NATIVE LANDSCAPING
Plants native to Florida are not the same as plants that have come to us from other places. Native
plants provide environmental benefits that others rarely measure up to. When you select plants
adapted to your growing conditions, they require very little attention once they are fully
established. They will not need additional water and fertilizer to thrive, and they will not need
pesticides to cope with typical insect pests. They also are the plants that will literally bring life to
your landscape. Native plants form the only real foundation for Florida’s butterflies, bees, and
other pollinators, hummingbirds, songbirds, and other interesting wildlife. Living landscapes
connect us to the real world, and create a sense of wonder in what would otherwise be sterile and
uninteresting. You will not be limited in your choices or aesthetics. There are literally thousands
of wonderful plants to choose from.
This brochure details some of the easiest-to-grow species native to your area. Also listed are
resources to help you locate and use these plants most effectively. You may wish to join your
local chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society. They host monthly meetings and field trips and
provide an excellent resource to share information and answer questions.
Craig N. Huegel
Author, Native Wildflowers and Other Groundcovers for Florida Landscapes, and other titles
BEGIN A PARTNERSHIP WITH NATURE
Different plants have evolved to thrive in each light and moisture niche in the natural landscape.
When you place these plants in the light & moisture zone where they grow naturally, they
require less ongoing maintenance once they become established. Select plants for their mature
size to reduce pruning chores. This right match of light, moisture, and size is the key to
sustainable native landscaping. Everything about your climate, the local insects, the birds, the
butterflies, and other wildlife, then conspire to create a fascinating landscape that is largely selfsustaining.
Use this brochure to select a "starter set" of native plants known to grow well in your region.
Look at the Resources to find hundreds of additional species. Now you can begin to create a
landscape that helps the planet and expresses a natural partnership between the earth and
ourselves.
RIGHT PLANT, RIGHT PLACE
• Match native plants to the light, moisture, and size of the particular planting site.
• On the reverse, 6 to 9 plants are recommended for each light and moisture zone.
• Most yards have SUN, PART SUN, and SHADE with some large areas and some small.
• A water feature, swale, or container garden can add a WET zone where there is none.
SIZE
• Select plants that fit the aesthetic & physical space at their mature size.
• Allowed to grow naturally without pruning, plants manifest their natural form & flower.
• A light and artful pruning, respectful a species' natural form, can compliment nature.
• Hurricanes and fire are nature's pruning; some species do well with this drastic cut-back.
LIGHT
• SUN is more than 6 hours of midday sun, perhaps with shadow only early or late.
• SHADE is little or no midday sun, but perhaps soft morning and evening sunlight.
• PART SUN is the zone in between with fewer hours (perhaps 3 to 6) of direct sunshine
• Observe the shadows around structures and trees to identify your areas of light.
• Your zones of light exposure suggest areas for plant groupings based on light preferences.
SOIL MOISTURE
• Watering new plantings too little & too late is the most common reason new plants die.
• Water immediately and daily, tapering gradually to weekly until roots have grown.
• Large shrubs and trees might require a year of regular weekly irrigation.
• A weekly timer and drip irrigation conserves water and frees the gardener.
• Even well established plants may appreciate or require water during long dry spells.
• To confirm your soil’s current moisture, dig a test hole about two feet deep.
• WET is poorly drained, seasonally ponding, near open water, or wet to the touch.
• MOIST is an average soil that usually feels damp or moist at the bottom of the hole.
• WELL-DRAINED soil provides air to the roots between watering and rainstorms.
• Drought tolerate plants cope with longer dry spells and establish roots to reach moisture.
MAINTENANCE TIPS
• Plants may eventually self-compost; until then add leaf mulch or design with open sand.
• Use melaleuca, eucalyptus, pine, hay, or leaf mulch; never use unsustainable cypress or peat moss.
• Use small native species and ground covers between and among shrubs to reduce the weeds.
• Plants that thrive in naturally fertile, humus, moist soils may benefit from enrichment.
• Fertilize nutrient-loving species with worm compost or other mild composted manures.
• Organic materials like leaf compost help hold moisture in the soil for moist-soil plants.
• Often plants native to sandy or well-drained soils don't need or want any added fertilizer.
• Change your landscape design to accommodate the plant preferences you observe.
• Seek out wild places for design inspiration; photograph but never take wild plants.
• Pruning is best thought of as a gardener's partnership with nature's art; avoid geometry.
SOUTHEAST FLORIDA INVASIVE PLANTS
Commonly-available invasive plants that should be removed from landscapes include:
Mexican Petunia, Ruellia simplex
Umbrella Tree, Schefflera actinophylla
Carrotwood Tree, Cupaniopsis anacardioides Snake Plant, Sansevieria trifasciata
Oyster Plant, Tradescantia spathacia
Purple Orchid Tree, Bauhinia purpurea
Austrailian Pine, Casuarina equisetifolia
Tuberous Sword Fern, Nephrolepis cordifolia
Shrub Verbena, Lantana camara
More at: Facebook.com/IFASassessment
Pathos, Epipremnum pinnatum cv. Aureum
or http://assessment.ifas.ufl.edu
SOUTHEAST FLORIDA RESOURCES
Florida Native Plant Society, local Chapters, and plant info: FNPS.org > Native Plants
Landscape plants, size, light, moisture, nurseries, wildlife interaction & native range:
RegionalConservation.org "Natives for Your Neighborhood" icon and "plant list" tab
Plant Status (native or invasive) and county range maps: Florida.PlantAtlas.USF.edu
Native wildflowers, seed, and how to grow them: FlaWildflower.org > Grow
The Florida Association of Native Nurseries, find local nurseries: PlantRealFlorida.org
Invasive plants, Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council: FLEPPC.org
Huegel, C. N., (2012). Native wildflowers and other groundcovers for Florida landscapes.
Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida.
Osorio, R., (2001). A Gardener's Guide to Florida's Native Plants. Gainesville, FL:
University Press of Florida.
Rogers, G. K., (2013). Native plants, weeds, and sustainable landscapes in south Florida.
Palm Beach Gardens, FL: Palm Beach State College.
Stibolt, G., (2015). The art of maintaining a Florida native landscape. Gainesville, FL:
University Press of Florida.
Tallamy, D. W., Bringing nature home: How you can sustain wildlife with native plants.
Portland, OR: Timber Press Inc. (not Florida-specific, but a native landscaping classic)
WHERE TO GET NATIVE PLANTS
RegionalConservation.org shows nurseries for particular species and growing requirements.
PlantRealFlorida.org shows local nurseries, professionals, species and a grower's website.
FNPS.org lists local Chapters that have meetings, field trips, and native plant sales. Likeminded members garden and may trade native plants.
Chapters may organize trips to shop cooperatively for hard-to-get species sold in adjacent
counties. They cooperate with local nurseries to refer buyers when a nursery stocks soughtafter species. Members may propagate hard-to-get species for sale at Chapter meetings and
experiment with local species that gardeners and nurseries may later find desirable.
About 2,800 species are native to Florida, but not all are suitable for landscaping. No plant
should be taken from the wild or any other property. Some species (too few) are legally
protected and many, many others are imperiled in the wild. Only devoted individuals now
grow some local species that await discovery by you and the other the early adopters of
native landscaping.
Native landscaping on a large scale is in its infancy. Efforts to grow, buy, sell, and discover a
greater variety of local species will make it easier for the general public to participate.
Transforming more populated areas to wonderful native landscapes will help protect our
natural resources and enable wildlife, plants and animals, to survive.