No less a publication than Southern Living magazine has long recommended our native Firebush, Hamelia patens, to its readership. And it’s no wonder. The species has many endearing qualities. First, if not foremost, it’s rather cold-tolerant. The Florida Native Plant Society regards it as suitable for planting through Zone 9a, whose northern limit is along…
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In our part of the world, the genus Ficus has gotten a rather mixed reputation, primarily because some of its species have aggressive root systems than can raise sidewalks, crack foundations and clog underground pipes. Fortunately, not all of the 800 or so Ficus species pose such risks. One that is especially useful in the landscape…
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Believe it or not, we do have seasons here in southern Florida. And spring is upon us! I just completed a tour of the nursery, where there is evidence everywhere of the new season. Sweet Almond (Aloysia virgata) is extremely fragrant, in contrast with its much milder scent during the winter. Mysore Raspberries (Rubus niveus) are…
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The mere mention of the word Bougainvillea conjures up nasty thorns before beautiful flowers. Many people love the flowers, but not the headache of trying to prune this vine without getting torn up by its vicious thorns. Now there is a solution. The best of both worlds if you will. The Bougainvillea cultivar ‘Pixie’. It…
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Brazilian Red Cloak (Megaskepasma erythrochlamys) was included in a June 2015 article on this website about hedge material, but it merits special attention now that it is blooming spectacularly. This single-species genus is a New World native that occurs in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Venezuela, but not really Brazil. It is capable of…
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