Southern Living in the Rockies (or other perilous places)

It appears there are a few Southern Natives and or Southern Native Wannabes here (me being one). We've hijacked parts of just about every one's threads to sigh over magnolias, drool over okra, curse or delight at trumpet flowers, and wonder about azaleas. So, now, to expand the topic to its very own thread...

I am curious to know, in no particular order, your favorite "Southern Classic", your opinion on if it is tough enough to survive Mother Nature as she expresses herself to anyone who might inhabit the Rocky Mt. Forum, cultivars, examples and etc. Being that I have only been trying to garden under these conditions for exactly one year this week, you will understand that everything I say is filled with much ignorance, an underestimation of the time, money and energy that gardening here takes, not to mention wanting to grow things that were perhaps, not really intended to grow in these conditions...

that being said, do I need a 100 ft greenhouse? (see, I digress already!) how about "that being said, do I need a 100 ft greenhouse for some pampered Southern Belles?" (seems to me that some of these Southerners are a lot tougher than they let on...)

Happy Monday!

Hahahe!
You need this plant, it is quite available:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/24093/
I'm certainly not from the American South, but select those plants that I fancy.
Kmom, yes, everyone needs a 100' greenhouse. For whatever reason.

Quote you: "...these Southerners are a lot tougher than they let on..." Yes'm:
Remember the old pictures of those giant live oaks down south, branches laying on the ground, looking all gargantuan and luxuriant?
http://www.arcytech.org/java/population/oak_stories.html
There is a northern form of the southern live oak: Quercus virginiana fusiformis ("Escarpment Live Oak" or just Quercus fusiformis.)
http://www.championtrees.org/champions/oaktexaslive.htm
And here is a strapping young plant at Western Colorado Botanical. This one shows more droopy habit than the other five.
If anyone wants one of these, I have a few seedlings and some potentially viable acorns. Figure zone 5b with good treatment and zone 7b mistreated.
Kenton

Live oaks are one of the most beautiful creations of nature, but remember, if you are going to plant one, to plant it really far from your house. Like cottonwoods, when you are planting a bare lot, it is hard to visualize how large they will become. And the branches, do, as Kenton says, eventually touch the ground unless trimmed regularly. As a child, this was my favorite thing about them. Now, "not so much" , to quote John Stewart. If you have room for one, as you do kmom, place it far out from the house. It's low branches will spread in all directions. You can trim them or not, according to how you will use the space.
There is a scrubby live oak in New Mexico called the Grey Oak. I have never see it grow tall enough to be called a tree though. And it doesn't like too high altitudes-- it grows in the bottom of Frijoles Canyon at Bandelier National Monument, but not at the top. Aren't there a lot of live oaks in California that are sort of minatures of the ones in the south? Those might work really well in the Rockies.

Oaks help to hold the water table up. You may want to plant some native sierra oaks to get started.

I have Gambel oaks ( scrubby) all over my lot in little islands. They are very nice and provide a nice place for my dogs to hide when they want to much a bone in privacy.

I think the subspecies (escarpment- northern version) of the live oak is smaller in adulthood, and I bet unfavourable climates like ours would keep them from being huge, but still grand nonetheless and best platned away from a house to let its roots hav better reign.
I like the image of a dog wanting privacy for bone nibbling.
K

Kenton,
The dogs like it, too. It is their own mini-jungle and they keep their bones there. Gambel oak is extremely vigorous here but it doesn't get very tall most of the time. I am guessing my patch is 10ft. tall at the most. It just wants to spread out laterally and by underground runners which means I have to hack out the branches around my little stone bench from time to time.