Definitely tropical plants. They will not survive zone 5 outside in the winter.

Plumeria are the flowers that most leis are made of. They are from a tree though. Don't know how long it will take you to grow from seed.

I have seen Bird of Paradise grown in colder zones as houseplants.

This all sounds so exotic. I lived in Hawaii for a while and all of these grow like weeds over there. You are adventurous and I wish you luck.

Neat. Yeah, I was thinking about using them as houseplants. A friend got them over there when he was stationed there. But the germination rates are crazy. A month or so.

On a separate note, why would one want to ever move away from Hawaii??

Km

Plumerias are easy to start if the seed is fresh. Soak in water overnight then plant in a lightly moistened potting mix. Just push the seed head under the soil and allow the wing to remain above it. Keep it somewhere warm and keep it moist but not soggy. The seeds should sprout in a week or two. If they don't come up by then they are probably not viable. Plumerias from seed can take 3-6 years to reach flowering size, sometimes longer and they usually go dormant over the winter after the first year. You can get lots of info on the plumeria forum. I don't know about the hibiscus or bird of paradise. You might want to ask on the tropicals forum.

Ah, I have asked myself that question on more than one occasion over the years.

I was young and foolish and thought I was in love. So I quit my job and moved back here to follow my heart. I guess it turned out okay. At least I ended up with three of my kids from that ill-fated path. They are worth it.

So you're in HI, momstar? Wow, that was a trek, huh? I suppose the scenery is nothing to scoff at at least?