Before moving to AL, I lived/gardened in Z5, central OH for decades & have seen zone-cheating work there too, with Cannas that survived in a neighbors' yard for over a decade by the time I moved, & 4'0'clocks (Mirabilis jalapa) in mine, also there for about 10 yrs (and now moved to AL.) There's a neighborhood in Columbus called German Village that has mostly brick buildings & a lot of brick courtyards where Z7 plants often survive. That's a cheat of 1.5-2 zones.
New Orleans is in the same zone I am, but I've seen MANY plants in the FQ that are NOT hardy here (without a brick neighborhood to surround them.)
