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Cold-Hardy Tropical Fruit for Cooler Zones

Cold-hardy tropical fruit for cooler zones: Chicago Hardy fig, maypop, persimmon, pomegranate, hardy banana and Meyer lemon, with the real zone limit for each.

No truly tropical fruit survives a zone 5 winter in the ground, but a handful of fruit with an exotic look and flavor do. A fig that dies back and regrows, a native passion flower, a persimmon, a pomegranate and a hardy ornamental banana all give you a tropical feel in a cooler garden. A Meyer lemon is the exception that proves the rule, because it needs a pot and a bright window. This collection gathers them, with the real zone limit for each.

The honest zone list

Fig grows in the ground in zones 8–11, and the Chicago Hardy variety in zones 5–10 with winter protection. Persimmon gives you a choice: Asian types suit zones 7–10, and the native American persimmon is listed for zones 4B–9B. Pomegranate grows best in zones 7–10, with cold-hardy types in zones 5–6. For passion fruit, the common vine needs zone 9b, while maypop is listed for zones 7b–11.

The banana needs care in how you read it. Fruiting bananas are zone 9–11 plants, and Musa basjoo is the ornamental that dies back to the ground in zones 5–8 and regrows. Do not plant it for fruit. The Meyer lemon grows in the ground in zones 9–11, and in a pot anywhere else, indoors for winter.

How to pick

  • Zone 4: American persimmon in the ground, and pots for everything else.
  • Zone 5: add a Chicago Hardy fig that you accept may die back, or wrap or bury. Kazake pomegranate can go as far north as zone 5.
  • Zone 6: the same list, plus cold-hardy pomegranates. See our fig overwintering guide for the four ways to get a fig through winter.
  • Zone 7–8: all of the above, plus maypop in 7b and warmer, and fig, pomegranate and Asian persimmon in the ground.
  • For tropical looks without fruit: Musa basjoo, which our banana overwintering guide covers, including how to cut it back and cage it with straw.
  • For lemons: a Meyer lemon in a pot, moved indoors when nights approach 40°F (4°C): see overwintering fruit trees indoors.

To see where your zone sits for every fruit, read our guide to fruit trees by zone. For pots, see our guide to growing fruit trees in containers.