We always covet that which we cannot grow! LOL. I'm reading this forum out of pure envy. I wish I could grow many of the things you can grow in the Coastal South without fretting over severe Winter freezes...especially the many different kinds of palms and tropical perennials that thrive in your climate but are only marginal where I am. The traditional Coastal South landscape with humongous live oaks dripping with Spanish Moss, huge Camellias and Gardenias, native Sabal palmetto, massive Indica azaleas...WOW!

Every climate must have its plusses and minuses. One thing I like about my zone is that it's a crossroads between the subtropical deep South and the more temperate Upper South. So, I can grow some things from both worlds for a major hodge-podge.

Clay,
How refreshing to read your nice post. Wonder why we Americans can never be happy with what we have??? I am as bad as the next one tho' Would love to grow my Michigan Hostas in Alabama, and ever tho I have loads of azalias there, I am pampering Northern Lights (azaleas) here in zone 4/3. I feel lucky that I can have North and South gardens, but still insist on trying to defy mother nature. Annie

Forgot to add that I also try to grow hostas in my Zone 7B Alabama garden. This year they are doing pretty well because we have had lots of rain and the heat hasn't been too bad. The last couple of years, my hostas were dormant by about August. I also envy the huge selection of conifers available for gardeners just to my North, although I actually am having pretty good luck with many here.

I had lots of young palms in my garden, most of which would be hardy for me if they had been better established. But last Winter zapped many of them when I left for a week around Christmas and the weather got colder than predicted.

Delphiniums, foxgloves (successfully) and lilacs. Lilacs!! Those are just a few I can think of now.

Well ya'll ,I think theres way too many plants I can grow to worry too much about the 1s i cant but a challange is always fun :) having said that boy do i wish i could trade growing grapefruit for growing ASIAN PEARS ! YUMMY !!!when you can get them they cost 1.50 each here :O ohh and no matter what their zone every gardener should have their very own money tree so we can always afford the plants on our "gotta have" list !

I do not lust for cool weather plants. But I do lust for more tropical plants that will not take our minimal winters. However, winters are not always minimal in New Orleans and a good snow can do everything in.
Kim

I wasn't going to post to this because I'm in an 'accentuate the positive' mood and one of the reasons I wanted us to have our own forum is so I could quit 'pressing my nose up against the bakery window' lusting after all the plants that fill mags, tv shows, and other forum but just won't work for us.

Howsomeever....I WANT peonies! I really, really want them. I love that flower. I love the plant shape. I love the tree form ones. I just love them. I have heard somewhere that there are a few that will SURVIVE around here but have never actually seen one.

I also think this thread is a good indication of what is unique about our zone- we aren't securely tropical nor more temperate. If we get a good freeze, our bulbs bloom but our tropicals die. If we don't get a good freeze, our tropicals thrive and our bulbs don't bloom. And it is about 50/50 as to which we get. Which might be the reaosn most of us grow some of each- that way we rarely really lose!

blooming_annie - I'm with you. I, too, love peonies! I tried to substitute hibiscus, but I lost them to the winter weather this year. Can't seem to win! Just have to settle for the thousands of other plants that love the south.

Annie, I too miss the peonies, and would like to grow them "way down here." I suppose what I wish would grow most in the Coastal South would be trees with dependable fall colors. Some years, it seems that the leaves on almost everything just turn brown and fall off well before "color time" arrives. (Gosh, what did we do before bradford pears came alone?)

Of course, when I lived in Northern Oklahoma (prior to returning home to the SE), I was envious of the "deep south" people, and couldn't grow a decent fig tree or scuppernong grape vine no matter how hard I tried. But, on the flip side, those wildflowers out there can be breathtaking. (And the roadrunners, scissor-tail flycatchers, and jackrabbits are all interesting critters to watch, and the sunsets are fantastic...) Anyway, I too believe in spending most of my time and energy cherishing what my own particular region has to offer, without spending toooo much time envying the other folks.

I live in central OH but have been to Charleston about 15 times. There is an old saying about us zone 5 gardeners-Before we die, we want to have a zone 8 garden! I do grow camellias in pots and bring them into an unheated sunroom in the winter. I never thought that all of my peonies, lilacs and hostas would be the envy of anyone. You guys made my day. I just love the lush gardens that I see down south. My husband and I always go to a garden center in Charleston called Hymans (not sure of the name). It is down south of downtown (Maybank Highway or Highway 17) and a wonderful place to get ideas, even for my zone 5.

Peonies, clematis, delphinium, oriental poppies and lilacs. I miss all those sooooo bad.

I dragged my husband to Antique Rose Emporium display gardens in GA this spring and he kept pointing to the peonies, clematis, delphinium and oriental poppies and saying "Those are beautiful, why don't you grow those?" GRRRR!

Ohhhhh ... oriental poppies. Be careful of what you wish for! I remember jumping up and down on them saying, "Die, die, die." They didn't.

Arlene, that sounds like a theme for a brand new thread..."Things that you wish WOULDN'T TAKE OVER in the coastal south." I can already think of several...I once loved the cypress vine, an innocent-looking little vine with lots of small, red trumpet-shaped flowers. Little did I know that every &*%)@ seed would become another plant, and they will overtake nearby shrubs to the point of weighting them down and breaking the limbs... Anyway, it's not always a problem of just getting things to grow here, but keeping them from taking over. Just thought I'd throw that in (...but, warts and all, there's still no place that I'd rather be gardening).

I miss my lilac and peonies from the north

Oh, definitely peonies. I saw them in the Pike's market in Seattle and have been lusting ever since. Mostly, though, I wish we could just keep things from frying here long enough to enjoy them. I know I'm a novice, but still. . .
And to grow fields of lavender! Can you just imagine? On the neg side, as far as taking over, I wish I had never planted an innocent little 3" piece of fig vine.It owns my house now and chokes almost everything around it.
But that's another story in the naked city.

I agree with Rosie - peonies and lilacs.

One more to add - apples. More than anything I miss hard, crunchy, fresh apples - baskets of them that I hadn't heard of before in the farmers' market, all different colors and flavors, and no wax on their peels.

Of course, when we lived up north I always complained that we couldn't get good oranges or avocados.....

Lets see, all the above mentioned along with Climbing Hydrangia, Scented Geraniums, Silver Lace (that is lush), mine the poor thing doesn't like the summer heat. Don't want to forget Clematis, and Red Hot Poker doesn't do good for me. There are many more that I see in the mags but don't remember there names. T

If my GumboLand were magically transformed: Apples, hosta, cherries, large variety of conifers, peonies, virginia bells, tulips, ixora, nearly everything in England and Holland, etc., etc., etc.

Sigh.

Lilacs
Delphiniums
Peonies
Oriental Poppies
Tulips
Fuchsia
Clematis
Etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: Deborah's Garden

In Zome 8 you can grow Delphiniums and Lupines, if you do reverse the planting season and you treat them as annuals. I start Lupines from seeds in the fall or winter, they do bloom in the spring and then by July they die. Likewise, I plant Delphinium seedlings (I have had no luck with Delphinium seeds)in the fall or winter. They put up a spectacular show from early sping to early summer, amd they usually die by late summer, that is, as soon as we start getting tropical rains in a row (they would need dry periods during summer dormancy and they usually don't get it).
They are so spectacular when in bloom, however, that makes worth trying them!

I do miss Lilacs and peonies!!! (tried both, did not work for me though I saw in my neighborhood peonies doing quite beutifully.

I have a lovely peony here in Wilmington, NC that is peeking up out of the ground as I write this. They key here is to pick an early blooming variety. I think mine is Sarah Bernhardt and she is a lovely lovely peony that will bloom in early May. I think there are two or three varieties that can be grown in the south.

I miss the HUGE blooms of bearded irises, in every color of the rainbow, that I had in Michigan. Also Nelly Moser Clematis!

AHHH!!! I FEEL LUCKY NOW THAT I LIVE WHERE TEMPERATE AND TROPICAL PLANTS CAN GROW...I GROW EVERYTHING FROM HOSTAS TO WINDMILL PALMS AND YES WINDMILL PALMS AND SAGO PALMS. SO FAR THE TEMPERATURE PLUNGED TO 5.2F AND A SNOW COVERED GROUND IS THE RULE. NO SIGN OF SPRING,YET BUT HOPEFULLY NEXT 8 WEEKS I CAN SEE THE LUSH GREEN OF GRASS AND MY 3INCHES WINDMILL PALMS THAT ARE BARIED IN A FOOT OF SNOW.

Although I love our mild winters especially after having grown up in Michigan. And we've had an really nice mild winter so far this year (knock wood). I miss lilly of the valley and lilacs the most.
Laurie

Coconut Palms and passiflora quadralanguis.

I'm afraid to wish for something I used to grow for fear God will send me back up North! Perpetual summer, year-long gardening, sunny skies, not a bad trade-off for what I used to grow. Not to mention all the things that grow here that didn't grow up North. I think maybe one of the best experiences of life is when we relocate and get to learn how to garden all over again!

girlsaylor

I wish I could grow lavender. Tried it twice and it died both times.

Susie

What would I like down here in Florida.....hhhmmmm would have to be apples and grapes, ooohhh and good soil. Not the kind you have to constantly work on to get it to grow a little radish. I guess you need to be thankful for what you have. I traded the cold, long, snowy winters of the mountains of Western Maryland and West (by God) Virginia for the warmth of Florida. Now if I could just figure out a way to get the mountain soil to florida. Those up north need to be thankful of the great soil they have there. The climate here is great for a year round veggie garden but you have to work hard to get a decent soil they will grow in. I remember up north if you wanted a veggie garden you walked out side in the spring, threw a handful of seed on the ground, kicked them around a little and came back in about two months and started eating. Not so down here.
Well enough said....unless someone would like to trade some good northern soil for some 5.5ph florida sand.

Bill

Ahh i would love to grow large apple trees with apple fruits. Here in Atlanta some develop fruit depending on the winter(most of the time no fruit) usually the apples are so small. They taste horrible. By Mid-may they die from the first 95 or higher recording its horrible.

While some of you are drooling over what the Northern folks can grow, i'm the 180 degrees the other way around: grow something more tropical then what I already grow...like exotics of which includes durian, rambutan, and coconut palms! You probably don't know what they are, but I'll chop an arm and leg to get them to thrive here :)

I miss lilacs and peonies. Sigh.

I don't yearn for plants from outside my zone, I yearn for all of the really fine exotic plants rated for my zone in the Wayside and similar catalogs for $50, $100, and up per plant. If only I had the budget.

Keith

Hey folks, you sure can grow Apples in Florida! I have 5 varieties in zone 10 and they are lovely trees. You need to look for low chill ones, such as Anna, Ein Shemer, Tropic Sweet, Dorsett Golden and Pettingill. Low chill apples have delicious fruit that are good for fresh eating and for cooking.

There are also grape varieties that do well in Florida, and of course low chill Peaches, Nectarines, Plums and Pears.

Nothing better then wandering around in the yard picking fresh fruit off the trees.

Lisa

Here is a link that might be useful: Fruit trees in Florida

Cherries - sweet or sour - I'll take either one.

Bunch grapes - Concord most especially. Pierce's Disease is a pain in the butt.

GOOD apples. I'm aware of Anna, Golden Dorsett, and Tropic Sweet. They're all mediocre compared to what I've eaten in North Carolina and Maine. The other low-chill apples are even worse.

I'd love to be able to put my Key limes in the ground, but I'm too far north here in Florida for that.

Whose idea was this chill hour thing anyway?

.....Alan.

Hey Alan, since I'm a native Floridian and have only eaten store-bought apples until I grew my own, I have not had that much to compare apples to apples with(G).

I really enjoyed the last crop, they were like juicy Granny Smiths, but seedless. This year, with 5 varieties blooming, I think the no-seed issue is moot. I suspect my best producing tree last year is mislabeled, since the apples did not match the description.

The trees are so pretty, that even if they didn't fruit, I'd grow them. The applesauce I made last year was a big hit, this year I'll do more cooking since I now have 8 trees with lots of fruit on them.

On the other hand, I really don't like my Key Lime trees. They are finicky, almost as bad as Meyer Lemons. My other 25+ varieties of citrus do great. Glad you are having good experiences with yours. After struggling with my oldest tree for over 5 years, it is 8' tall and has yet to hold onto a lime. My newer KL trees are better, with tiny fruit all over them. I may change my opinion of Key Limes if they stay behaving(G).

I have 8 varieties of grapes (including bunch grapes) to plant this week. Wild grapes do very, very well here, and I picked named varieties that are disease resistant. Just Fruits and Exotics was my source.

Can't you grow Cherries in zone 9?

Lisa

Sure, I've got a native black cherry tree out in the pasture. They make fruit about twice the size of a BB that will turn your mouth inside out. That's it for cherries though. Everything else in that line stops in North Georgia.

I'm aware of the Florida bred bunch grapes. I've been looking for a Conquistadore for a while, but haven't been able to find one. None of the others sound too promising as far as vigor is concerned, but I may yet try one or two. I've got six named varieties of muscadines including a Southern Home, but they're too young to bear just yet.

You keep having good luck with your apples and I may change my mind about them. How often do you have to spray them?

.....Alan.

Alan, I sprayed with ultrafine oil in December, and treated one of the non-bearing trees with a systemic for wooly apple aphids. That is all so far. I will end up bagging the apples, as I do the peaches. I'll use Soap spray if aphids appear. Haven't needed any fungicides.

I'll try to get some better pictures. Hard to do with all the palm trees behind them, they make actually being able to see the entire trees difficult.

I have some trees on very dwarfing rootstock, to keep as container plants. I get such a kick out of seeing 3' tall apple trees blooming/fruiting.

I could mail you some fruit to try once they are ripe, if you like. Or, come pick 'em yourself.

Lisa

Lilacs, peonies and FALL in New England. Sigh. I've been gone from there for over 30 years now, but I do miss those.

I grew up in the coastal south (Sneads Ferry, NC)-loved gardening there & wouldn't mind moving back to NC, spent some time in the west, CO-that was great, too, lots of sunshine & NO bugs & humidity. Now, I'm in Alexandria, VA, a pretty good in-between (7a or b?). My neighbors have lilacs & peonies, & I can enjoy them, I can put my orchids out for the summer & try to grow tropicals-palms, bananas, figs, while squeezing in native woodland shrubs & perennials, a few veggies, obligatory boxwood in front,all kinds of fun stuff...just try & grow things where you're planted & enjoy them while you can...

Lavender, tulips, and the old Once-blooming European varieties of roses.

I'm south of Myrtle Beach in SC. Can I grow hydrangeas and camellias right behind the dune line in this area? They sell them at the local nurseries, but I wonder if they have to be protected from the salt air. Thanks.

I live in Summerville,SC just outside of Charleston and though I can grow just about anything here I am one of those who wish I could grow Lilacs, peonies, and tulips that you don't have to replant every year. Most of all though the lilacs! MY grandparents a a huge one right by their front door and oh how I loved the smell!

coconut palm
dutch iris
mango

hostas
tulips
clematis

Heartbreaking every Thanksgiving to see frost take the baby bananas...but then we do have broccoli and kale and potato to lively up the winter garden!

Himalayan Blue Poppy....

Good lord! I could cry every time I see one on the computer. But living here in Savannah, I'd have NO chance of keeping one alive! :*(

BTW: I always thought that I was in zone 8b. However, now, some people are saying that the USDA hardiness zone chart is being redrawn. Can anyone post a link to the new map?

Thanks! :D

I'm getting ready to move from West Virginia to SC myrtle beach and I wanted to know if I could take my grape vines with me and if they would survive there. I just bought a chardonnay grape vine but, I'm not that worried about it.The one that really matters to me is a concord grape. The concord grape vine has been at my grandparents house for three generations and I would love to take part of it with me. So two questions will they grow and how do I take a piece of the concord grape vine with me? Do I use the seeds or cut off part of a vine and stick in some dirt? Sorry I'm new at this game but I think I already really like it. Please email me with help or respond on this page.

I want to grow in Bihar, India Cherimoya, Anonna, passionfruit, Kiwi, Barbados cherry, Jaboticaba, Grapes, Mangosteen, Durian,

People are growing for centuries Mangoes, Papaya, Guava, Mulberry (long), Jujube, Sapote, Custard Apple, Fig, Bel, Lemon, Coconuts.

Weather: sub-tropical hot and humid, Tem. in summer 96 -110F, Latitude 21-27 degrees, Rainfall: 1150m, Monsoon rain from June to August. Not enough cold in winter to break dormancy, Clay soil which can be improved with deep compost and mulch.

I want to grow in Bihar, India Cherimoya, Anonna, passionfruit, Kiwi, Barbados cherry, Jaboticaba, Grapes, Mangosteen, Durian,

People are growing for centuries Mangoes, Papaya, Guava, Mulberry (long), Jujube, Sapote, Custard Apple, Fig, Bel, Lemon, Coconuts.

Weather: sub-tropical hot and humid, Tem. in summer 96 -110F, Latitude 21-27 degrees, Rainfall: 1150m, Monsoon rain from June to August. Not enough cold in winter to break dormancy, Clay soil which can be improved with deep compost and mulch.

Good Morning Ladies; Am new here, but would like to add my favorite flowers also. (Holihocks / Peonies / lilacs)... The double bloom holihocks are my absolute favorite. I am starting them inside, them will transplant when the cold weather is gone. Email me anytime.

I wish I could have a lilac and a big beautiful cherry tree.