Also known as yew pine, the podocarpus is an upright evergreen with masses of long, narrow leaves that resemble flattened needles, and is often used to create tall, formal hedges. Evergreen blueberry is a native plant that will require very little attention from your side. Oleander is a fast-growing, low-maintenance evergreen shrub or tree that brightens gardens with its almost year-round flowers for gardeners living in Central and South Florida. All this lovely shrub needs for maintenance is an occasional pruning to show off its naturally graceful shape. 15 Best Plants for Hedges in Florida - Garden Lovers Club Grow this salt- and drought-tolerant shrub in partial sun to partial shade and in a variety of well-drained soils for the best growth. These South American hedge plants produce some of the prettiest fruits ever seriously, they look like strings of rainbow patio lights! It grows to 20 feet tall and nearly as wide, making it suitable for specimen planting in formal settings. Adding to the plants wow factor are the abundance of waxy white flowers that are highly fragrant at night and shaped like a pinwheel, thus another common name pinwheel flower. There are over 45 varieties of boxwood to choose from on the market, with mature heights varying from 36 inches to 12 feet. The shrub is tolerant of salty conditions and can also be grown in coastal areas. . Below are some of the most common and popular Florida-friendly plants used to add privacy to areas of the landscape. Find Out Today, Birds of Paradise Leaves Have Brown Edges: What to Do, Can An Avocado Tree Grow In A Pot (yes + How To). This cuts down on potential problems. The most popular shrubs to grow in Florida are Bay Laurel, Beautyberry, Holly, Firebush, Ixora, Loreptelum, Simpson's stopper and Viburnum to name a few. Third, they support wildlife, providing shelter and food for native birds and insects, while exotic plants do not. Hedges are an excellent complement to any landscape. Clusia rosea, commonly called Pitch-Apple, produces showy 3-inch flowers in pink and white that bloom at nighttime through the summer months. This evergreen plant that loves the sun will put on small berries if spent flowers are removed.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'gardenloversclub_com-leader-1','ezslot_10',804,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-gardenloversclub_com-leader-1-0'); Areca palm is an excellent choice for gardeners in zones 10 and 11 looking for an option growing from 12-to-30-feet tall. Florida supports the fourth highest biodiversity in the United States and ranks third in the number of species listed as threatened or endangered by the U.S. These are great privacy plants because they can grow large, and dense while also bringing beauty to your yard. A common addition found in older Florida landscapes, Arborvitae (Platycladus orientalis) is hardy growing statewide. Hardy throughout Florida, native Walters viburnum (Viburnum obovatum) is an attractive evergreen shrub sporting fragrant foliage and covered in a mass of white flowers in mid-winter, and followed by red to black fruits that are highly desired by birds. Additionally, shrubs can add color to an otherwise bland landscape with flowers and colorful foliage, especially during winter. The fragrant blooms are said to smell like cantaloupes or ripe bananas, thus its common name. Low maintenance shrubs for central Florida, Low Maintenance Shrubs for Central Florida, Best Palm Trees for Central Florida: 7 Varieties, What Planting Zone is Illinois in? This plant freely flowers throughout the year on corymbose cymes that can be up to 8-inches wide. Arborvitae is excellent for hedges because they grow very uniformly. Also called Chinese fringe flower, due to the clusters of pink frilly blooms produced in spring, Loropetalum makes an attractive and colorful addition to landscapes statewide. We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. Medium-height shrubs you can keep 4 to 6 feet are prized as hedges or accents, including many of our most beautiful garden shrubs such as hibiscus, gardenia and orange bird of paradise. Clusia is the ideal hedge for people living in South Florida. It only reaches 15 to 20 feet at maturity, unlike other fast growers that reach enormous heights. Plant the arborvitae in full sun to moderate shade and well-drained soils for best results. Evergreen Florida shrubs with colorful leaves or berries include croton, copperleaf plant, American beautyberry, and nandina. Some shrubs prefer full sun, while others require partial shade. While most thrive in zones 5 to 8, others, like the balearica, thrive up to zone 11. All sport leathery olive-green foliage that has a licorice smell when crushed and covers slender branches that droop, creating a rounded and open canopy. Copyright 2022 Orlando Plants & Trees. Butterfly milkweed is a low-maintenance shrub featuring bright orange-yellow flowers in the summer that attract butterflies and other pollinators. Florida Privet You can grow Florida privet as a hedge or a small tree. Nana grows around 3 feet tall and wide at maturity and rarely produces red berries. In Florida, it performs best in partial shade to full shade and grown in well-drained acidic soils. Left to Additionally, each stem produces a leave at its top that has up to 80 lance-like leaflets. 17 Florida Hedge Plants (With Pictures) - Identification Guide Some of the plants on this list are toxic to pets. Pineapple guava is a good choice for those wanting an attractive flowering shrub that offers the bonus of edible fruit. This evergreen has lacy needles to the ground, making it an ideal choice for a windbreak. As you can probably guess by the name, these fabulous evergreen hedge plants are also native to Florida. It has dense foliage, grows quickly, and produces stunning red flower spikes from spring to fall. Suitable for zones 4 to 9, this soft, scented evergreen thrives in full sun in a variety of soils. In zones 10 and 11, the allamanda bush can be a showstopper because of its bright-yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers that appear in early summer and last well into fall. Regardless of your design style, desired size and form in a shrub, you wont be disappointed in all the varieties that meet your needs and landscape dreams. Water new plantings at the plant base regularly but allow the soil to dry out between watering. Once established, Clusia is low-maintenance and drought-tolerant. height, bloom time, and color may differ in various climates. The best lighting condition for gardenias is bright shade. While this plant blooms in the spring, the blooms are very inconspicuous. Additionally, always plant different types of shrubs together that have like needs. 15 Florida Drought-Tolerant Plants (Photos), 20 Flowers That Will Attract Butterflies to Your Garden. Firespike. Showing 1 - 20 of 120 items. Shrub Species Azalea Banana Shrub Bay Laurel Beautyberry Bottlebrush Florida Privet. Copyright 2011-2023 South-Florida-Plant-Guide.com, Click here to read our Privacy Policy and Disclaimer. If you are unsure, speak to a local nursery or gardening center for advice on which plants will work best in your area. They can provide privacy by blocking the neighbors view and reducing the noise from a busy street. 1. This is a moderately drought tolerant shrub that is great for privacy due to its size. Visit us at Living Color Garden Center, and our experts will gladly help you in choosing just the right hedge plants to frame your yard with the perfect color palette, texture, and style! These are perfect for your pool because they print beauty to your landscape but they are also super easy to take care of and don't add any extra work to your already long list of pool duties. The lovely bracts open in shades of white, red, purple, yellow, and pink across the year. Marlberry trees require little maintenance once established but may benefit from pruning or trimming in late fall or early winter. Beach Sunflower, My name is Josh and I love to garden. These bushes produce cream flowers with a greenish tint in the spring. Florida Privacy Plants (With Pictures) - Identification Guide - Leafy Place For more information about the safety of specific plants, consult the ASPCA's. Growing around 15 feet tall, you can prune the clerodendrum into tree form. Exceptionally hardy, Walter's viburnum will grow in almost any soil, thrives in sun to partial shade, is salt, smog, disease and pest resistant, and is tough enough to take heavy pruning. When comparing a shrub from a tree, shrubs are shorter, growing shorter than 20 to 33 feet tall. In springtime, following the inconspicuous white flowers, clusters of grape-like fruits form changing from green to purple in summer that are edible. Simpsons stopper (Myrcianthes fragrans) is a Florida native that offers a wealth of attributes like fragrant flowers, colorful berries, evergreen foliage, as well as being low-maintenance and salt- and drought-tolerant. Hedges can make a great addition to your environment. Bottlebrush is a flowering evergreen perennial with gorgeous flowers that attract hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. Shrubs listed below all meet the requirements for being Florida-friendly and wont have you spending hours in the garden or a ton of money trying to keep them looking their best. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. The Best Shrubs for Creating Hedges | Gardener's Path Best fast-growing hedges: 10 ideas for structure and boundaries | Homes It is estimated that two-thirds of Floridas 7,800 lakes occur in the Florida Peninsula Ecoregion. The plant is drought tolerant and can easily be pruned into a hedge or other shape. Which hedge plants should you consider? 2. We've put together plant groupings to help you visualize how various plants look together. First, these plants are better adapted to soils, moisture, and weather than exotic plants that evolved in other parts of the world. Create a membership account to save your garden designs and to view them on any device. Consider these choices, depending on your exact requirements. Wax Myrtle These fast growing shrubs can sprout up five feet in a year, creating a wind barrier in short time. Most bottlebrush varieties grow up to 5-feet tall spreads almost as wide as it is tall, but options growing up to 25-feet tall exist. This shrub grows from 8-to-25-feet tall depending on the variety chosen. Indeed, this plant is susceptible to cold feet and will not recover from root rotting in wet environments. Pruning up to one-third of the leaves early in the spring can encourage more flowers. I just want to share my experience and hope that it helps others. This plant that often has yellow flowers does well in the sun or part shade in zones 6 to 10. Best plant to create purple fast-growing hedges (Image credit: Getty Images) Often known as 'the purple bush', loropetalum shrubs make for eye-catching fast-growing hedges. The shrub should be grown in full sunlight for best results, but the plant will also tolerant partial shade. The low-maintenance evergreen shrub brightens gardens with its almost year-round flowers and makes an attractive and colorful screen or hedge. Oakleaf hydrangea pumps up the color and interest in gardens throughout the state. We use cookies on this website, you can read about them here. Oleander has a mounding shape with long branches covered in long dark green foliage. These hedging trees keep their shape without any maintenance. A plant is considered native if it has occurred naturally in a particular region or ecosystem without human introduction. Growth Rate: Moderate. Use as a showy specimen or accent plant, backdrop, mixed garden or hedge or screening shrub. By Phillis Butler November 20, 2022 Landscaping can be a difficult task. The ideal time to grow hibiscus in Florida is early spring, Although, those in South Florida can almost plant year-round. However, it is always a good idea to plant species that do best in your USDA hardiness zone. The little, round, lobed fruits grow in clusters, transitioning in color from green to yellow, then orange to red, and finally to nearly-black purple as they mature. The . In north Florida, the climate is warm and temperature. Besides being aesthetically pleasing, it is relatively easy to grow. Fragrant addition to moonlight gardens, utilized as a specimen, hedge, screen or foundation planting. They need fewer fertilizers, and pesticides or use less water. Gardenias grow best in acidic soil with a pH of 5.0 to 6.0. Blooming almost year-round, the shrub fills with thin reddish-orange tubular flowers that attract hummingbirds and butterflies, making it a great addition to wildlife and butterfly gardens. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'flgardening_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_13',108,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-flgardening_com-large-leaderboard-2-0');Bottlebrush (Callistemon spp.) All Rights Reserved. Here are the best fast-growing privacy hedges that you can plant to achieve a tall, dense hedge very quickly. Under the ideal growing conditions, these plants grow dense and lush and will guarantee you increased privacy in your garden. If you live in zones 10 to 12 and are looking for a sun-loving plant that thrives in moist conditions, then the ixora may be a great choice. Florida shrubs of about 4 to 6 feet - whether flowering bushes or While you may have to prune your plant annually (and trim it regularly to keep it in shape), you wont have to worry about fertilizing it or protecting it from Northern Floridas temperatures. The shrub is hardy growing in Central and South Florida, performing best in full to partial sun and in moist but well-drained soil. An additional showstopper is the exfoliating bark. It can resist drought but not saline conditions. You can find the Areca Palm in several varieties: pick one that will grow undisturbed in your garden. Hardy in North and Central Florida, native yaupon holly is a tough and low-maintenance evergreen shrub or small tree. Mon - Fri: 8:00 - 4:00 PST . doesn't seem so much like a wall. If you are tired of shrubs, this will be an excellent way to enjoy more privacy in your garden and make it more appealing. Garden Guides | Fast-Growing Florida Hedges All three anise types average 10 to 15 feet tall with a similar spread. These flowers stand in stark contrast to this plants dark-green leaves. Plants are salt- and drought-tolerant. This durable and low-maintenance shrub grows throughout Florida and can be pruned into tree form. Best Plants for a Privacy Hedge in Central Florida January 10, 2022 | No Comments You may have a passion for making your yard the envy of the neighborhood, but there are some areas of your property you want to keep private. This site is owned and operated by Joshua Kipp Enterprises. Ixora blooms best in full sun but tolerates partial shade and grown in well-drained acidic soil. It works well as a potted specimen, borders, screens, or as an espalier. The large shrub quickly grows into a tangled mound 10 feet tall and as wide, with thorny branches covered in glossy green leaves. . Florida native perennials that are good for the residential landscaper include the Florida boxwood shrub, yellow elder flower, silver buttonwood hedge, firebush shrub, Dwarf Podocarpus, bay cedar shrub, and the Live Oak tree. 10 Shrubs to Consider Growing in Florida Bustling Nest The shrub grows up to 12 feet tall and half as wide, preferring a variety of well-drained soils and planted in full sun to shade. It can tolerate hot and cold temperatures and full sun and produces white flowers in the spring. The truth is, there is a wide variety of colorful hedge plants with interesting variegated foliage and vibrant blossoms. You can help reverse this trend by planting great native plants in your garden. 8306 Mills Drive, Suite #461 Miami, FL 33183, Garden Lovers Club 2014-2023 All Rights Reserved. Join now and start creating your dream garden! Shrubs & Hedges (Cl-Ha) - UF/IFAS Extension - University of Florida The description of these plants Growth rate: 1-2 feet annually. This showy shrub produces clusters of purple or white flowers in the summer and prefers well-drained soil and full sun. The following is a list of shrubs that can be used to construct Florida-friendly landscaping. They make a dramatic statement and work great as screens. However, those in northern regions can grow it in containers and protect in a warm location during winter. Showy blooms appear in midsummer and last until the fall. As far as growth goes, its a bit on the slower side, but the luxurious emerald foliage is well worth the wait. Trimmed up into a formal hedge or allowed to spread naturally in more free-form gardens, the dark green and leathery foliage provides an excellent backdrop for annuals or other colorful plantings. Best Hedges for Florida: Which Varieties to Choose The best shrubs to plant in your Central Florida yard are those that grow well in a Florida landscape. While every effort has been made to describe these plants accurately, please keep in mind that The fragrant star-shaped flowers bloom in spring and summer and depending on the variety are red or yellow. Fish and Wildlife Service. 165. It thrives in areas that get at least six hours of sunlight daily. Dwarf hollies growing statewide include Nana and Shillings Dwarf and Taylors Rudolph.. Surinam cherries can handle pretty much any type of soil, from sand to loam to clay, but they arent too tolerant of salt, so dont plant them too close to the seaside. The 1.5-inch light yellow magnolia-like blooms burst onto the scene in spring, lasting until early summer. Hedge plants are an excellent way to increase privacy on your property and add an elegant touch to your outdoor spaces. Growing up to 14 ft. (4 m) tall, regular pruning helps to control its height. Continue reading for more details on some of the most common and popular plants used for privacy throughout Florida. When you first plant Indian hawthorn, mix some compost into the soil (especially if your soil is sandy) and water it generously for the first couple of months until its roots are firmly established. Mature plants grow up to 15 feet tall and wide. 11 Best Privacy Hedges - Lawnstarter Also, dont forget to choose a suitable location for your hedge: it might receive at least six hours of direct sunlight daily. It works well in native, wildlife and mixed, woodland or informal gardens. This plant can grow tall and delight you (and your neighbors) with its pyramidal shape. A hardy flowering evergreen throughout the state, banana shrub belongs in the magnolia family and in fact, resembles a dwarf magnolia slowly growing around 10 feet tall. For the best performance, grow in a sunny site in a variety of well-drained soil. Recommended Sun-Loving Native Shrubs for Central Florida - Gardenia It often attracts monarch butterflies that use the shrub to lay their eggs. Sugar Cane vs. Bamboo: Which is Right for Your Garden? So, you dont have to worry if you like its spiky looks! Medium Height Shrubs - south-florida-plant-guide.com They can help block the neighbors site and help to stop noise. Bay laurel works well grown in containers, planted in mass, or used for a hedge or screening shrub. Shorter and fuller than sweet viburnum, viburnum suspensum is an evergreen with a low, compact form and rambling growth habit. If you live in a part of Florida that seldom gets below 60 degrees, it may bloom sporadically throughout the year. So, summers are hot and humid, and winters are mild. They are heavy feeders, so you need to fertilize this option often in the spring and summer. Thick and leathery, oval green leaves cover plants growing 25 to 30 feet tall and spreading 15 to 25 feet. This showy shrub looks just like it sounds, adding a stunning pop of red to the garden. Since it grows here naturally, its more low-maintenance than typical hedge plants, and it even produces edible fruits that make for some pretty tasty jam! The shrub is also drought- and salt-tolerant, thriving on neglect. Boxwood is commonly found in coastal areas on sandy soil and hammocks. I was born in Tampa and have never left Florida. Species of arborvitae create some of the best privacy hedges for garden landscapes. Plus, it requires little maintenance, making it the perfect option even for people who dont want to spend much time in their gardens. It can be a bit of an aggressive grower, so try to prune it regularly so it doesnt spread and threaten any surrounding plants. Illicium verum, not to be confused with Illicium Parvifrom- False Anise. Showy white flowers bloom in spring, followed by red berries, with both attracting various birds and butterflies. Bay laurel works well grown in containers, planted in mass or used for a hedge or screening shrub. You can grow Florida privet as a hedge or a small tree. Popular varieties include Southern Charm producing pink blooms, George L. Taber producing pink blooms with red spots and Formosa producing fuchsia/magenta blooms. Small, fragrant white flowers appear in the spring and are followed by festive red berries. Consider pruning it in the spring to keep it between 3-and-5-feet tall, or it will go leggy on you. Shrubs grow well in sun or shade and in fertile acidic soil kept moist through regular water applications. Lets look at low maintenance shrubs for central Florida. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[336,280],'flgardening_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_11',110,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-flgardening_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0'); The evergreen offers a bit of color year-round, with the 4-inch oval foliage a yellowish-green, and then in springtime, clusters of greenish-white flowers bloom.