Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

If we understand you correctly, you are looking for a plant that can live outside in warm weather and be moved indoors in cold weather, and looks like it belongs either place. We are assuming that this plant is to be in a large pot. If this is a correct assumption, we would like to refer you to our How-To Article Container Gardening with Native Plants. If it is to be in a covered outside area and moved to an indoor area, it would appear it needs to be a shade-tolerant plant. And if you want year-round appearance to be the same, it will need to be an evergreen perennial. You didn't say what size you were thinking of, but if you are, indeed, planning to move it back and forth you will need to consider size and weight of the pot that will be required. This turns out to be trickier than we first thought. We searched our Native Plant Database for plants that would survive in both situations (indoors and out) and remain evergreen, as you probably do not want bare branches in your indoor situation.

Paxistima myrsinites (Oregon boxleaf) - evergreen shrub, slow-growing, to 4' tall

Sabal minor (dwarf palmetto) - evergreen shrub or small tree, 5 to 10 ft. tall

Adiantum capillus-veneris (common maidenhair) - evergreen fern

We thought originally that the ferns would be ideal; however, all but the one we listed turned out to be deciduous. If we have misunderstood your specifications for this plant, please get back to us and we will try again. It would appear that you may need to rethink your requirements. Since at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center we are committed to the use and preservation of plants native to North America and to the area in which they will be planted, we would not recommend any non-native tropicals that might be able to adjust to your conditions.

Paxistima myrsinites

Sabal minor

Sabal minor

Adiantum capillus-veneris