Well let us begin by explaining the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone map. You will have to understand the map before you will know if a plant is tropical or not. The USDA has put together a map that breaks up North America into 11 different temperature zones. Minneapolis, Minnesota is zone four, while Miami, Florida is zone 10. We will go into to further detail on this map at a later date.

The importance of knowing this map, is each plant has a certain cold temperature that it can withstand. When purchasing a plant, you must understand its cold hardiness. If a plant can withstand minimum temperatures of 40 degrees Fahrenheit, than it is not a good idea to plant them outside in Tennessee. Most plant tags will have the ‘zone hardiness’ for the plant. It is usually a range…like zone 6-9, or 4-7. Again, this means that this plant will withstand cold temperatures down to the lowest zone. It can also be affected by the high temperature. Florida is too hot for some plants to grow. Many deciduous plants (the ones that drop their leaves) will not survive in Florida because they do not have a ‘cold’ period for the plant to go dormant. On the other hand, palm trees will not survive in Tennessee because we have a ‘cold’ period. Make sense?

So what do you do with a tropical plant if you live anywhere north of Florida? Plan a spot on the inside of the house to store it all winter long! Make sure you learn what zone you are in, and plan your landscape accordingly. I live in Nashville, Tn and we can grow tropical plants all summer with great success, but come October, they will kick the bucket. Knowing this is very important to the pocket book and the ultimate look of the landscape. Here is a short list of the different Cold Hardiness Zones

USDA Hardiness Zones and Average Annual Minimum Temperature Range

Zone

Fahrenheit

Celsius

Example Cities

1

Below -50 F

Below -45.6 C

Fairbanks , Alaska;   Resolute, Northwest Territories (Canada)

2a

-50 to -45 F

-42.8 to -45.5 C

Prudhoe Bay , Alaska;   Flin Flon, Manitoba (Canada)

2b

-45 to -40 F

-40.0 to -42.7 C

Unalakleet , Alaska;   Pinecreek, Minnesota

3a

-40 to -35 F

-37.3 to -39.9 C

International Falls , Minnesota;   St. Michael, Alaska

3b

-35 to -30 F

-34.5 to -37.2 C

Tomahawk, Wisconsin;   Sidney, Montana

4a

-30 to -25 F

-31.7 to -34.4 C

Minneapolis/St.Paul, Minnesota;   Lewistown, Montana

4b

-25 to -20 F

-28.9 to -31.6 C

Northwood , Iowa; Nebraska

5a

-20 to -15 F

-26.2 to -28.8 C

Des Moines , Iowa;   Illinois

5b

-15 to -10 F

-23.4 to -26.1 C

Columbia , Missouri;   Mansfield, Pennsylvania

6a

-10 to -5 F

-20.6 to -23.3 C

St. Louis , Missouri; Lebanon, Pennsylvania

6b

-5 to 0 F

-17.8 to -20.5 C

McMinnville , Tennessee;   Branson, Missouri

7a

0 to 5 F

-15.0 to -17.7 C

Oklahoma City , Oklahoma;   South Boston, Virginia

7b

5 to 10 F

-12.3 to -14.9 C

Little Rock , Arkansas;   Griffin, Georgia

8a

10 to 15 F

-9.5 to -12.2 C

Tifton , Georgia;   Dallas, Texas

8b

15 to 20 F

-6.7 to -9.4 C

Austin , Texas;   Gainesville, Florida

9a

20 to 25 F

-3.9 to -6.6 C

Houston , Texas;   St. Augustine, Florida

9b

25 to 30 F

-1.2 to -3.8 C

Brownsville , Texas;   Fort Pierce, Florida

10a

30 to 35 F

1.6 to -1.1 C

Naples , Florida;   Victorville, California

10b

35 to 40 F

4.4 to 1.7 C

Miami , Florida;   Coral Gables, Florida

11

above 40 F

above 4.5 C

Honolulu , Hawaii;   Mazatlan, Mexico

So What is a Tropical Plant?  A Tropical Plant is any plant that will not survive your cold hardiness zone.  Each plant is different for each zone in the country.

Happy Tropicals