009 experiment: Abies pinsapo 'Aurea'. This impulse purchase is a clear mistake on my part. If it survive it could be a fairly large plant, therefore shouldn't be there where I planted it and need to be moved, but there is no space in a garden where I could meet both requirements, space allotment and protection.
I'm not mentioning z7 hydrangeas cause for me it's 'an ordinary course of business' :-)
One more. Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey'. Technically it's not a 'zone denial' plant since it is listed as z6(no way z5 as plant-pushers sometimes list it) plant, but believe me it's a very challenging plant not only to propagate, but to establish and grow (on East Coast) as well. I killed the first one, somehow managed to make second prosper, killed the third and now working on my fourth (which went back to the pot as soon as it start show decline) :-)
Not withstanding to anything IT'S A FANTASTIC PLANT and worth all the efforts. BTW, without flowers it looks much better than with blooms :-)

Ego45,
Is there some special difficulty in that variety of Hydrangea compared to the standard Oak Leaf? I have had a standard H. quercifolia for years which I really love, given to me by my grandfather, and it grows like crazy. I'm always hacking off chunks that block a path, and pulling up shoots from runners to keep it in check, so I'm surprised to hear of your difficulty. For me this thing thrives on neglect! Maybe that cultivar ("Little Honey") has a genetic weakness?? Just a guess.

Yes, it is a genetically weak plant being the yellow sport of dwarf 'PeeWee'. This plant is reportedly hard to propagate and in addition to that it has a very high mortality rate in its first year of life. Also, while all quercifolias requiring a good/decent drainage, 'Little Honey' in particular demanding a perfect one and combination of our native clay and wet winters makes it very uneasy plant to grow on East Coast while westcoasters have no problem with that.
Now, when after 6 years since it had been introduced, it become more widely available (at lower, but still the hefty price), I think everyone who is not afraid of the challenges should try to grow it.
In a raised bed :-)

Ego,
My hat's off to you for trying! For me though, if I have to put a lot of effort into trying something, it has to be something quite different. While that Hydrangea looks great, it's not different enough from the huge H. quercifolia that I have to make me take the time. I'm one who would rather try to grow a palm tree or hardy citrus. But I totally admire anyone who goes after what he wants. That's what makes gardening and gardeners so interesting!

Bill

"...it's not different enough from the huge H. quercifolia.."
Have you seen it? It's substantially different by size, by color and by impact in the shady garden.
During the Open Day garden tour I had this year, 'Little Honey' was probably #2 or #3 by frequency of the asked question 'What is it?'
Here is the pic from 2007 after the first successful winter in a ground. Currently it's 3x4 and bloomed first time. No more current picture, though.

Yep many times I am found guilty of zone denial. Perhaps its because I tend to be a bit impulsive plant buying, you know the type they get em home and then plants em then reads the tag then looks up how they grow. I do put more effort into doing the best I can just to see a bit of em next season resulting in more failed than I succeed in out of zone plantings
I now force my self to look things up prior to buying and planting An example is a season long desire for Calla Lilies for next season ended in a was a no way don't do it second thought. I did however go to a certain garden center off rt 20 in Worcester and they had plenty of em for sale at reasonable prices.. The response form the staff was it was a set it and forget it type of plant like a tulip bulb in care. I no longer use this garden center as a result of this conversation.
It takes a lot of effort to keep an out of zone plant alive during there off season growing of the five I do have remaining 2 zones out of place that is enough for now. I am just not ready for a new challenge when it comes to out of zone plantings and care, but if something sparks my attention enough I will be sure to give it a reaserch and then concider a buy.

Ego, I can see why you are enamored with that H. quercifolia - it's stunning. Why less attractive in flower, though? I can't fathom that (although I admit I've got a few plants that I feel that way about, like Ligularia dentata 'Dunkellaubig').

I have a couple of crape myrtles, which are technically not beyond my zone anymore. Almost everyone who comes into my yard when they're in bloom asks about them. There's a down side to them, since they can die to the ground in a particularly harsh winter (as happened a few years ago). A plant that's 12' tall and makes a real architectural statement one year but looks essentially like an herbaceous perennial the next year is a little bit of a challenge to site well.

My adventures with camellias have not worked out very well, I've lost count of how many I've killed at this point, probably more from a lack of the perfect spot (too exposed, not enough winter shade, or too dry ...) than because of frost tolerance.

Yes, I think zone pushing is worth the risks - the thrill of victory stays with you, and the defeats get planted over in no time and forgotten.

I am in zone 5-6 borderline. I have one dahlia that I never dig up that comes up beautifully every year. It is a smaller flowered, white single petaled variety. It is also my showpiece because of its survival feat. I always wonder if it is because it is planted against the house that it stays dryer and has some protection from the temperatures. However, no other dahlia has survived.

I suppose I am still in denial in a way. This year I purchased and planted several of these simple dahlias against the house. I am hoping they will survive. :)

Ego, not meaning to minimize your obvious attraction to that Hydrangea, but the initial focus of this thread was about zone denial. Although "Little Honey" has some nice attributes, bottom line is it's still a Hydrangea, and there are scores of Hydrangeas that can be grown in my zone. Zone denial to me would be demonstrated by someone growing a palm or a pomegranate, for example, in zone 6, probably with protection.

Wesley,
Even though Callas are not reliably hardy in your zone (or mine), again to me this doesn't come under the heading of "zone denial" since they are easily grown as pot plants, or as summer bulbs like Cannas, Gladiolus, Gingers and Dahlias, that is to say, dig and store in fall and replant next spring.

Diggingthedirt,
Growing crape myrtles qualifies as being in zone denial, and even though some are advertised as hardy in zone 6, I tend to be skeptical.

I guess anything I grow doesn't count then . . . for me, zonal denial is growing things that will survive easily for you in zone 6! ;>) No possibility of camellias, tree ferns, or palms here.

Nan, white-cream flowers of Little Honey somewhat blends with a yellow-lemony foliage of the plant vs nice stand-out contrast of the same color flowers against dark green foliage of 'normal' quercifolias.
Bill, growing CM in 6b is not as challenging as it was ten years ago before string of hardy cultivars become available. There are several people on this board who have nice mature specimens even in 6a. I'm myself had (now finished happily blooming in a my neighbor's yard) a 12' tall 'Zuni' which rarely bloomed for me due to a limited sun exposure it was provided, but to make it bloom was only my challenge with it.
Want another challenging plant?
Try Fuchsia magellanica (also listed as z6).
Oh, BTW, my camellia 'Winter's Rose' is full of buds right now, however it will probably start blooming not before late November- December when most of the blooms will be ruined. Again. :-(

Ego, too bad that "Winter's Rose" starts to bloom so late. My "Snow Flurry" starts earlier, and may continue through early December if we have mild weather. It should open some blooms any day now, and I can usually count on at least one month before the buds get destroyed.
I have been considering the hardy fuchsias but waiting for some stonework to be completed before I can plant in that area. Probably will be in spring now. Have you tried the fuchsias? I've never seen them here.
Another one for me has been Passiflora incarnata. I've killed at least four and have given up! And it's often listed as zone 5.
Maybe it's time to move south!

I don't really do much zone denial, but I do have a bit of zone envy of you "6/7" gardeners, esp. close to the coast! You seem to have much greater opportunity to push the zone than zone 5 or colder does.

I am having fun growing some plants native to other regions of the US, where the climate might be warmer or drier in the winter. Also trying to grow a few plants from seed/cuttings that I know comes from Southeastern US stock, so the genotype may not be as hardy in the Northeast. It's fun to try even if the plants don't make it.

Heck, even fully hardy plants crap out over the winter for assorted reasons.

Terrene,
What are some of the things you are trying?

Hi Bill, I mostly grow plants whose native range includes the northeastern US, (although I like lots of non-natives too) and amuse myself with trying to grow natives from other regions. Here are some examples -

- some Western species, like Agastache, Penstemon, and Aquilegia, with which I haven't had much luck. Even if they are cold hardy, the winters are too wet here I think, and sometimes even the summers

- some Midwestern prairie wildflowers and grasses whose range doesn't extend into New England

- in a trade I received a division of Euonymous americanus, Hearts a-Busting - hardy to zone 5, its native range extends to New york, but this plant was from a lady in Alabama. 2 years of growth and it's doing great!

- Asclepias variegata, a rare milkweed, again the native range extends to the Northeast, but doesn't include New England- the seed is from he southeastern US