More Succulents to Plant in the Florida Landscape

Furcraea foetida ‘Mediopicta’

Although we have the sun and the heat in Florida that succulents love, we also have some extreme rainfall which they don’t enjoy. Therefore it is very important to plant succulents in very well-draining soil. You can make the soil drain better by adding sand, or small gravel to the soil - this will keep water from collecting around the roots. One of the succulents that can withstand Florida’s climate is:

Furcraea foetida ‘Mediopicta’ 

Furcraeas are very much like Agave. They are actually in the same family. They form large, fountain-shaped rosettes and have cream to yellow stripes on leaves with green margins. These long leaves are more flexible than those of Agaves.

Furcraea ultimately grows to 4-5’ tall and 6-8’ wide. It is easily grown in rich, well-draining soil and filtered light. These plants need protection from scorching sun so shade is preferable in the afternoon. These plants are heat, humidity and drought tolerant. They do beautifully in the ground as well as containers.

Bulbine frutescens

This South African native is a perfect succulent for Florida since it tolerates hot temperatures and dry and sandy soils. Bulbine makes a great groundcover since each plant will spread and form a clump over 4’ wide.

The succulent grass-like foliage grows to about 1 foot tall and the flowers stalks of yellow or orange extend to 2’. 

Bulbine will grow best if in a sunny location with well-draining soil. Once the plant is established it is very drought tolerant. Deadheading will encourage the plants to produce more flowers.

Don’t Keep Repeating this Landscape Mistake!!

Sometimes something is done incorrectly and everyone copies it over and over until it appears to be the correct and true thing to do.

This occurs frequently in landscaping. An example of this would be Crape Murder- pruning back Crape Myrtles to stumps. This practice and name “Crape Murder “ was from a 1997 article in Southern Living magazine. That was 23 years ago and the practice is still being done.

It is important to find reliable sources for information. And that includes landscaping and plant care.  The County Extension Service is always a good source of info. The University of Florida has great information on any gardening subject. When you Google any gardening subject add Florida to it and usually a blog will come up from the University of Florida (for example Ferns in Florida). Also a very good source of info is www.south-florida-plant-guide.com

Another one of these mistakes that causes countless problems is improperly spaced plantings and overcrowded plantings. I just drove by 2 very large commercial projects with plants planted so close, they were touching. The only benefit to planting this close is to give the landscaper twice as much profit!

If you buy a plant, you should find out the mature size of that plant by researching online or asking a professional at an independent Nursery or Garden Center 

Let’s take a common plant that many people buy and put in their yards, a Hibiscus . A 3 gallon size Hibiscus measures about 2’ tall and 18” wide. HOWEVER, this plant will grow to 10’ tall or more and 6-8’ wide!!

A hibiscus should be planted no closer than 5-6’ from any other plant. However, I see them regularly planted right on top of other plants. Even if you are growing a hedge of hibiscus you should still plant the shrubs no closer than 4’ apart. 

Now that I am telling you to space your plants, I will tell you why it is important. Here are some of the ways that proper spacing can be beneficial:

1. You save money- fewer plants

2. The plants have enough room to grow 

3. You save on maintenance time because you are not constantly cutting plants back to keep them from overtaking other plants. That can be your own labor or that of a maintenance crew.

4. You cut down on watering because there is less competition for the water. Where three plants are competing for water, now you only have one plant.

5. With enough room, plants are allowed to keep their natural form and it is unnecessary to hack them back into weird shapes.

The rule of thumb is- look at a plant’s mature width (that number is usually in a range such as 3-4’). Plant the plant minimally 3’ from the center of surrounding plants.  When you plant your bed, you should have the feeling that it looks a little sparse. Within 6 months you will be happy with the look. Here are some pictures of some properly spaced plantings.

Succulents in the Landscape

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Sedum

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Variegated Baby Sun Rose

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Baby Sun Rose

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Variegated Baby Sun Rose

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Crown of Thorns

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Clusia

I love using succulents in my landscape designs, especially in tough situations or with clients that don’t like to do much maintenance. Succulents will withstand drought and poor soil and keep on growing. The only risk in Florida during the summer is extreme rain with flooding because succulents do not like wet feet. Above are a few of my favorite “perennial” types of succulents. I call them perennial because an extreme summer of rain could do them in but in general in my experience they will last 2-3 years. From left to right is Sedum ‘ Lemon Coral’ This makes a beautiful yellow mound when planted in a garden or trails over the edge of a pot. It likes full sun to part shade and is very low maintenance.

The next picture is a bed with Aptenia cordifolia or Variegated Baby Sun Rose mixed with Evolvulus glomerata or commonly known as Blue Daze and Foxtail Ferns. The picture on the upper right is Foxtail Fern with Aptenia cordifolia, Baby Sun Rose. This is the straight green variety of this plant. Both have small red flowers.

The picture in the middle of the bottom row is Euphorbia milii or Crown of Thorns. The new varieties that are now available of this plant have bigger leaves and flowers and make a really beautiful show in the garden. They are a succulent so they are very drought tolerant and take little to no care. They come in a variety of colors such as red, yellow, salmon and creamy white. They prefer full sun and do well in the front of beds, along walkways or in garden beds.

The last picture on the right is Clusia. There are several varieties of Clusia which can be used in the landscape. Clusia guttifera has succulent-like, paddle leaves and can be planted as a specimen or as a larger growing hedge. This variety can be kept at 5-6’. There is a dwarf variety, Clusia rose ‘Nana’ that only grows 2’ tall and can be used in a succulent garden or as a low border. Both varieties are very drought tolerant and will tolerate full to part sun.

For difficult spots in your yard or areas that require low maintenance, try using one of these very interesting succulents. Enjoy!

Gardening Field Trip to Landmark Nursery

This weekend I went to Landmark Nursery located at 853 E. Lake Road S, Tarpon Springs, FL. I wanted to share some of the good finds at this nursery. When you buy from an independently owned nursery, you are going to be able to ask questions and usually get good advice. This is not what you get at the box stores. I owned an 8 acre nursery in Massachusetts for 23 years and we became the educational nursery in the area. Every time I have visited Landmark Nursery, these lovely ladies below have been working on the plants-pruning, cleaning, watering and fertilizing. At the box stores, they allow plants to dry out and die and throw them out. I never want to support that system.

Every time I come into the nursery, these two ladies are working hard on the plants: pruning, cleaning, watering and fertilizing. These are necessary jobs around a nursery and they never end!

Here are some of the pictures I took on Saturday and some nice plants available at this time:

In the succulent department they had a great assortment of Agaves, Sedum, Euphorbia and Pencil Cactus.

In the shade area there was a large variety of Camellias, Ti Plants, Dracaena, Stomanthe and Croton Majestic (my new favorite Croton). There was also some beautiful purple Strobilanthus or persian shield which is hard to find. Just as a side note- their displays are really lovely too. It helps you know which plants will grow in which environment.

In the seasonal area there were some nice Geraniums, Delphiniums, Pansies and Dusty Miller for use in beds and pots for the cooler season.

There were also nice shrubs in the sunny area such as Crotons, Bougainvilleas, Ornamental Grasses and some Southern Living Plants like Ligustrum Sunshine (another one of my favorites!).

Last but not least, Landmark Nursery has an amazing collection of Ceramic pots and interesting statuary.

So if you are a gardener, visit Landmark Nursery and see all the trees, shrubs, annuals and perennials they have to offer. One thing I forgot, they have some beautiful Poinsettias for the holidays!!

Why Do People Fail at Design?

I am always looking at homes and landscaping as I travel around the Tampa Bay Area. I look because I am always interested in how homeowners and landscapers combine plants and lay them out. I often get ideas and inspiration. Most times I am disappointed in what I see. Why is that?

Most landscapers tend to stick with the same 12 plants over and over. Homeowners however are more daring in their selections and tend to mix colors and textures nicely. Unfortunately it starts out looking great and then as the plants grow in, the problems begin. Some plants grow much larger than expected, some require more maintenance than expected, some need shade and were planted in the sun and some need sun and were planted in the shade.

What is the common denominator here- not enough correct information!!! That is what is missing. Even with landscapers, they may only have limited knowledge of different varieties of landscape plants.

In this age of vast amounts of information, how can there not be enough information? Well there is actually too much information and it is hard to filter through it all.

Noting the sun variations

If you are trying to plan out an area in your yard, here are some suggestions:

1. Measure the area and draw it on paper.

2. Observe the area and note down how much sun it gets at 9:00AM, noon, 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM. If you are doing this in the winter, note that the sun will be higher in the sky in the summer.

3. Decide if you need shade plants, sun plants or partial shade plants.

4. Now do your plant research based on that. When you find a plant you like, find out how big it will get and space accordingly. I just saw a “professionally” planted landscape with 5 plants planted in the space where there should be 1!!! If a plant is supposed to spread to 4 feet wide, space that plant 4’ from the center of the next plant.

5. A great resource for practical plant information is: www.south-Florida-Plant-Guide.com This website was written by someone that worked with plants and gained a great deal of experience. I have found this to be a reliable source of information.

6. Look for low maintenance shrubs and trees. If you are looking for color, try a flowering shrub instead of flowers which are higher maintenance. Also take advantage of colorful foliage as these leaves make a big impact in the landscape.

7. Try to buy plants which are tagged by the grower because this ensures you are getting the variety you want. Many plants have numerous varieties that grow different heights and can like different conditions. The different varieties CAN LOOK IDENTICAL when the are young.

   
   I hope these points will help guide you to get plants that will enhance your landscape.

What to Plant in Wet Areas

Before I give you a list of water friendly plants, I want to give you some info about drainage. Before planting you should be looking at how your property handles excess water. Here are a few problem situations that you should address:

1. Gutters!!!!!!!!!!!  I can’t emphasize these enough. Many homes in Florida do not have gutters. The water comes off the roof and lands in the planting beds. If these are new planting beds, it will wash away mulch, soil and in some cases….plants!!  When we get extreme rains, this water can also cause flooding around the house. Water around the house can cause a host of other problems as the water seeps up the siding or just soaks the cement. This comes in the form of mold and we all know that is not a desirable condition to have.

It is important to put gutters on your house and then pipe that water out away from the house to an area that can absorb it or take it away. Sometimes it can be as easy as diverting it to a lawn area or a natural area with plants. 

2. Grading- It is important that the grade directly around your house pitches AWAY from the house. The grade should not be lower around your foundation than the surrounding lawn or yard. If it is lower, then when we get excessive rain, all the water will flow towards the house!!  As I said before, standing water next to the foundations causes problems.

Beds around a house need to pitch out to the yard. This is vital! So go and look at your house and step back and examine the pitch or the slope. Does it slope down to the house or away from the house? If it slopes towards the house, then water will flow towards the house.  This needs to be corrected before any planting is done.

Occasionally we see a piece of property that is lower than surrounding properties. When it rains, all the runoff comes onto that lower property. This is something you should be aware of when buying a house. Visit it during a rainstorm!

There are many different drainage solutions that can used to handle these problems, from French drains to beds filled with stone. Find a qualified Landscaper that can handle these issues for you.

Iris

Plants that can Tolerate Standing Water

This is a list of plants that can tolerate standing water. However, it has been noted that they need to be established in drier areas prior to being in the water. This list comes from the University of Florida Extension Service.

TREES: Bald Cypress, Banana, Dahoon Holly, Elderberry, Galberry, Black Mangrove, Ironwood, Loblolly, Pond Apple, Pond Cypress, Pop Ash, Red Bay, Red Mangrove, Red Maple, River Birch, Screw Pine, shrimp plant, Simpson's Stopper, Slash Pine, Swamp Bay, Sweetgum, Sweetbay Magnolia, Sycamore, Tupelo, Water Hickory.

Saw Palmetto

PALMS: Needle, Majestic, Paurotis, Royal, Sabal, Saw Palmetto.

SHRUBS: Buford Holly, Buttonbush, Fedderbush, Firebush, Florida Anise, Galberry, Green Buttonwood, Ferns: (Cinnamon, Leather, Royal, Swamp), Goldenrod, Milkweed, Myrsine, Philodendron Selloum, Pickerel Weed, Silver Buttonwood, Simpson Stopper, Walter's Viburnum, Yaupon Holly, and Wax Myrtle.

Canna lily

GRASSES, IRIS, LILIES: African Iris, Blue Flag Iris, Canna Lilly, Fakahatchee, Lemon Grass, Louisiana Iris, Miscanthus, Muhly, Rain Lily, Sand Cordgrass.

In conclusion, the best way to handle water on your property is to plan ahead and examine how your property handles water BEFORE you get extreme rain and storms.  Then when a storm comes, you can sit on the couch and watch TV without any worries.

It’s Maintenance Time!!

Many of my clients ask me when to cut plants back and when to fertilize and WHAT to fertilize with.  I supervise the maintenance of a number of my clients’ yards.  I have found that with the planting of correct plants in the correct spots in the yard, maintenance needs only to be done 3 times a year. I usually do this in October, February and late May.  Part of the reason I do it in May and October is that we have a ban on fertilizer from June 1- Sept 30th in Pinellas County. I like to get fertilizer on the plants before the end of May and as soon as the ban comes off in early October. 

From my experience, this schedule works really well for the plants AND for people since you can mostly ignore your plants during the very hot summer months. 

So here are some basics on what to do for maintenance:

1.Pruning- Get yourself some nice pruning shears and keep them dry and sharpened. Don’t cut wire or roots or other inorganic things. Keep one pair just for pruning your shrubs. Go out and look at the shrubs in your yard. You will want to prune off branches that stick out from the others. For whatever reason, some branches grow faster than others. Make the cut just above a leave intersection. On plants like Schefflera arboricola, you will usually see a branch that just sticks up or sideways and cut that branch back to maintain the shape of the plant.  Do not use electric shears- these ruin plants by shredding the leaves and stems resulting in brown leaves and diseased stems. 

At this time, look at your shrubs for any dead growth. This can be caused by breakage or shading or just be typical of that type of plant. 

Once you have pruned any branches obviously sticking out from the plant, then just prune off some of the tips to keep the plant more compact.  CAUTION: If you have plants that bloom in the winter such as Azaleas, Camellias and Brunfelsia, do not prune at this time because you will be removing buds getting ready to open up. With these plants, wait until after their bloom time.

2. Replace soil or mulch- After a summer of torrential rains and heat, you may find that your beds may have some wash-out. This is a good time to replace soil and/or mulch to the beds. Because we always have the potential to get freezing weather in the winter months, it is good to have some protective cover over your roots, especially tropical plants. 

3. Fertilizing- This is a great time to fertilize your plants with an organic granular fertilizer and minerals. They have been without any food all summer so now is the time. Please throw away your Miracle-gro and liquid plant foods- they push plants into shooting up fast growth and often times you get bugs to enjoy this unnatural growth burst. Using organics will give you a more regulated natural growth that will not require you to prune more and use pesticides. My recommendations for a general fertilizer are Azomite and Espoma Plant-tone. These two products will be good for about 90% of your plants. You may need some other specialized fertilizers on your Palms, Gardenias, etc. but these will be great for the majority. I have a link for these fertilizers on my website:

https://www.victoriasbloomers.com/products

I usually mix the plant tone and minerals half and half and put a small handful around each plant working it into the soil if possible. I also water in the plants well after fertilizing in case I get any fertilizer on the foliage. This also gives the fertilizer a chance to work into the soil.

Azomite Mineral Blend

Plant-tone Organic Fertilizer

These are the general rules for maintenance. If you have any questions, feel free to ask! Vicki@victoriasbloomers.com

What about Ferns?

I think Ferns are just beautiful. When i was in college in New Hampshire taking Botany classes, we would frequently go on field trips out into the forest to look, identify and collect plants. Ferns were very prevalent in the areas around my school and I always thought they were just stunning. I used to take a frond and press it in my plant press and make framed pictures for my family for Christmas. 

Ferns are actually different from the trees and shrubs you see around you. They developed earlier on the evolutionary track. They are similar to trees and shrubs in that they transplant fluids and nutrients internally and they have true roots, leaves and stems. However, unlike most plants they do not produce flowers and seeds. Have you ever seen a blooming fern? No, they reproduce by spores which can be seen on the undersides of the leaves.

Most ferns enjoy a shady spot in the yard and do not like to have direct sun. Some spread and some stay put. It is important that you know the growing characteristics of the fern you are choosing before you plant.  I want to give you a few of my favorite ferns. The first on my list would be Foxtail Fern, but alas, it is not a true fern, it is a member of the Lily family.

Wort Fern

Wart fern (Microsorum scolopendrium) - This is a lovely low growing fern that makes a beautiful ground cover. It has very compact growth unlike most sprawling ferns reaching only 2 feet tall by 1.5 feet wide. It prefers dense, medium or light shade but will also tolerate more sun that most ferns however, the color will bleach out in too much sun).

Macho Fern

Macho fern (Nephrolepis biserrata)- This is an absolutely gorgeous fern! What I like the most about it is the dark green lush foliage. Beware though, this fern needs some space and it will spread. It will grow to 3’ tall and 4’ wide. If you have a large area to naturalize, this is a great option. Another bonus is that it is a native plant. 

Fishtail Fern

Fishtail Fern (Nephrolepsis byserrata ‘Furans’) - This fern gets its name because the ends of the leaves or fronds look like little fish tails. This is a very graceful, slower growing fern that reaches 2-3 feet tall and wide. It does spread but it is much easier to control and does not get as big as the Macho Fern. 

Autumn Fern

Autumn Fern (Dryopteris erythrosora)- This is a fern that I have used in Massachusetts all the way down to Clearwater, Florida. I love it because it stays compact and the new growth has a bronze color. It will grow to 1-2 feet tall and wide. 

Australian Tree Fern

Australian Tree Fern (Cyathea cooperi)- This is a very unique tree for a shady location. This was the first plant that I bought when moving to Florida. I planted it in a pot on my deck and it got a little too much sun and not enough water and ended up a casualty. These plants need a lot of water so I would not classify them as low-maintenance plants.  But in the right location, under trees and in enriched soil with daily watering or rain, they are magnificent. They can get up to 15 feet in height and width. The fiddleheads that push up to form the new fronds are just so interesting looking.

If you have a shady spot in your yard, try planting some ferns. There are lots of varieties and in general they are low maintenance and will greatly enhance your garden.

High Maintenance or Low Maintenance

There is much discussion about whether a plant is high maintenance or low maintenance. Most people who talk about maintenance have done very little plant maintenance. There are so many things to consider when you classify a plant as a high maintenance plant or a low maintenance plant. And here is one HUGE consideration when classifying plants that has to be looked at: if you plant a low maintenance plant in the WRONG location you may have turned it into a high maintenance plant. Wow! That’s confusing, isn’t it! Let me give you an example, Dwarf Firebush, Hamelin patens ‘Compacta’ is a low maintenance plant. Once established it does not need a lot of water, will take sun, if given a 4’x4’ space, it does not need much if any pruning and it will tolerate the native soils. If you place this plant in a 2’ square bed, plant in the shade and give it lots of water, all of a sudden you have a high maintenance plant. It will require pruning every month and will start to look leggy because it doesn’t get enough sun. Suddenly you HATE this plant and tell everyone it is hard to maintain. Do you see what I mean?

The first thing to remember when choosing a plant, if you wish it to be low-maintenance is to plant it in the right spot (sun or shade) and give it enough room to grow to it’s mature size. If everyone JUST did that, people would have much more success in their garden.

Now what are the characteristics of a plant that make it high or low maintenance? Let’s list them out.

1. Does it need a lot of water? This time of year it is not a problem, but in the winter, when we have watering restrictions, you will want plants that can endure the droughts with 2x a week irrigation.

2. Does it need to be pruned a great deal? For example, who does not love a Bougainvillea, but if you let them go for 3-4 months without pruning, you have a big and thorny project ahead of you.

3. Is your tree or shrub self-cleaning? What does this mean? Self-cleaning means that the plant drops its flowers after they go by and new flowers emerge to take their place. You see that beautiful picture of the Bird of Paradise? When the flowers go by, they turn brown and stay on the plant making it look messy unless you cut them back.

4. Is the plant susceptible to disease or insects and require regular spraying? I personally won’t plant a plant that I need to regularly spray. It makes me think that my environment is just not correct for this plant and I can’t be bothered. Take roses for example. Roses hate humidity and get black spot and powdery mildew when they get too much moisture on their leaves or have too much humidity. Hello, we live in Florida!!!! I have seen very few nice looking roses except for possibly in the Spring when they first emerge. To get them to look nice you need to spray for diseases. Another plant is the Sago Palm which is a gorgeous cycad. However they get scale and mealybug and need to be sprayed weekly!!!! Who wants to spray weekly???

5. Is the plant likely to be damaged with a frost? For all of you that love your Tropicals, most of them will not withstand temperatures below 32 degrees. So it necessary to cover these plants with some sort of fabric when we get cooler temperatures.

6. Does the plant need special soil? Some plants require special soil with more organic matter like Camellias or they require special fertilizers.

7. Does your plant spread uncontrollably or is it invasive? Yikes! That is a great way to have lots of maintenance.

So you can see, there are lots of things to consider when choosing plants that are low maintenance. My rule is that shrubs and trees should only have to be pruned and fertilized three times a year- early October, end of February and end of May. They should not require spraying and should not have to have extra irrigation. They should not be invasive and they should fit into the space you give them.

Next time you choose a plant, go over this list and ensure you are not buying yourself a problem.

"Our backyard was a real disaster..." | CLIENT TESTIMONIAL

"Our backyard was a real disaster. With Hurricane Irma taking down one large tree leaving a giant stump, and our most majestic oak falling around a year later, we were pretty discouraged about having a yard that we could really utilize. Our yard backs up to a real jungle, with 100 foot bamboo, bananas and a steep embankment filled with many tropical plants. It is very serene and quiet but because it was overgrown and needed some terracing, and other work, we just could not use it.

“That’s when we called in Vicki Crocker from Victoria’s Bloomers. She definitely thought it was a challenging project!  First she listened to what we wanted and how we wanted to use the property. She designed a plan to include a lawn area, fire pit, plantings around the pool, raised garden beds and then naturalized areas with ferns and grasses that would fill in and be low maintenance.

“Once we approved the plan she got a landscape crew to put all the pieces together. They built two retaining walls, graded out the soil, put in irrigation, cut back or removed overgrown plants and stumps, built the raised beds and planted flowering trees and plants all over the property. 

“Now, we can come out in the yard and be around the pool or on the lawn in a hammock and truly enjoy the yard.  We have grown vegetables all winter and spring and have had social gatherings around the pool and fire pit. 

“Vicki regularly checks up on the job to make sure everything is doing well and keeps our shrubs and trees pruned and fertilized.

“We would recommend Victoria’s Bloomers for any landscape or garden project. “ 

F.B.

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If you are interested in getting a Landscape Design please contact me here:

Spring Update to the Ultimate Guide to Planting Florida Container Gardens

Spring has arrived and I don’t know about you, but I don’t think we got any winter! I feel totally cheated. Well, now as the temperatures are rising, we need to pick the correct plants for planting in our containers.

Warning! Warning!  Do not decide what to plant by what is available in the box stores. I was in Lowe’s the other day and found many plants that will die once we get 90 degree weather. Here is the list of “DO NOT PLANT” PLANTS: 

Osteospermum or African Daisies- Hate the heat!! Love Florida winters! 

Geraniums- These plants love the Florida winters and spring but once the rain and humidity comes, they melt!! 

Dianthus- These plants love the Florida winters but hate the heat.

Snapdragons- These lovely plants will perish in the heat of summer.

Delphiniums- Nope! Don’t do it!! Those gorgeous plants are peaking now but will go in a quick decline in the summer. Again, these are great winter annuals but once the rain and heat come, they melt away.

The reason I am putting out this list is because they are selling these NOW! You will go to all the work to plant and won’t get much more that 2 months out of them, if that. Therefore, it is important to look ahead to the warmer months and plant for those conditions. Picking the wrong plant because they are presented to you, does not make you a poor gardener or have a brown thumb. It is just lack of information. I owned a nursery for 23 years and we never put things out for sale that would not thrive at that season. Now it goes back to the old saying, “Buyer Beware!”

Here is the list of plants for containers that you can put out that will last into the summer with heat, humidity and rain. 

Why Plant Native Plants in Your Yard?

I have been in the Nursery and Landscaping Industry since I was 16 years old. I have always know about the importance of planting native plants. They are more suited to the environment, usually attract more wildlife including pollinators and birds, they require less maintenance once established and the need for pesticides and herbicides is zero.  Having owned my own nursery on Cape Cod Massachusetts for 23 years, I sold many native plants- Beach Plum, Bearberry, Bayberry, Blueberry and many more. I have never, however, increased my knowledge to the degree that I should have on the subject. 

Now that I have relocated in Florida, I have realized that it is vital for me to increase my knowledge on this subject. The landscape of Florida is nothing like the Cape. Huge areas are stripped of all vegetation and replaced with strip malls and homes with minimal landscaping- mostly a little grass and some tropicals. These plants aren’t maintained properly and lots of herbicides and pesticides are used to control insects and disease. This has created a destruction of the natural environmentNow we enter the subject of native plants and my first reaction when I moved here was, “What Native Plants?” Nothing I saw around my environment looked indigenous to the area- it was all Crotons and Ti Plants and Bird of Paridise! 

So I traveled to the Florida Botanical Gardens and learned about many Natives that were beautiful. It was a real education. I have since been using many natives in my designs but I plan to use many more. 

I want to give you a short list of some of the Native Plants that I use that are very suited to the landscape- they are very attractive, mix with other landscape plants nicely and are good for our environment. 

I also wanted to share a link with you in regards to “why” you should plant native plants. I found this to be remarkable!!!!! Please read it!! Click here

Here are a few of the native plants I have had great success with:

Zamia pumila- Coontie Palm is a very slow-growing, low maintenance Cycad plant. This plant is often referred to as a palm but it is not. It actually looks more to me like a fern. This small shrub grows to be  about 3’ tall and wide. It is drought resistant and will grow in in both full sun and full shade. It works great lining walkways, in the front of larger foundation beds and as a low evergreen hedge. This is the perfect low maintenance plant.

Coontie Palm

Chrysobalanus icao ‘Red Tip’- Red-tipped Cocoplum is a beautiful plant that produces an edible plum loved by people and animals alike. This shrub has shiny, rounded leaves that are red-tipped at the new growth. The plant produces small white flowers followed by a fruit with starts pink and matures to purple. This shrub grows 4-6’ tall and wide. It prefers full sun to part shade and will tolerate exposure to salt. 

Red tipped Cocoplum

Conocarpus erectus- Sea Grapes is a very uniques looking plant. Please, please, please give it enough room to grow because it looks terrible as manicured hedge. This plant will grow upwards of 15 ‘ if unpruned. The leaves are round and grow to 8-10”. The new growth has a bronzy-red color. The female produces a fruit in the late summer that looks like grapes (hence the name) and once ripe are edible to birds, squirrels and people!!

This is a very hardy plant that is salt-tolerant, will take full sun, acts as a wind block.  If you have the space to let it grow, this is a wonderful native plant.

Sea Grapes

Stachytarpheta jamaicensis- Blue Porterweed is a wonderful native plant that makes a great addition to a butterfly garden.  It is a “cottage-garden” type of plant, meaning it grows quickly and sprawls around other flowers and does not have a formal look. It grows in sun to partial shade and can be kept to 2.5-3’. Without pruning it can grow to 5-6’. The flowers are a beautiful blue and bloom most of the year, more so in the warmer months. 

Blue Porterweed

Protect Your Plants from Cold Weather

What plants need to be protected in the cold weather? If you are located in  Pinellas County you are probably in Zone 10a. What does that mean? It means that the average minimum temperature is 30-35 degrees.  The winter of 2017 had record breaking cold temperatures and in some areas going down to 25 degrees. With this cold brought about a great deal of damage to tropical plants which make up a large portion of the local landscape. 

So which plants do you need to protect and how can you protect them??

First off, you need to know your property. If you are near the salt water, you will probably not get a frost. The water keeps the air warmer. However, if there is wind, which is also common on the water, the wind chill makes the temperature lower and you can get burn on the leaves. Plants that are in sheltered areas suffer less cold damage that plants out in the open.

Areas close to buildings are warmer than more open areas especially on the south side of the building.

Also if your property is in a lower elevation, you are more likely to get a frost. If you are up on a hill, you are less likely to frost.

How to protect your plants.

First off- if it starts feeling cold- watch the weather. Usually frosts are predicted and are not surprises. 

Containers or portable plants- if you can, bring any tender or tropical plants inside. I will give you a list at the end.

For larger landscape plants the solution is to mulch around the roots if you haven’t already done so, water thoroughly and cover with old blankets, sheets or commercial frost cover. Make sure the fabric drapes over the plants and hits the ground. The idea is to trap the heat from the ground.

If you live in Pinellas County and your temperature is expected to go below 35 degrees protect these plants:

Tropicals:

Shrubs:

Copperleaf
Ixora 
Jatropha
Crotons
Allamanda
Snowbush
Cocoplum
Buttonwood
Ti Plant
Firebush
Variegated Schefflera
Hibiscus
Ginger

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Variegated Ginger

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Jatropha

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Bromeliads

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Ixora

Ground Covers

Crown of Thorns
Blue Daze
Bromeliads

Annuals

Geraniums
Sunpatiens
Begonias
Petunias
Marigold

One thing to keep in mind is that if you don’t protect these plants, many of them will die back to the ground but will recover and grow back from the base. Last year, with the record breaking cold days we had, many of the tropicals looked dead but down at the base of the plant was still life. Unfortunately, your plants look bare until the beginning of the summer. 

The moral of the story: watch the weather when it gets cold, bring in sensitive plants if possible and cover others. Don’t wait until the temperature has already dropped to cover the plants, do it earlier in the day so you collect the heat in the soil. Protect your plants, they are counting on you!!  

Outdoor Design Trends

Just as we have trends in Interior Design, we also have trends in Outdoor Design. Last January I attended the Tropical Plant International Expo in Ft. Lauderdale. This is a trade show for Retailers, Landscapers, Interior Landscapers and Wholesalers in the Tropical Plant Industry. Wow! It was so much fun! I got to see all the new varieties of houseplants, succulents, bromeliads as well as new pots and garden decor.

I was very interested in watching which booths got the most attention from the attendees. There were many pottery vendors ranging from brightly colored glazed stoneware to sleek modern composite pots created from stone and fiberglass. It was interesting to see that the buyers were all looking at the modern black, white and gray pots, not the vibrant blue, red, aqua stoneware. And this is Florida!!!

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So this year, I ordered pots in these neutral colors and they were the ones that sold first! This type of modern pot has been seen inside office buildings with houseplants in them but now they have crept outside. Most are made of the new fiberglass and stone composite, but there are others that are made of glazed stoneware. There are even some plastic look alike pots that look like a stone pot.

When planting these pots, it is a good idea not to fill them entirely with soil. I usually put empty water bottles in the bottom so that the soil drains well and does not rot the roots.

Here are some pictures of some of these very cool pots in residential and commercial locations.

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Ideas for Naturalizing Areas In Your Yard

There are many reasons for naturalizing an area in your yard. First it is important to understand what naturalizing is. The basic concept is to plant an area with native plants so as to bring it back to its natural state. There are many variations of this that I have seen such as seeding an area with wildflower seed and letting it go or planting individual plants and allowing them to grow and spread out and fill in an area. A naturalized area can be kept neat and weeded or just let go. I prefer the former.

I just completed a landscaping job that covered a very large area. If the entire area was going to become a cultivated landscape, it would require many, many hours of maintenance. So, my design included some naturalized areas for the shade and a naturalized area for the sun.

In the shaded area, I used Macho Fern (Nephrolepis biserrata) and planted them about 4 feet apart. They will grow in so that they are a blanket of ferns. Until that point we will keep the area weeded so the ferns can take over.

The sunny area I planted Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) which is a native grass that likes to be in the sun. This grass will get to be about 3' tall and has beautiful pink flower heads starting in the fall.

Naturalizing an area in your yard can give a beautiful contrast to the more manicured areas of your landscape.

Newly planted Macho Ferns under some Australian Tree Fern.

What to Plant in a Shady Area

Often times when I visit people’s homes, they don’t really know how much sun or shade their yard gets. This is vital information to have for this reason: all plants are not created equal! Some plants love the sun and others prefer partial shade or even full shade. Planting a sun-loving plant in shade will produce stretched out growth with few flowers. Planting a shade-loving plant in the sun will produce burned leaves. Therefore if you are going to have plants added to your home or if you are going to DIY, you need to observe where the sun shines during the day. 

My suggestion is to make a sketch of your yard and watch the sun as it moves during the day. Check it at 9:00AM, 12:00 PM, 3:00PM and 5:00PM. Mark whether sun is shining in the areas around your house at those times. According to the South Florida Plant Guide, Full Sun would be 8 hours of direct sun, Part Sun would be 4 hours of direct sun either morning or afternoon and Full Shade would be no direct sunlight but has bright indirect light. For complete information on this, check out https://www.south-florida-plant-guide.com/plant-light-requirements.html

Since sun loving plants are much more common and well-known, I would like to go over some plant options for part shade or shady gardens. I just completed a landscape project and the entire front yard was in the shade of an Oak tree. This was a challenge. I wanted to have different textures and foliage colors and flowers???? So here are a few of the plants I used which were interesting.

Alpinia zerumbet ‘Variegata’ or Variegated Ginger is a spectacular plant with beautiful yellow and green foliage. It will reach 4-7’ tall and 5’ wide so give it some room. It likes partial shade.

Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’- Red Camellia is a winter blooming variety. It likes partial sun and acidic soil. The flower is red with a yellow center. It can reach 6-10’ tall depending on pruning.

Cordyline ‘Red Sister’ or Ti Plant are quite common in Florida and often planted in areas where they do not thrive. They prefer medium shade but will grow in more sun. They do best when planted in tight groups. The foliage is a wonderful addition to the landscape.

Schefflera arboricole ’Trinette’ or Variegated Arboricola is also a common plant in Florida and will grow in full sun to full shade!! It is a compact grower and can be kept 2’ tall but over time could reach 8’ without any pruning. The variegated yellow and green foliage really pops in a shady garden.

Dianella ensifolia or Flax lily is a very attractive grass-like plant with green leaves and white stripes. It prefers full to part shade and will grow to 2.5’ tall and wide.

Zamia pumila or Coontie is a slow-growing evergreen with beautiful shiny foliage. It will grow to 2-4’ and prefers partial shade. It is a nice contrast to other variegated plants.

Neomarica or Walking Iris- This plant is very versatile growing in both dense shade or partial shade. It will bloom off and on all year. It will grow 2’ tall and wide and has a variety of bloom colors-yellow, blue or lavender and white.

Check out these plants when you are at a local nursery and use them in your shady garden.

Growing Succulents in Florida

Succulents are the rage right now and everyone is interested in how to grow them both indoors and out. There are a few basics that need to be understood before you embark on your succulent gardening experience. 

Succulents get their name from the fleshy leaves and stems that store water. This characteristic allows them to survive in low-rainfall areas. However, this doesn’t mean that they don’t enjoy weekly downpours provided they are planted in well-draining soil that dries out quickly. Soggy soils kills a succulent off in record time!

What about soil? Since it is imperative that succulents are planted in a well-draining soil, you should use a cactus and succulent soil that has excellent drainage. If you buy a cactus soil and it seems very similar to regular potting soil, then you can Doctor it up. Here is a great DIY recipe for Cactus and Succulent soil:

3 parts potting soil

2 parts coarse sand 

1 part perlite

Additionally, you can add some fine gravel at the top of the soil to keep the base of the plant from rotting. It is also very attractive!

Pots for succulents: In general, succulents like to be planted in pots that drain. Then they can be thoroughly watered once a week and any excess water will flow through. During the winter, the watering may be reduced because of less light and warmth. Make sure you check the soil to ensure it is dry before you water. If you are a beginner gardener, I would stick to pots that have drainage holes. If you are planting outside in pots, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THE POTS HAVE SUFFICIENT DRAINAGE HOLES!

That being said, many of the succulents displayed on Pinterest or in magazines are in pots or various containers that do not have drainage holes. So you will need to have more awareness of what is happening with the soil. Instead of watering automatically once per week, you need to stick your finger in the soil to ensure that the soil is dry, then water a little less than what you would do with a pot with drainage. Again, after the water has absorbed, check with your finger to make sure it has gone down to the roots. You want to give them a good watering and then let them dry out completely before doing it again. They will forgive you for not watering them but they will not forgive you for over-watering! Pots without drainage can only be grown inside or outside under protection from the heavy rains. Another option to having a pot with no holes is to drill holes in the base. I found a very good reference on how to do this:

http://www.bystephanielynn.com/2013/06/drill-drainage-holes.html

What about grouping succulents together? Succulents look great in a combination but there are a few things to think about when grouping them in the same container. First off, some succulents like more sun that others and may not be happy when combined with more shade tolerant varieties. Additionally, all succulents do not grow at the same rate. Therefore if you have a fast growing plant mixed with a slow growing plant, it will overtake the container. So, the answer to this is to know your varieties- sun or shade tolerant or fast or slow growing? Plant like varieties together. Another option is to put all the different varieties in separate pots and group the pots together in an arrangement. Then when one plant grows faster you can shift it to the back of the group.

What about sun? Despite widespread belief, most succulents do not thrive if blasted with the hottest temps and the fullest sun exposure. While they appreciate a lot of light, most succulents need sun protection.They prefer 5-6 hours of bright, indirect sunlight a day. That means putting them in a bright window that does not receive the direct light. If you putting your pots outside, place them under trees or on a porch that does not get intense sun.

I found a very informational website that goes over many, many varieties of succulents. Check it out at www.worldofsucculents.com

If you would be interested in coming to a workshop about succulents with access to hundreds of plants directly from the grower, please email me at vicki@victoriasbloomers.com

Blooming Balconies!

When you travel to Europe you see balconies planted and tumbling down with plants and flowers. It is not as common in America probably because the architecture is not suited for it. However, on a recent road trip to St. Augustine, FL, I found an adorable street that had many balconies planted and maintained. But, after all, St. Augustine is the oldest permanently occupied settlement in America, having been founded by the Spanish in 1565. If you haven't been there, you should go, it is like going back in time. Here are some pictures of that trip.

Outdoor Decorating in the City

Road trips always bring about opportunities to view plantings and gardens. On a road trip from Florida to Massachusetts in August, I found that the plants featured in the pots, window boxes and gardens had more similarities than differences as we traveled from South to North. Some cities and areas are really into planting in window boxes and city gardens. I personally think that gardens uplift everyone's spirits when they look at them. What do you think? Here are two window box plantings in Philadelphia. This was a city of art with many beautiful gardens and artwork and my favorite.....mosaics!

Tricking Cape Cod into thinking it is Florida

As a landscape designer and grower, I was always looking for the next cool variety of plant or perhaps enticing a plant that does not belong in your climate zone to stay and visit for a while. I went to a lecture by some landscape designers in Long Island and they wrote a book about putting Tropical Plants into the cool climates of New England. So I started integrating Cannas, Elephant Ears, Banana Plants and more into my Cape Cod gardens. Obviously they would not winter over outside so they had to be dug and stored in a greenhouse or basement.
Here are a few pictures of some of the gardens I planted in this manner.

When I moved to Florida, many of the Tropical plants that I found, I was already familiar with so the transition to Florida planting was a breeze.