9 Plants Perfect for Your Florida Garden
Choosing the right plants for your Florida garden can be a fun and rewarding experience. With its unique climate and abundant sunshine, Florida offers a wide variety of plant options to enhance the beauty of your outdoor space. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just starting out, this blog post will provide you with valuable insights and practical tips on selecting the perfect plants that thrive in the Sunshine State. Get ready to transform your garden into a lush and vibrant oasis!
1. Pentas
These flowers are low maintenance and they’re very easy to grow. They bloom nonstop and produce beautiful clusters of flowers in lavender, pink, red or white. They are gorgeous and they also invite hummingbirds and butterflies. There are a lot of varieties that grow to different sizes, from the dwarf to the full-size Pentas. There’s also one known as Falling Star. These stay low, so they’re useful for hanging baskets and groundcover.
Pentas should grow in part shade or full sun with soil that’s well-drained. After they’ve been established, they’re moderately tolerant to drought. Fertilizing them regularly during the spring and the summer months will help with encouraging the best blooms in soil that is sandy. Pentas grows well in Central, Northern, and Southern Florida.
2. Evolvulus
These are also known as Blue Daze and they’re a beautiful ground cover flower with true-blue color, which is very rare. These gorgeous flowers look beautiful against its foliage, which is silvery-green. It will bloom non-stop, which makes it great for edging your garden borders and beds or even spilling over your container garden’s side. One of its qualities that makes it a great choice when it comes to Florida gardens is that it’s very tolerant to drought.
Once it’s been established, it very rarely needs to be watered other than the rainfall. The only downside is that it blooms in the morning and close by noontime. That means you want to plant it somewhere that you’re able to enjoy it in the morning. It usually grows 6 inches in height and 12-18 inches in width.
It should be grown in part shade or full sun and in soil that is well-drained. To give you the best blooms, it’s a good idea to fertilize it. Evolvulus will be reliably perennial when grown in southern or central Florida. In Northern Florida, it grows a lot more like an annual, particularly when the winter has been especially cold.
3. Coreopsis
This is the state flower of Florida and one of the most cheery plants you’ll be able to find for your garden. The majority of varieties have golden-yellow flowers that are shaped like daisies but there have been breeders who have created double or single flowers and blooms with shades of pink, yellow, orange, gold, and red. It doesn’t matter which variety you choose, it’s going to attract butterflies and it’s also tolerant to drought. The different kinds come with different blooming times as well. Some of them are for spring and some go from the spring to the fall, so you’re able to enjoy them during the majority of the year.
It should be grown in part shade or full sun with soil that has good drainage. The majority of them have a reasonable tolerance to drought and can care well for themselves. They’ll thrive both in borders and garden beds along with containers. Most of them have a short life as a perennial in Northern Florida and in Southern or Central Florida.
4. Gerbera
Gerbera are surprisingly beautiful flowers that can flourish in Florida. These daisy-shaped flowers come in many different colors and pollinators love them. They’re great when you’re looking for a flower for your container garden or landscape, and they are also great to use for bouquets as well. Most of them will grow knee-high and they flower starting in the spring and going into the fall. If you’re in southern Florida, they’ll bloom year-round. Its foliage comes in textured, dense mounds and is similar to lettuce.
They should be grown in part shade or full sun and in soil that is moist and well-drained. Make sure they’re watered when there is a drought so that they’re happy and regularly fertilize them during spring and summer so that they’re profusely blooming. They’re perennials in Northern, Central, and Southern Florida.
5. Bolivian Sunset Gloxinia
These gorgeous flowers are showstoppers in gardens in Central and Southern Florida. It bears dark green, glossy leaves and orange flowers that are simply breathtaking during the latter part of autumn and in winter. If you’re looking for a houseplant in colder states, this flower is a great choice. It spreads somewhat but it isn’t invasive or aggressive at all. As time passes, it will make a very impressive clump you’ll be able to see across your yard when it’s blooming. Typically it will grow as high as 2 feet.
It should be grown in partial shade and in soil that is moist and well-drained. It’s able to handle complete sun, but if you’re growing it somewhere sunny the soil must be kept evenly moist. This can be done with the help of a mulch layer. It’s best for Southern and Central Florida but can be hardy in Northern Florida. It also makes a great indoor plant.
6. Blue Salvia
This is a flower that is native to the Southwest, but it also does well in Florida. This plant features white or violet-purple flowers in spires through the fall, spring, and summer through most of Florida. Some of the blooms even appear in winter in Florida’s southern reason. Blue Salvia’s favored by hummingbirds, bees and butterflies, so you want to choose it if you’re looking to have a pollinator garden.
It’s also an excellent choice when it comes to planters, container gardens, and landscapes that are low-maintenance. Some of the varieties can grow anywhere from 18-36 inches high and 12-18 inches wide. They can be used for cut flowers and their scented foliage can help with keeping the rabbits and deer away.
It should be grown in soil that’s well-drained and in full sun. it will thrive in dry, hot places even though other plants are struggling. Once it’s established, it will hold up well in droughts. In the Northern part of Florida, it’s often an annual, but it also will be reliably perennial when grown in Southern and Central Florida.
7. Purslane
This is also known as Potulaca and it’s a heat-loving, easy-care annual that will hold up well in spots that are hot and dry. This makes it a great choice when it comes to Florida. This plant is low and mounding, and it’s often used for ground cover, in planters, and in hanging baskets. Its traditional colors are white, yellow, orange and pink, but there are breeders who have created bicolors, too. If you’re looking for a flower that has lots of colors but won’t require a lot of care, it’s a perfect choice. Most of them will grow 6 inches in height and 12 inches in width.
It should be grown in well-drained soil and full sun. It shouldn’t be watered a lot. If it’s always moist, the plant may rot. In the majority of Florida, it’s an annual, but some of them can sell-seed so the seedlings pop up when their mother plants are fading.
8. Lavender
This gorgeous plant offers fragrance and beauty. It’s tolerant to drought and charms butterflies and bees. The flowers come in white, pink or violet-purple, and they have foliage in silvery-green. The oils in the flowers and leaves that provide its scent mean it’s perfect for sachets and potpourris, and since the flowers will dry well it’s also great for crafts that you make with dried flowers. It’s a good idea to plant it along with a walkway where they’ll be brushed against to release their fragrance.
It should be grown in soil with great drainage and full sun. It will thrive in soil that’s sandy and doesn’t like ground that is always wet. If your home has irrigation, you want to make sure your lavender isn’t planted where the sprinklers are going to wet the foliage regularly. It thrives in borders, garden beds, and container gardens. Lavender is a perennial in Northern, Southern and Central Florida, even though it usually will bloom better in Florida’s Northern parts.
9. Mexican Heather
This is a staple in Florida and has a dark green, shiny foliage that is accented with flowers in white or lavender-pink and will grow nearly throughout the year. Even though you may think that these plants look small, they’ll form an easy-care and dense groundcover after they’re established. Even though you’re going to love that they’re low maintenance and beautiful, butterflies and bees will love their sweet nectar. It’s great for mass planting, edging and ground cover. It will grow 12-18 inches in height and 24-30 inches in width as time passes.
It should be grown in partial shade or full sun and soil that is well-drained. After it’s established, it will be quite tolerant to drought so you simply have to plant this gorgeous plant and then forget about it. Along with thriving in landscapes, it’s great for containers. In Southern, Central and Northern Florida, it is a perennial.
If you are planting a Florida garden, these are some of the plants that you should choose to plant in your garden. They love Florida and the heat and they are easy to care for.
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