I grew them when I lived in Zone 10 & they are perennial there also. They MUST have some shade down there & they suffer during the height of the summer but if you can manage to get them established & keep them going for about 3 years then you have them for life. As the others stated the crown must be planted high. They require a good deal of watering down there though.
They also grow as perennials here in my new zone in North Fl. They do much better up here & suffer less mildew & fungus than down south. They require less babying here too.
