In the first post I talked about many of the basic shrubs you may see around town and that are widely available at local plant nurseries. This post I will add a few unique and native plants to the list so you may need to call before heading out to the nursery this weekend. Though I do say that native plants are being used more and more by landscaper's like myself. So the demand for the plant growers to stock natives is becoming greater. If your local stores don't have them, just ask them to order them in and I am sure they will oblige.
First up is a wonderful native called necklace pod, sophora tomentosa. With it's arching branches, soft velvety grey-green leaves and bright yellow honeysuckle looking flower spikes, any landscape would liven up with this shrub. It's very salt and wind tolerant since it's native habitat is coastal forests and thicket areas. Butterflies, ants and hummingbirds love the nutritious nectar from the fabulous flowers. Full sun is where necklace pods like to be but can withstand a bit of shade. Necklace pods get to be about 8-10 feet high as well as wide so plant this baby in a nice open space.
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| Our necklace pod in bloom a few weeks ago |
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| A closer view of the necklace pod flowers |
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| Another view of our necklace pod. It was really bright outside when I took these pictures so the colors are a bit washed out but you get the gist. |
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| This view you can see how high it gets, it's about 6'0"high right now & still growing. |
Next up is the Copperleaf, acalypha, which has a few cultivars like godseffiana, wilkesiana and hispidia & within those are lots of varieties, some of which you can see on I Like Plants! blog. I love using this shrub for it's texture, color & heartiness. The wilkesiana variety gets to be about 10'0" high by 8'0" wide and the smaller godseffiana variety stays about 4-5 ft wide by high. You can see my acalypha wilkesiana 'moorea' in the necklace pod pictures above, it's a purple red color with serrated edge leaves that ruffle like potato chips. Copperleaf's like well drained soil, likes full sun and/or part sun/part shade. These are very hardy plants with lots of character and sass! Perfect for privacy hedge. Like the croton's, there are hundreds of hybrids of this Fiji native that are now widely available.
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| Acalypha godseffiana 'firestorm' I just absolutely love this little shrub with all it's multiple colors & layers of texture! |
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| Acalypha wilkesiana 'ceylon' This one is on my wish list of acalypha's, so beautiful! Reminds me of a Spanish senorita flamenco dancer with the ruffly skirts and colorful ensemble. |
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| Acalypha wilkesiana 'tropical temptress' Love the lemon-line colors |
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| Acalypha wilkesiana ' miltoniana' Another multi-color beauty |
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| Acalypha wilkesiana 'moorea' I have this one in our backyard |
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| Acalypha wilkesiana 'mardi gras' smaller leaf but packs a punch in bright color |
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| Everyone loves landscapes full of color. This beats an ugly white-fly ridden ficus hedge anyday!!! |
Next up is an all time "go to" for me in landscape design...the thyrallis, galphimia glauca. This small shrub is a great addition as a stand alone or en masses. The bright yellow flowers, which bloom all year round, are a beautiful contrast to the emerald green foliage. Likes full sun as well as part shade, well drained soil and can withstand periods of drought. Thryallis get about 4-5 ft high by wide. You will fall in love with thyrallis in your garden!
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| Thyrallis hedge |
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| Thyrallis flowers |
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| This was one of the last hibiscus I had called Fifth Dimension, amazing flowers about 6-7" wide |
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| An amazing thing about this Fifth Dimension hibiscus, it changed colors throughout the day! It would go from lighter yellows & pinks to dark fuscia pink & magenta's! Spectacular! |
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| This is called a weeping hibiscus, just love it! |
If you need a shrub to grow quickly and spread over a large area in full to part sun, then these two are for you...the first is called Orange Plume Flower, justicia spicigera, max's out to about 6'0" wide by height but spreads out by rooting it's broken branch's into the ground, very hearty but does not likes to be water logged. Has deep emerald ruffled leaves with large orange pom-pom flower poofs that hummingbirds, bees, butterflies and Oriole birds love. The second is called Firespike, odontonema strictum, which has similar growth habits and requirements as the orange plume flower but has red flowers that grow erect. Same pollinators believe it or not. In my yard these two aggressive growers are easy to cut back & do need a good hard prune each year.
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| Our orange plume flower |
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| Here you can see how high the orange plume flower plant are along side our MacArthur palms. |
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| Red firespike |
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| This is our purple firespike but is a slower grower and smaller plant than the red |
Not to be the last (as I am sure there will be a part III to this episode of fast growing shrubs) is the Fiddlewood, Citharexylum spinosum. A Florida native and wonderful plant that can withstand a variety of growing conditions. Plus the birds love to eat the berries & butterflies love the small white sweet smelling flowers. This gentle plant grows about 6'0" high with gracefully arching branches & beautiful deep green oval leaves.
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| Our fiddlewood is in the left-middle of the picture |
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| Fiddlewood flower |
So now that you know a little more than you did before, get out there & start planting!
Happy Rainy Weekend!
Best wishes,
Sheri
xoxo
