There are a variety of reasons why homeowners choose certain plants for their landscape. Some want colorful flowering annuals or perennials, others want ornamental shrubs, tall-growing shrubs for a privacy hedge, etc. But in Central Florida, creating a Florida-Friendly yard allows you to have it all – and much more!
According to University of Florida IFAS Gardening Solutions, “You don’t have to be an expert gardener or landscaper to create a Florida-Friendly yard. All it takes is a willingness to learn and a desire to build a beautiful yard that helps protect Florida’s environment. Landscaping the Florida-Friendly way means having a beautiful landscape that could save you time, energy, and money while protecting Florida’s future.”
University of Florida IFAS Gardening Solutions developed the Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Program. It consists of nine principles that work together to promote sustainable landscaping practices that use less water, reduce pollution and protect natural resources. Should you think that planting according to the program will result in a boring yard, our list of Florida-Friendly plants names only a very few of those available – which will provide the color and beauty you want!
The Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program is a comprehensive approach, but you don’t have to pull out all of your existing plants and start over. You can take small steps, and gradually work your way up to the full program. Your yard probably already has at least a few Florida-Friendly plants!
Advantages of a Florida-Friendly Yard
No matter where in your yard you begin, converting to the Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program has significant short-term and long-term advantages. Rockaway Sustainable Landscaping provides the following examples:
Improved aesthetics – Florida-Friendly landscapes can be just as beautiful as traditional landscapes, with diverse, colorful plant selections suited to the Florida climate. The focus on healthy soil and proper care leads to vibrant and thriving plants.
Water conservation – Florida-Friendly practices can reduce outdoor water use by up to 50%, saving money and precious resources. Deep watering less frequently encourages deeper root growth, making plants more drought-tolerant.
Pollution reduction – By using fewer fertilizers and pesticides, Florida-Friendly landscaping helps protect waterways from harmful runoff that can damage ecosystems and contaminate drinking water. Slow-release fertilizers and organic options minimize nutrient leaching.
Wildlife habitat creation – Choosing native plants attracts butterflies, birds and other beneficial creatures, promoting biodiversity and a healthy ecosystem. Native plants provide food and shelter for wildlife, creating a balanced environment.
Cost savings – Implementing Florida-Friendly landscaping practices often reduce long-term costs by requiring less water, fertilizer and pest control. Efficient irrigation systems and organic pest management strategies offer potential financial benefits.
The Nine Principles of a Florida-Friendly Yard
Of course, planting any type of foliage that’s a Florida native or suited to the state’s climate is beneficial in terms of low-maintenance. But to have a yard that follows the Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program, there are nine principles to follow in order to achieve its optimum benefits:
- Right Plant, Right Place
How well your plants perform depends in great part on whether you choose the right plants for the right place. Look for low-maintenance plants that are suited to your site and that’ll require minimal irrigation, fertilization, or pest control once they’re established – thereby conserving water and protecting natural resources. Think about how much sun your site receives and choose plants that will work with your property’s conditions. Take into account wet or dry spots in your yard, and group plants based on their irrigation needs. And always take into account the mature size of plants before you purchase and install them.
- Water Efficiency
Plants have a specific water requirement to survive and sometimes even drought-tolerant plants in the right place will need supplemental watering. Unfortunately, many homeowners overwater. This does more than deplete the water supply. It also makes plants prone to pests and disease, as well as adds to stormwater runoff, which pollutes our water resources.
Don’t water according to a schedule – look to your plants for telltale signs of water need. Water your lawn only when at least half of it shows wilt. For landscape beds, consider using micro-irrigation systems to put water only where you need it. If you have an irrigation system, make sure it’s working properly and not watering paved areas.
- Fertilize Appropriately
Plants need nutrients to grow, and typically get them from the soil. But we sometimes apply organic or synthetic fertilizers to help plants along. Different nutrients encourage growth in different ways, so do your research before you apply fertilizer. That way you’ll apply the right type of nutrients at the right time. Plants also benefit from the right amount of fertilizer. Overfertilizing can aggravate pest problems, stimulate excessive growth, and cause pollution of waterways and groundwater.
Always keep fertilizers off hard surfaces, never fertilize within 10 feet of any water body, and do not fertilize before a heavy rain. Read and follow all label instructions before applying any fertilizer.
- Mulch
Mulch is an attractive way to help control weeds, retain soil moisture and moderate soil temperatures. It gives your landscape a neat, uniform appearance and is a Florida-Friendly choice for hard-to-mow slopes and shady spots. Organic mulches can also help improve soil as they decompose.
Many different materials can be used for mulch. Choose environmentally friendly mulch made from melaleuca, eucalyptus, or pine straw or bark. Avoid using cypress mulch, which is often harvested from delicate wetlands. Let fallen leaves stay under your trees to create self-mulching areas. Cut down on mowing by replacing grass with mulch in shady areas where grass won’t grow.
- Attract Wildlife
Unfortunately, natural wildlife habitats are diminishing in Florida as more areas develop. Wildlife need food, water, cover and space. Add trees and plants that bear fruit and seed in your landscape. Plant foliage and flowers for butterflies, birds and bees. Native plants can be a good source of food for animals and beneficial insects.
If you don’t have a natural water source, consider building a small pond or placing a birdbath in your yard. Research what kinds of birds nest in your area, and buy or build them a home. Protect your wildlife visitors by limiting pesticide use, or using the least toxic products available.
- Manage Yard Pests Responsibly
Pesticides are not always as necessary as people believe. Healthy plants can often tolerate pest attacks, and beneficial insects, birds, and other natural controls can help suppress insect pests. To minimize problems, choose healthy, pest-resistant plants for your landscape, and use them in the right place. Scout your landscape often to detect pest problems early. Pick off insects by hand and remove infected areas of the plant. If you must use a pesticide, use insecticidal soaps, horticultural oils and other low-toxicity products like bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Treat only the affected plants, and follow all label instructions.
- Recycle Yard Waste
It’s easy to recycle the yard waste left over from mowing, pruning, raking and other yard work. Plus, it helps return valuable nutrients to the soil. Leave grass clippings on the lawn when you mow. Never dump grass clippings or other yard waste into storm drains or waterways. It’s illegal, and pollutes the environment.
Use raked leaves and pine needles in beds as mulch, or add them to the compost pile to create a nutrient-rich soil amendment. You can toss small cuttings from trees and shrubs behind other plantings to recycle their nutrients. Many communities provide free yard waste pick-up, and some will turn the waste into free or cheap mulch or compost available to homeowners. Contact your local municipality to see if it offers this service.
- Reduce Stormwater Runoff
Rainwater can run off your landscape onto asphalt and other hard surfaces where it can’t penetrate into the ground. But in Florida-Friendly yards, rainwater soaks into the ground and stays on site, helping protect Florida’s waterways. Reduce the amount of rainfall that leaves your landscape by using porous materials like mulch and pavers for your sidewalks and driveways. Densely growing turfgrasses and groundcovers help capture rainwater, and can also filter pollutants and reduce erosion. Moreover, you can keep water on site by directing downspouts into landscape beds, planting rain gardens, and using rain barrels and cisterns.
- Protect the Waterfront
Many homeowners have property adjacent to water, and enjoy the beautiful scenery and fun water-based activities. Because everything you put in your landscape can wash into the water, waterfront property requires special care. To protect water bodies from nutrient and pesticide runoff, create a “maintenance-free zone” between the lawn or landscape and the water body. Don’t mow, fertilize, or use pesticides in this area, which should be at least 10 feet wide.
Add Florida-Friendly, low-maintenance plants in this zone. They won’t require much care, and can filter out pesticides and fertilizer runoff from adjacent lawns and landscaped areas.
A Note About Homeowner’s Association Rules:
Homeowner’s Associations (HOAs) govern the appearance of their community’s homes. Some are stricter than others, but Florida statute 720.3075 states that HOA rules cannot prohibit a property owner from planting Florida-Friendly landscaping. This Florida law supersedes any HOA bylaws or covenants stating otherwise. Just a little knowledge to have handy in case you need to do battle with your HOA!
Great Florida-Friendly Plants for Your Yard
Fortunately, following the Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program doesn’t relegate your yard to dull, drab plants. The following list provides plenty of stunning options that allow you to create numerous looks for your landscaping – from tropical to traditional! University of Florida IFAS Gardening Solutions provides the Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Guide to Plant Selection & Landscape Design, which includes a comprehensive list of plants. Download the free guide here!
Also, our blog post – “Advantages of Landscaping with Florida Native Plants” – features a few more of our favorites!
Azaleas – Azaleas are a classic Southern plant, both for the structure they provide year-round and for the magnificent floral displays they produce in spring. There are numerous cultivars to choose from – including exotic-looking native azaleas, which can flourish in any well-draining soil, and enjoy partial shade. Our blog post – “Dress Up Your Central Florida Yard with Azaleas” – covers this great shrub in detail!
Bougainvillea – This vining shrub is available in a wide range of bright, fanciful colors, adding charm and drama. Its “flowers” are actually modified leaves, called bracts. They appear periodically throughout most of the year, but are especially plentiful in winter. Bougainvillea can be trained to grow over fences and trellises, or pruned into a shrub-like form. It requires full sun, and performs better when soil is a little dry, making this a perfect plant for the drought-tolerant landscape. However, it does need to be protected from frost and freeze.
Crotons – Known for their boldly-marked leaves, crotons are available in a wide variety of leaf shapes and colors that will please any gardener. Prized for their tropical look, crotons are evergreen perennial shrubs that can grow up to 10 feet tall, but there are both dwarf and larger varieties. Crotons grow best in full sun, but many cultivars can tolerate – and even prefer – light or partial shade. Crotons are also popular houseplants.
Hibiscus – Hibiscus flowers can be many colors, come in single or double forms, and often last for just a day. Individual flowers may be short-lived, but the plant will produce blooms over a long flowering season. Hummingbirds and many types of butterflies are attracted by hibiscus, as well. Hibiscus range in size from low spreading shrubs to upright tree forms that can reach 20 feet in height. Some are compact and dense, while others are open and thin. They are used in the landscape as informal hedges or screens, foundation plants, specimens, or background for other plants. Check regularly for pests such as aphids, mealybugs and whiteflies.
Ixora – This sun-loving shrub bears clusters of four-petaled flowers and is also known as flame of the woods. It flowers throughout the year, with each flower cluster lasting between six and eight weeks, giving your landscape long-lasting and lovely color. Compact and densely branched, it’s great for planting as a border and screen hedge, as well as a featured specimen.
Pentas – Pentas produce red, pink, or white flowers throughout the warm months and attract hummingbirds and butterflies. In many areas of Florida, pentas grow as perennials, though they’ll die back after freezes if not protected. Plant in the late spring in a site with full sun and well-drained soil. Most pentas will reach over a foot in width and two to three feet tall, so make sure to leave them plenty of room. Pinch back early growth to encourage bushier plants.
Society garlic – This groundcover produces delicate, star-shaped purple flowers. These perennial plants grow to about a foot tall and are wonderful in borders or mass plantings. Easy to grow, it’s great for a sunny, water-wise garden. Society garlic prefers sandy soil, and flowers best in full sun. It can be grown in partial shade, but will not flower well. Plants thrive with regular watering during the growing season, less frequent watering when flowering, and reduced watering during the winter dormant period.
The Take-Home Message
Planting and caring for your yard according to the Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program requires planning, but the process need not be daunting. Working toward your goals gradually will begin paying off in a beautiful low-maintenance yard in harmony with Florida’s climate and growing conditions that helps protect our state’s valuable natural resources.
If you need help, our landscaping experts at Daniel’s Lawn Service & Pressure Washing can advise you on the best types of Florida-Friendly plants for your property – and provide a landscaping design that allows you to incorporate and showcase them to give you a yard that will truly be your slice of Central Florida paradise!
In addition to landscaping design, our full-service company provides plant and tree installation, tree trimming, yard maintenance, pressure washing and so much more. Contact us today so we can do the work, and you can do the enjoying! We proudly serve all of Central Florida – including Orlando, Sanford, Longwood and Lake Mary! We look forward to helping you achieve your goals and bring your vision to life!
