Gardeners in the true tropics may hate me for saying this but I find the flavor of our native passionfruit to be pretty equal to P. edulis or any of the purple round ones or the large yellow forms found in the tropics. You just have to let them fully ripen (fall off the plant) and start to wrinkle to get the tropical tones to the juice. Otherwise they taste fine but not extra fine. The problem with potted papayas is that flowering and fruiting are affected - you'll see what I mean if you get somewhere that you can grow one outside (even in your zone). The trees just grow better with their roots in the ground. In pots the fruit struggle to size up and ripen. The Mexican types have better flavor when greenhouse grown but those are the ones that get extra tall and have watermelon sized fruit - no way to grow them inside a house. You might want to try the little Strawberry Guava - the bushes don't get covered with fruit like a kumquat but you'll find yourself wanting more and more of them once you start eating them (I think they are even better than regular guavas). They are hardy to like 28 degrees so you can wait until it really gets cold to move them indoors. I don't grow Mango but the few that I have seen only produce a few fruit when grown in pots. I'm lucky that I live near a large Asian market that has all sorts of mangoes to choose from. I'm in zone 7b and move all my potted plants into a simple hoophouse that I only keep above freezing so the winter heating doesn't cost too much. I think the cool winters does a lot to improve blooming in the citrus. It seems to me that the tropicals that produce smaller berry type fruit do best when grown in pots out-of-zone.

Hi, a few weeks ago I purchased a Daphne Eternal Fragrance from the local nursery. It's apparently hardier than other daphnes and supposedly tolerates subtropical conditions. It's not loving said subtropical conditions. Yes, yes admittedly we didnt get off to a great start: it got rained on for 15 days nonstop (while nearby towns evacuated and what not due to flooding) but that was a few weeks ago, and it's still presenting yellowed leaves (entire leaf yellow - vein and inter-vein). I've given it worm juice (other plants say "ooooh yum yum, more please, see all these new things I grow on me when you feed me worm juice" but it says "didnt notice, here's a yellow leaf for you". I've decided to give it my Secret Gardenia Growing Recipe (which upon employing it has never seen another gardenia give me yellow leaves again!), that involves sitting the pot on crocks to ensure super good drainage, daily watering, worm juice, AND the occasional epsom salts foliar spray. Actually i dont think i epsom-salted the Daphne. This has made a SLIGHT difference, not much. But there is NO new growth on this thing. It just seems to be stagnating and giving me a yellow leaf each day. It's in strong morning sun and dappled midday-mid-arvo sun and then shade. As i say, i cant find 'general' instructions anywhere for getting this plant happy. Any advice is appreciated.

Check the nurseries for hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos), I have some that return year after year and have flowers that rival my tropical hibiscus in the house(in many colours - these are not the same as Rose of Sharon, but related, and of course they are beautiful also). Started some from seed this year - they are not difficult to find. You can also grow hibiscus trionum as a self-seeding annual. Rosemary in pots is medit, and can be shaped - looks lovely in terracotta - an Italian mainstay - bring it in over winter, but be sure to pay attention to watering it - dries out in our central heating. Broom (Genista in Italian) is a variation of the plant which grows wildly and is sweetly scented in Tuscany - there is a variant available from seed which is hardy to zone 6 but I am not sure it is as fragrant as the Tuscan mainstay. Try some Cypress look alikes for the feel also - I have noticed some good ones hardy here (shrubs aren't my forte)- no Tuscan vineyard would be complete without them. Red poppies sweeping through your grasses are very medit also.

Miami Rose and Aztec Gold grow like rockets, and Cooktown Sunset and Aussie Confetti are local to you and will shoot into the stratosphere in high heat and good soil. Aussie Confetti is in my top five scented plumerias. Miami Rose smells like coconut and AG like peaches. (Don't remember what CS smells like.) If you want more red, Jeannie Moragne is an absolutely gorgeous, fragrant, tall grower. Rose Red is a dark cerise and smells wonderfully fruity, but it is a thin grower. Let us know what you decide!