Bananas would be my first choice, many of the aroids, and maybe even some clumping bamboo types. They all got a nice tropical look to them. Canna and heliconias would be nice too.

I'm not overly optimistic about the long term viability of Queen Palms in El Paso. They're good down to perhaps 22 degrees. The silver queens I have heard about are good down to maybe upper teens, tops. The duration of cold you get is most limiting regarding their potential success as well.

More power to you if you don't mind being very vigilint in protecting them (frost cloth and Christmas lights wrapping) and placing them on a hot south wall that will radiate heat during the winter at night or similar microclimate.

Good luck.

I agree with sonotaps  queen palms do not do well in the desert. Washingtonia filifera & dates do. However, queen palms (& Washingtonia robusta) do well in zone 10. You should probably ask a palm nursery familiar with your climate to see what grows before you make a tree commitment.

they plant palms on the beaches and water them often so maybe you will have to do the same??

traveler palms and giant birds are another suggestion?? plumeria. cacti?

cliff

Variegtaed tapioca is beautiful but it may be difficult to find. Brugmansias are also nice.

Queen Palms are planted en masse here in Phoenix, but we are low subtropical desert.

El Paso is simply too cold in the winter.

Traveler Palm (Ravenala Madagascariensis), Giant BOP, and Plumeria will die from cold in El Paso (freezes/root rot).

You best bet is to look at nurseries in the local area and see what they have that is tropicalesque (hmm, sounds like that name of another forum on this board).

Sorry, climate can be a real inconvenience.

"Is there plant/tree that spreads rather than grows tall?"

1. Ensete Superbum

see
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~drc/esuperbumimages.htm

2. Almost any Cycad

see
http://junglemusic.net/cycadgallery.htm

http://junglemusic.net/palmadvice/palms-coldhardy2.htm

I think it can be a really cool look to plant a tropical garden in the middle of the desert. Because it can be like an Oasis.

I've seen queen palms in Juarez and in Chihuahua, and they have survived many years. I've seen people plant them in El paso though and they die.

Never seen one that survived. So you might wanna save your money with that. BUT there are other awesome palms like the phoenix and the washingtonias. If you trim the dead leaves and scrape the fuzz from their trunks they can look very tropical and refreshing. Also there are hardy hibiscus varieties and jasmines that perfume everything during warm summer nights.

Post pics please!

We grow them here is San Antonio and it gets fairly cold. But in San Antonio as well as many other places their biggest issue is water and food. I've found them to be a relativley "needy" tree.

They don't have a particularly big root system, so in dry climates, they must be watered. In Florida the water table is three feet below the ground, so trees never need water. In San ANtonio the tree can't find water and need water all summer, just like any other plant.

They also are prone to mineral deficiencies like manganeze and magnezium. But that's easily work-able if you use supplimental palm fertilizer. And oh by the way, use the fertilizer from the get-go. Once a tree starts going bad, it may be too late.

I planted three "five-footers" by my pool last year and they made it through this winter fine. Keep in mind it was a lite winter in SA, though we did have many nightly freezes. To protect them on freezing nights I made sure they had water. "I was told this should be done, no idea why it works".

SO if you're willing to invest the time and money into water and food, and will watch those trees likes "hawks" in the winter, things have a good chance of working...

California, Mexican fan palm or date palm would be the easy choice for you. WIth the Queens you'd have to baby-sit them much more. But in the end, you'd have a much more tropical looking tree.

BTW, Queen Palms are not good looking speciman plants, they like to be planted in groups. Groups of three seem to be ideal.

Good Luck!

You are in the Middle South and I'm with the others here a queen palm in your area would not do well. The queen palm is recommended for the coastal or tropical south areas of Houston, Galveston, Crpus Christi, Brownsville, etc. Since it looks like you want a feather palm, I would try a pindo palm (butia capitata) which I believe are the hardiest of the feather palms. They're slow growing but they're hardy to 15 degrees. I have seen them growing in Mesquite which has is a desert and gets quite cold. Good luck.