If you're in the Houston area, check with Cornelius Nursery. They usually have a lot of tropicals. I looked up Brilliant and it's sold by Monrovia, which Cornelius sells. Or, you could contact Monrovia and ask them what would be a good equivalent that has the qualities you're looking for. I found one on Monrovia's page that I've had before and am going to try to get again! Here is a link that might be useful: Monrovia's Hibiscus Collection This post was edited by eahamel on Tue, Apr 2, 13 at 7:34

Zone 5 is tough for tropicals, Here is the best chance he has. Needle palm is the hardies palm there is, he may be able to leave it in the ground if he raps it up in winter. The hardies elephant ear is Colocasia 'Pink China' It grows in zone 6a and is said that it may grow in 5 with heavy mulch. Banana Musa basjoo will grow there, but will need heavy mulch in winter. Plant a shade tree, and under that plant large leaved hosta and ferns together and in the spring he can plant some a few flowers with them. There are some yuccas that he can grow.. like 'color guard' ( a variegated yucca)and for a tall trunked ones Yucca thompsoniana and rostrata. Zebra Malden Grass Miscanthus sinensis 'Strictus' would also look great! There are a few hardy hibiscus that he can grow, one of the hardiest and most tropical looking ones would be Hibiscus 'Moy Grande' large red flowers all season long. It will die back in winter but come back in spring. A little mulch would be good for that one too. And the hardiest Agave that is rated at zone 5 would be Agave parryl subsp.parryl. There is a few Rhododendrons that will take some sun. Oriental lilies are also very tropical looking, and smell good too. A tall lily would be Lilium formosanum, it can reach 7' tall with 10" fragant flower on top. A new clumping bamboo for zone 5 is Fargesia rufa 8' tall.

Couldnt agree more, plantsplus. I saw no malice in aroid's reply, but I think you've hit the nail on the head when you say that the OP simply wants someone to 'tell you what you want to hear'. My concern is that the nursery industry isnt entirely populated by people of your ilk - many *will* tell the customer what they want to hear, hence furphys like 'all natives are waterwise' and ' is completely unkillable' whilst directing the gullible victim toward their next acquisition. Again, I'm generalising : I've met quite a few really good nurserypeople who have steered me away from a given plant choice because said plant just doesnt do well in my area, but we have to be realistic : a business needs cash to survive, and that potential customer will just go down the road to the next guy if a suggestion isnt forthcoming. In the interests of appearing 'happy', here are a few proven performers that do well in tropical gardens in dry times (once *established* ..): Bougainvillea Frangipani Yucca Agave Dracaena Strelitzia Bromeliad Other suggestions would include Australian plants noted for their abaility to do well in our 'dry rainforest' enclaves: Flindersia Australis Harpullia Pendula Alphitonia spp. Melia azedarach Pandorea Pandorana and the list goes on. So much of it is microclimate and ongoing care : even the toughest species will find it hard going if exposed to 12 hours of sun and the prevailing winds. The old mantra is, as it always was: 1. Mulch, mulch and more mulch 2. Use soil-wetting agents (and water crystals if applicable) 3. Plenty of organic matter in the mulch layer 4. Periodically clear the mulch away from the plants stem to ensure that the water is penetrating 5. Drip irrigation beats most forms of overhead watering (I prefer the latter for my tree ferns and broms). Enjoy, Artie

It was a tough winter for the west coast indeed, and congrats on the blooms! Over the winter, I kept reading news about how the lower mainland was hit by snow never seen before. Here in the east coast we had an easier time. Yes, we had some lake-effect snow, but it was nothing unusual. The coldest temperature (about -14 ºC) was really warm in our standard. At this rate I am going to start trying some of the more tender zone 7 stuff, such as M. maudiae that you guys enjoy over there. It is a really lovely shrub that I always dream about being able to grow outdoors.