Someone from Cali speak up and help Maggie....

Maggie, Tropicals can do well in Sacramento, but the broader-leaved plants need afternoon shade. Winter frost/freezes are also an issue.

We seem to have great luck with cannas, bird-of-paradise (in a protected spot), phormium, etc. but check your Sunset book for frost/sun requirements. We're a SUB-tropical climate... which translates to SUB-successful.

It can be done, but you have to think afternoon shade, winter protection...

Hello Magienile,
Regarding a tropical garden in Sacramento, cannas do fantastic. Mine bloom at least four months out of the year, but they do need to be cut back in the winter since all the foliage dies back. Brugmansias do great too as well as gingers and passion vines. And yes, count me in on a a plant swap in the fall. I'm in Fair Oaks!

It depends on where you live around Sac, the closer to downtown, the warmer the winters are... I grow bananas, plumeria and all sorts of tropicals... course I bring in most of them! :o) But I have my bananas outside, and my guavas and my brugmansias and mangos and.......I have a lot of the hardier tropical fruits. I am in zonal denial.

Maggie,

I live in the Folsom area. Outside, year round, I grow three species of clumping bamboos, (Bambusa), Elephant Ears, (Colocasia esculentia), Two species of Hibiscus, Thalia delbata, Papyrus and various species of Brugsmansia, bananas and palms. All but the bamboos and palms die back to the ground in most years, but come back strong in March. I also grow Philodedrons, three species of Cycads, Hoyas, Epiphytic Cacti, Staghorn Ferns, Bromeliads, ginger and Plumerias. These all are crowded into a heated 10'x10' greenhouse with various tender perennials and succulents and orchids during the winter months, (some might survive the mildest of winters here, but I don't want to chance them!). There might be more that I'm forgetting...;)

Regards,

Mike

I live in Sac and have been "tropical" gardening for 8 years now. It is true that the closer to downtown the warmer the microclimate. I live in midtown and we have not had frost since 1998. These are the tropical and sub-tropical plants that I grow or see in the yards between my place on 23rd and the Capitol Arboretum all year long; Queen palm, windmill palm,date palm, pigmy date palm,blue palm,Kentia and bamboo palms (in courtyards) cycads, philodendron selosium, monstrera deliciosa, many species of shell and butterfly ginger, colocasia and alocasia,cordyline terminalis (in very protected areas) C australis, C stricta, plumbego and false plumbego, princess flower,abutilon, tree ferns, podocarpus, brugmasnsias and daturas, cannas, callas, fortnight lily, jacaranda, dwarf pointsiana, both the regular and giant bird of paradise,blue potato tree, bottle brush, clivia, oleander, crape myrtle, bananas, night blooming jasmine, star jasmine, true jasmines, bouganvillia, Hibiscus sinensis, Rose of Sharon Hibiscus, shooting star Hibiscus, perennial Hibiscus, four O'clocks, dalhias, malvas, acacias, pelorgoniums, erodium, passionflower, rice paper plant, gardenias, orchid tree, cry-baby coral tree, justicas, cupheas, coral bush, sweet pea bush, lavener pea vine, powder puff bushes, yesterday today and tomorrow, perennial morning glory,phormiums, pampas grass, palm grass, naked lilies, crimum, bamboo,flame honeysuckle,lion's tail, all citrus except limes, fuchias (although I can not grow them) ficus elastica, ficus nitida, most begonia species, most of the impatiens species,agapanthus,gladiolas, pentas,freesias, geiger tree,Norfolk Island Pine,natal plum, cassia, magnolias, bilbergia and some other bromiliads, clerodenrums,red hot poker, agaves,kangaroos paws, cyperus, papyrus,pride of Madera, gloriosa lily, lantanas, aloes, grevillea, indian hawthorn, many species of shrub salvia, tradensias like puple heart and wandering jew and many tropical succulents like jade plant,kalenchoe and baby sun rose.
I have lived in Hawaii and we can grow about 75% of the common garden plants grown there or at least a close relative as a substitute, (pigmy date palm is the only palm that I have grown in both places, but hey, a palm is a palm) We can not grow many "true" tropicals that won't tolerate temps below 50 that I love like plumeria,heliconias, red and pink alpina gingers, ixora and snow bush without a green house, but we can grow so many warm temperate plants from China and Japan like hydraneas and cameleas that it almost seems like an even trade plant wise (but not temerature and scenery wise:)
Good luck on your Sacramento garden

Forgot the South African daisies like eureopsis, gerbera, trailing african daisy, gazanias, margerites and although not really daisies, ice plants.
If they do well in the ground in Sacramento most of these plants are drought tolerant once established. Alocasia, colocasia, dahlias, four O clocks, cannas and callas die to the ground each year. Brugmansias,hibiscus,princess flower,plumbego, pasionflower and lantanas are semi-deciduous here. If you want a landscape that looks pretty much the same year round go for the stuff with thick, waxy or stiff leaves like podocarpus, tree ferns, bird of paradise, gardenias, bamboos, philodendron and cordyline stricta in light shade and palms, fortnight lilly, phormium, Cordyline australis, star jasmine, bottlebrush, yucca, eureopsis, magnolias, jade plants, pampas grass and oleander in full sun. If you look around in midtown these are the common tropicals and sub-tropicals used as foundation plants over and over again. There must be a reason.

Maleko, if you're a plumeria fan, you may want to try your luck. I've seen them in San Diego gardens where the winter lows last year were unusually frosty, and they were leafing out again this spring. Typically they lose all leaves below 40F but with light frost will not die.

BTW, any chorisia speciosa in downtown Sac? I would expect at least one!

I do love plumeria, having lived in Hawaii and had two large trees in my back yard, but I would have to grow them in containers here and I don't know how many flowers I would get for my trouble. I never see them in the ground here. Interestingly enough there is a variety of oleander that they are developing to use in leis and a couple that have a nice fragrance that interest me more since I know they would be hardy.
Chorisa speciosa. Yes there is one on 21st street and I think there are a few more here and there. There is an orchid tree on W near 18th. Strangely it is the only orchid tree I have ever seen here. There are a couple of cry-baby coral trees near the Capitol and I have seen one in a back alley in another part of midtown. Not sure why people don't use these kinds of trees more often since they are obviously hardy here.

I have seedlings of some especially hardy uncommon palms. Syagrus romanzoffianum var. "Santa Catarina" which is from the southern most grove. It carries more foliage, grows faster and is about 5 degrees hardier than the typial variety found at a nursery. Also try the "Illawara" variety of King Palm, it too is a bit hardier than the run of the mill King Palm. A nice small palm is Brahea edulis and I have seedlins of that. Also Chamaerops humilis which I have 3 or 4 5 gallon pots. It is a multiple trunked shrub hardy to about 0. I've seen it and Trachycarpus fortuneii grown in Vancouver Canada.

I'm looking for plumeria cuttings. Does anyone have any they want to sale?

Maleko,post some photos of your yard. The biggest valley cities seem to have a big advantage over outlying areas-most of those plants are bay area or soucal plants. Nowadays,who knows?

Maggie,

I'm in Roseville trying to accomplish the same thing. My forum name is very indicative of my gardening skills. I just acquired five banana plants (six feet high, $15 ea.) to line the west side of my pool patio. I have a few other tropical looking plants which I have no clue as to what they are. I have one large silver maple in the southwest corner of our lot and I'm looking for tropical plants loving shade, big leaves (elephant ears and the like) to transform my barren backyard into a makebelieve tropical paradise.

I made the mistake of bringing in a 7 foot Mexican fan palm but it is not doing well and will be removed.

If you have pictures it makes it easier for others to help you fill spaces with their suggestions. Wishing you a green thumb.

Tim

Hey, I am in Fresno. All of the suggestions given are really good. You could also grow alot of subtropical agaves and aloes. They are very ornamental and sculptural plants, and when in bloom, are very dramatic. Here are some i am growing: Aloe Striata, Aloe Marlothii, Aloe Reitzii, Aloe Ferox, Aloe Arborescens, Aloe Saponaria, Agave Desmettiana Variegata. I am also growing some uncommon palms for my area: Dypsis Decipiens (which is completely hardy here), Dypsis Decaryi, Kentia and Majesty. The Kentia and Majesty get wrapped in cloth at the first sign of frost and get unwrapped in spring, and they are truly exotic looking. Some others that come to mind are Cyathea Cooperi, Blechnum Gibbum, King palm, Pachypodium Lamereii, Crassula (jade plant) and several bromeliads. I have Tillisandia Juncea mounted on the trunk of an Australian Tree fern, and have some Guzmanias that spend year round outside under a porch. I am planning of mounting some on the tree fern as well. Good luck.