Im trying to make an unusual semi/tropic garden with mainly huge leave plants, i have purchased a few, 1.gunnera 2.Alocasia Calidora 3 musa busjoo i need a few more monster plants that will make my garden look interesting, pref: hardy ones... and rapid growers... and ideas be appreciated!
Alocasia odora, Alocaska gageana, and Colocasia esculenta may survive in your climate. The first two are the parent plants of Alocasia Calidora which is a hybrid created by LariAnn Garner who is a contributor to UBC. Colocasia esculenta has many "faces" and several hundred known leaf forms. It is one of the most variable of all aroid species and even changes its own shape and color in a single season. This link will tell you more: http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Colocasia esculenta large pc.html
Mostly borderline hardy, but... Canna, fatsia (reliably hardy), magnolia macrophylla (small tree), melianthus, phormium and tetrapanax all come to mind for your theme.
I know this is only a year late as far as replies go but maybe for this year,how about Castor bean plants(ricin) they get some nice beafy leaves! You will need to plant the seeds now if you want max size but even started in May they can hit over 8' in height,leaves can be 2'+ across.
haa thats funny cos ive been doing my research and have ordered 2 different types of caster beans only yesterday! lol brill
Get the green leaved var,it's leaves can get 2-3' across,the other varieties(being a fellow fan of big leaved plants)are not worth growing,however they do have beautifull colored leaves,just not that big.
Add another foliage freak to the mix here... By the way, I actually have two young Magnolia macrophyllum, if you need pictures. I'd also look into Catalpa sp. and Paulownia as options, though I haven't the foggiest if they'll survive your climate.
Heres a pic of what mine looked like last Oct 4th , these were only a foot tall in mid July-the ones in back are about 8' http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm220/orbea641/?action=view¤t=10-4-08009.jpg
Yep,although I think east or all day broken sun and some wind protection would yield the biggest leaves but full sun and lots of water never hurts!