Lynn Barber, Florida-Friendly LandscapingTM Agent
After paging through the Florida-Friendly LandscapingTM (FFL) Guide to Plant Selection and Landscape Design, I identified 14 native plants that are my favorites. The top five were hard to choose and are firebush, beach sunflower, climbing aster, coontie and blanket flower. Ornamental grasses are not included because I recently published an article about muhly and fakahatchee.
Firebush is a perennial or semi-woody shrub that is known scientifically as Hamelia patens. Gardeners love firebush because it produces flowers from late spring until the first frost, and the bright red flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies, including the zebra longwing and gulf fritillary butterflies.
Our ecosystem contains many native plants that provide shelter and food for birds, butterflies, bees and animals. Your site conditions, sun, shade, mature size (height and spread), soil pH, soil moisture and texture, should be considered when making plant selections.
Firebush, Hamelia patens, a fast-growing large shrub, can reach a height of 5-20 feet and spread of 5-8 feet. It can survive in full sun or partial sun/shade and has low to no salt tolerance. The orange-red flowers attract birds, bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Some people prefer the darker green foliage in the shade; others prefer the orange/red/yellow leaves in full sun. This shrub dies back if there is a freeze, but shoots appear when the temperature warms and post-pruning.
Beach sunflower, Helianthus debilis, a fast-growing perennial can reach a height of 1-4 feet and spread of 2-4 feet. It has high drought and salt tolerance and prefers full sun. This plant attracts butterflies and birds, sports year-round flowers and is a great groundcover. We have it around our two-level pond in the Bette S. Walker Discovery Garden at our office courtyard.
Climbing aster, Aster carolinianus, can reach a height of 1-12 feet and spread of 2-4 feet. It prefers full sun and does well in partial sun /shade. Lavender fall flowers attract birds and butterflies. This plant is in the mint family.
Coontie, Zamia floridana, is a fast-growing native palm-like plant. It can reach a height of 1-5 feet and spread of 3-5 feet. Coontie is highly drought tolerant, easy to propagate from seed, attracts birds and butterflies and is the sole larval food source for the atala hairstreak butterfly.
Beach sunflower is a butterfly-attracting Florida native that’s perfect for hot, dry sites, including coastal areas. Many gardeners like to use it as a colorful and drought-resistant groundcover.
Fun fact: the flower heads always follow the sun throughout the day.
Blanket flower, Gaillardia pulchella, is a fast-growing native perennial that can reach a height of 1-2 feet and spread of 2-3 feet. It has high drought tolerance, prefers full sun, produces yellow/orange/red, summer flowers that attract butterflies. It is easy to propagate from seed.
Once established, irrigation may not be needed. For more in-depth information on these and other Florida-Friendly native plants, using your browser, go to ‘Ask IFAS’ followed by the name of the plant.
Like all cycads, the coontie has ancient origins. But this Florida plant is the only cycad native to North America. It’s also the preferred food source for larvae of the rare Atala butterfly
You can order a free copy of the FFL Plant Selection Guide from Southwest Florida Water Management District. Look under free publications, then Florida-Friendly LandscapingTM. https://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/resources/free-publications
For assistance with horticultural questions, call us at 813-744-5519 or visit us at the UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County, 5339 County Road 579, Seffner, FL 33584.
Lynn Barber is the Florida-Friendly Landscaping TM agent for UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County. Contact her at labarber@ufl.edu/.
