I don't want to put a damper on things, but I think most of the Rhododendrons listed in the link provided by Rhodyman, will not survive, let alone thrive, in Melbourne, FL. If you look at the list all of them are listed for zone 8 or lower. Looking at just the North American deciduous species, the following were listed for zone 8: R. alabamense R. atlanticum R. austrinum R. calendulaceum R. canescens R. cumberlandense R. flammeum Of these, only three are Florida natives: R. alabamense (found in a few panhandle counties, zone 8a), R. austrinum (found again only in the panhandle, zone 8a), and R. canescens (found throughout north and central Florida down into even zone 10 in places). Strangely R. viscosum v. serrulatum (AKA R. serrulatum) was not listed. It also can be found into the northern reaches of south Florida. The remaining species do not live in Florida, but R. atlanticum, R. arborescens, R. flammeum, and R. prunifolium have populations not too far north of the Florida boarder. Based on experience with growing plants in Florida (I lived there 21 years), here's my view. In the Melbourne area you may grow R. canescens and R. viscosum v. serrulatum. All other species of deciduous azalea will not grow for more than a season or two before dying. I can't speak for hybrids though. The problem isn't so much the high temperatures as such, but rather the duration of the warm season and the lack of a proper winter dormancy. In Gainesville, FL (zone 8b) I grew R. austrinum, R. canescens, R. serrulatum, and two native Rhodos, R. minus and R. minus v. chapmanii. I experimented with R. flammeum and R. prunifolium with minimal success. R. calundulaceum has been tried by a number of growers in that area with no successes I've heard about. I never got the chance to try any others. PF

I'm in San Antonio (8b) and fairly new to hosta keeping. I had looked at keeping hosta about 4 years ago, did some research and decided it was a waste of time to even try so I wrote it off. The next spring, which was a little over three years ago, I decided to go for it and picked up three at my local nursery. I had still not found this forum at that point but knew enough to understand that they needed to be potted because of the massive amount of pill bugs we have here. I didn't know about the chilling factor at that point, which we certainly don't get the proper recommended amount of, although we do get some cold weather, just not extended cold. I used straight Miracle Grow potting soil. They sort of hung in there the first year, keeping them in a heavily treed area with some dappled sunlight. They were slow to come out the next spring, but they did and looked better. So year one test was complete. I bought three or four more from my local nursery the next spring. They all came out much earlier this year, maybe because of the unusually cold winter, and my three oldest ones suddenly took a huge upturn for the better. I was shocked at how great they looked this spring. I then bought about seven or eight more online this spring from Hallson Nursery. They are all from the fragrant line, as recommended by Chris, and all are doing wonderfully. That was about the time I found this forum and began to learn that a few others in the south were having great luck with hosta. My learning curve went straight up after spending some time here. We'll see what happens this coming spring and I'll go from there on what does well, what doesn't, what I did right and what I did wrong. Then I'll figure out next year's buy. As far as the empty pot thing through the winter, that's an easy trade off to me for the challenge and the beauty of these plants from around March throughout the warm weather season. We are going to be colder here than you are in your zone so I don't pretend to know how you will do keeping hosta, but don't get run off like I did at first. I'm still a relative newbie at this but these folks giving you advice are super smart. Don't listen to your local nursery people unless they have grown them themselves. If not then trust me, they don't know squat about growing hosta. We have a nursery here that I rate an A++++ overall and they are clueless about them. Let the folks here advise you on the best choices for hosta for your area, and if you have the shade for them (I have a couple that have never seen any direct sun), order a few online next spring, pot them up and see what happens. I'm glad I gave them a chance.

I have a neighbor who planted a row of them them between his property and the property next to him. He has about 10 acres of land and these are planted at almost the farthest point from his house as possible. Aside from watering them in, they have had to subsist on rain alone. All of them have been fine through the years and seem to be favored nesting sites for the cardinals.

from a strictly business standpoint why would Monsanto discontinue a popular & successful cultivar? Because their primary interest is in seeds for commercial production and ichiban doesn't travel well. For a lot of those kinds of plants (things only suitable for small growing) they just bulk license to Bonnie. I liked it. I don't think the flavor was that much superior to ping tung long, but it was a nice thick fruit for an oriental, which made it very versatile. You could use it for Asian style cooking and also for western dishes. I can't make stuffed eggplant with ping tung long. That's why Kuruma is becoming a popular substitute in S FL. It has a good flavor and a larger circumference than most orientals, just like ichiban. ETA Eggplant produces longer into the hot humid weather here than any squash, except maybe luffa.