Want to expand your z5 semitropical and "tropical" options? Indiana Rick's website is inspirational! So many usefulul ideas there. I agree don't give up until you've tried it 3x and tested some tricks! Hardy Tropicals for Zone 5 !!!!! http://www.manchestergardenclub.com/rick/Tropicals/Tropicals.htm ________ Mulched here now in my more "gentle" z8b, until I have a backup clump stored to go "cold turkey". No the impressive Canna 'Durban" = 'Tropicanna' doesn't throw lower red spires! That's a compact Lobelia 'Starship Red' which has nice contrasting rich green leaves. This Cardinal Flower was easy to grow from seed* (as are Canna) and gets the hummingbirds darting all around to enhance the tropical theme. I like L. 'Vulcan Red' as well to for contrast. Dark maroon leaved and also more compact than L. 'Queen Victoria' with no staking needed. * After using many over the years, the best seed starting method that I've used over the years is a biodome and sponge block system or similar. Works best with heatmats and bright plant light. Effective, efficient, durable, flexible, and small footprint. http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/4412727/looking-for-a-reliable-seed-starting-system

On a somewhat related note: One might want to Mouse-over the "Your Houzz" in the top right and click Edit Profile. Then in the left hand column look for and click Advanced Settings. One of the things I liked about GW is that I never got spammed by emails, but by default we are setup to receive "Updates, Promotions and Research ( I'm guessing for Marketing) emails." Along with that it looks like things are set up to email you every time someone smiles at one of your posts. By default, we would get lots of spam filling our mailboxes. I found out this while looking to see if there was a Signature feature in-which I could put my USDA Zone info, but I didn't see one.

What happened for me is, when I removed the zone and city/state from my last name field and placed that info in the Zone field under Advanced Settings, it did not show. nothing showed. I'm pretty sure I was using this thread as a test and ernie's zone shows so maybe once you've used the Last Name field, the Zone field won't populate? dunno. Maybe Emily, who may be a Houzz person, will be back to clarify. In the meantime, ernie I found out how to personal message someone but it's a bit clunky. The person you want to message has to be "Following" you before you can message them. There appears to be no way to ask someone to allow you to message them. For example, there's a poster I've seen whose zone is in Vermont, where I grew up and still have family. I wanted to say hello and ask what part of VT she's in without going off-topic in threads where I've seen her. Can't find a way. I've also looked at the Contact Us section but it appears to only have answers to FAQ's and my Q is not in the database of FAQ's. Oh well, looks like no side chatting, at least for now.

I also live in zone 5 in NY and I would recommend the following daylilies: Elegant Candy, Solar Music, Starman's Quest, Ruby Storm, Arrogant Bastard, Sherry Lane Carr, Strutter's Ball, Belle of Ashwood, Black Fathom Depths, Blackjack Cherry, Boundless Beauty, Condilla, White Eyes Pink Dragon, Emerald Starburst, Fooled Me, Harper's Bazaar, Hudson Valley, Light of the World, Mabou, Megatron, etc... I could go on and on. I would generally stick with dormants even though on this list there are several semi evergreens and evergreens. I would look through the various images posted on this sight from zone 5 and ask questions about how individual plants thrive. I hope this helps. David