Good advice (as always) from the usual suspects...

FWIW, I see a lot of plumeria and birds of paradise in people's yards here in SoCal, so they obviously can handle cooler-than-Hawai`i temps. We get down into the mid-30s in the winter now and then, so they seem pretty hardy. I can't think of anything that would survive exposure to an East Coast winter, though. I don't think there are many plants in Hawai`i that go dormant for the winter.

Of course, there is this, ahem, plant grown and cultivated in Hawai`i that is common elsewhere (so I hear). Just needs a little water and a UV light...