Strongbark

Botanical name: Lantana camara
Family: Verbenaceae

In the Garden
Lantana camara or “common lantana” is an evergreen shrub with small clusters of flowers ranging in color from white to yellow, pink to red and lavender and includes dwarf, climbing and taller varieties. While the lantana camara variety is not native to Florida, it has been naturalized here for centuries. The IFAS Assessment of the Status of Non-Native Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas currently lists lantana camara as no threat to our local plant-life. But the best news is, lantana camara, like all lantanas are big butterfly attracters adding extra interest and color to the garden. It is also extremely drought tolerant, blooms nearly year-round, and because of its wildflower type appearance, it is well suited for more naturalistic and rock garden type settings.

Style
Lantana camara is a rather informal ground-cover to small shrub with 1 – 2” oval serrated leaves which, like the stem, are covered with small hairs. It becomes bushier in full sun and more leggy in light shade and may be trimmed to suit most garden situations. It has been cultivated to produce a wide variety of colorful flowers, some within the same plant.

Size
Depending on the variety and pruning, lantana can grow to 6 feet or longer if it is the vine type. Care should be taken in choosing a variety which will naturally grow to suit whatever the desired garden effect may be.

Care
Once lantana camara is established it needs no extra watering or fertilizing, which in fact, can reduce its flower production. It should be occasionally pruned however, to the desired shape and size.

Propagation
Seed, cuttings.

Botanical name: Ophiopogon japonicus
Family: Convallariaceae

In the Garden
Mondo grass is an evergreen, clumping, grass-like groundcover which makes an attractive border along paths, streams and ponds, among larger trees or shrubs, between stepping stones and in rock gardens. Since it stops growing vertically when mature, it never needs mowing or trimming – it is truly a “green” green grass.

Style
It is made up of long, narrow blades with pointed tips which have a rich dark green color. A very small white or lilac colored lily-like flower is produced in the summer but is relatively short lived.

Size
Mondo grass grows to between 12 -18”, but there are dwarf varities which grow to only several inches in height.

Care
While mondo grass is not native, it is well adapted to our South Florida climate and most importantly,  is not invasive. It does well in most soils but prefers a soil booster such as composted cow manure. Filtered light is preferred, however, it will do equally well in partial shade which makes it a great under-tree specimen. Mondo grass needs little watering or care once established and serves as an excellent filler plant between our natives.

Propagation
Division.

Botanical name: Conocarpus erecta
Family: Combretaceae

In the Garden
Whether used as a small tree, specimen tree, shrub or hedge, the silver buttonwood provides a glistening spot in the garden. The silver buttonwood is related to the green buttonwood except its leaves are a silvery green which shimmer in the sun and breeze. This versatile plant is extremely salt and drought tolerant and therefore thrives in both dry seaside sand as well as inland alkaline soil which is prevalent wherever limestone rock is present. Once established, it is fast growing so gardeners can reap the rewards of its beauty in a relatively short time.

Style
Silver buttonwood is small tree with a spreading crown and often gnarled trunk. While it is low-branching, it can be easily pruned for a more erect form, or it can be topped off to make a very full and striking hedge. Silver buttonwood is best known for its silvery leaves which are velvety in texture, slightly pointed and occur alternately on its branches, Its light green, rather inconspicuous flowers appear in clusters as does the small, pinecone like fruit which follows. The silver buttonwood is in good company with seagrape, cocoplum, Jamaican caper and coontie.

Size
Silver buttonwood can grow to a height of 40 feet, however, a height of about 25 feet is more typical in cultivation. And since it can be pruned to any size be it a shrub or hedge, height is never a problem.

Care
Silver buttonwood needs no supplemental irrigation once established and rather prefers a sunny, dry, alkaline environment. It is therefore not well suited for a moist shady location or to over-watering which make it susceptible to a black sooty mold.

Propagation
Seed, cuttings.

Note: The fuscia colored leaves in the photograph belongs to the bougainvillea, though not native, a stunning, and drought tolerant plant.

Botanical name: Ardisia escallonioides
Family: Myrsinaceae

In the Garden
While it will tolerate almost any light conditions, the fact that this plant stays full, flowers and fruits even in shady spots makes it an excellent choice for almost any garden situation. Glossy dark green leaves showcase clusters of small white fragrant flowers and then shiny berries which turn from green, to burgundy and to black when mature. It may be used as a hedge or allowed to grow into a slender tree and is equally suited for both the natural landscape as well as the formal garden. Marlberry is a favorite food for local birds so if you wish to propagate it, you better get those berries before they’re all gone.

Style
Marlberry can be a relatively erect large shrub to small tree or pruned into a hedge. It has glossy, dark, evergreen, alternate leaves. Small white flowers form in clusters at the end of the branches followed by ¼ berries, also in clusters. It flowers and fruits periodically throughout the year. Since marlberry is a natural understory plant of hardwood hammocks, it grows well in the company of pigeon plum, spicewood, wild coffees and stoppers.

Size
While marlberry can reach 20 feet in height with a spread of 3-6 feet, it is not a particularly fast grower and its size and shape can be controlled with judicious pruning.

Care
Marlberry is native to Florida from the south central region through the Keys and the Caribbean. It is well adapted to most situations but prefers light shade. Marlberry prefers fertile, acidic soil but is somewhat tolerant of alkaline soils, as well. Like most of our South Florida natives, once established, it doesn’t need supplemental irrigation.

Propagation
Seed.

Botanical name: Senna ligustrina or cassia ligustrina
Family: Fabaceae

In the Garden
Privetleaf senna or privet cassia, is a large shrub which produces clusters of yellow, five petaled flowers from the autumn through the spring. Its delicate form and leaves makes it an excellent accent plant in a small yard and can be pruned to grow erect like a small tree or a spreading shrub. And while it is a popular larval food for yellow sulphur butterfly, because of its fullness, it doesn’t appear noticeably stripped of its leaves or blossoms.

Style
Privetleaf senna has a multi-stemmed, smooth, dark brown to black trunk. Small reddish buds mature into dark green, semi-glossy pinnate leaves. They offer a perfect contrast to the bright yellow clusters of flowers which are ever present throughout the dry season.

Size
In favorable conditions, the privetleaf senna can grow to about 12 feet tall. When shorter, its spread will tend to be proportionately greater. It can either be pruned to maintain a more shrub-like appearance, or with judicious pruning of its lower branches, a small ornamental tree.

Care
Native to South Florida, tropical America and the Caribbean, privetleaf senna prefers open, sunny locations. While it is relatively short lived (8-10 years), it is exceedingly fast growing (3-5 feet in a single growing season). It is salt tolerant and prefers well-drained soil. Privetleaf senna should be trimmed when it fruits because its long, thin pods not only distract from its otherwise graceful appearance, but can produce numerous self-sown seedlings.

Propagation
Seed.

Botanical name: Chrysobalanus icaco
Family: Chrysobalanaceae

In the Garden
Cocoplum is a versatile ornamental shrub which provides year round color and is popularly used as both a specimen plant and a hedge. Young leaves are a light green gradually maturing to a deeper green or red. Some varieties also produce leaves with a silvery shimmer. Cocoplum’s fruits can be eaten raw or made into a jelly and are also a great source of wildlife food. It mixes well with other native plants including Jamaican caper, beautyberry, spicewood and the stoppers.

Style
Cocoplum is a multi-stemmed shrub or small tree with alternate, round leaves ranging in color from green to red to silver. While it can reach 15 feet in height, it can be easily pruned to suit most garden situations. Spikes of delicate white flowers bloom throughout the year producing edible grape-like fruits with a single seed.

Size
While it can reach 15 feet in height, it can be easily pruned to suit most garden situations.

Care
Native to coastal and tropical hammocks from South Florida to the Caribbean most cultivars are salt tolerant and all are easy to care for. Cocoplum grows in both shade and sun but since it becomes somewhat leggy in shade, a sunny location is preferred. It tolerates a wide variety of soils and is both drought resistant and salt tolerant. (Note that the “Red Tip” variety is an inland variety which is not salt tolerant.)

Propagation
Seeds, cuttings, air layering.

Botanical name: Callicarpa Americana
Family: Lamiaceae or Labiatae

In the Garden
Beautyberry is one of the most vividly colored and exotic plants among the South Florida natives. Long branches emerge from a lithe base trunk with shafts regularly punctuated with clusters of candy-purple colored berries, in season. While beautyberry can be judiciously pruned within a more formal landscape, left to nature, it will expand to become an expansive eye-catching highlight in the native landscape. Besides being a visual curiosity, its best feature is in the vital food source its berries provide for a variety of local backyard birds, particularly the mockingbird. While it is a popular food source for our native birds, it also has been considered a survival food for the lost traveler in South Florida in want of nutrition and water. And while the berries do provide some moisture, their tart taste indeed does not quench the thirst. They are better left for the birds or harvested for jellies or jams.

Style
Beautyberry has multiple branches extending out from a slender trunk. The bark is smooth and taupe in color. Leaves are alternate, an broadly heart-shaped. It flowers and ftuits once a year and it is a spectacle to behold. The purple candy colored berries cluster around the branch in spiral groupings – each one measuring a little under ¼ inch in diameter.

Size
Between 5 to 7 feet tall and about as wide.

Care
Plant beautyberry in dry to moist, neutral to slightly alkaline soils, in sun or shade. While young plants may need some watering during the dry season, once established, beautybery can endure long periods of drought. You may let it go naturally or trim it to maintain the desired shape and size.

Propagation
Seeds.

Botanical name: Hiraclides cresphontes

Family: Papilionidae

Larval food: citrus (Rutaceae), particularly wild lime, (Zanthoxylum fagara)

Adult food: nectar from lantana, bougainvillea, swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

Wing span: 4.5 inches

Habit: While the Giant Swallowtail can found from Canada to Mexico, its preferred host foods are plants in the citrus family making it popular throughout Florida.

Botanical name: psychotria nervosa
Family: Rubiaceae

In the Garden
Wild coffee is a strikingly ornamental evergreen shrub well suited for both the formal and informal garden either as a specimen plant or hedge. Butterflies are attracted to its flowers and its fruits are popular with a variety of birds. It is an excellent understory plant which does well in the company of such tropical hardwood hammock natives such as the gumbo limbo, white indigoberry, Simpson stopper, Jamaican caper and pigeon plum, etc.

Style
Wild coffee has multiple branches extending out from a slender trunk. The bark is smooth and taupe in color. Leaves are opposite, elliptical, dark green and glossy, measuring from between 3 to 6 inches in length with pronounced veins creating a delicate quilted appearance. Small, delicate white flowers are followed by 1/4 inch red berries typically ripening in early fall.

Size
Between 5 to 10 feet tall with a spread of between 3 to 6 feet.

Care
Plant wild coffee in dry to moist, neutral to slightly alkaline soils, in sun or shade. While young plants may need some watering during the dry season, once established, wild coffee can endure long periods of drought. You may let it go naturally or trim it to maintain the desired shape and size.

Propagation
Seeds, cuttings.

As far as our research has discovered, there are no firms in the South Florida market that consult with homeowners – especially townhome owners — about how to create xeriscaped, native urban environments. The horror stories about “landscapers” taking $2,000 and planting cheap non-native industrial plants that either die or thrive all too well. Having consulted with a couple of neighbors already, Strongbark believes there is a ready market for these services in Metro Miami.

With the construction and sale of townhomes in the Coconut Grove district at an all-time high, with water restrictions in place and a likely facet of future life in South Florida for all home owners, the advantages of xeriscaping and planting foliage that is adapted to the harsh conditions of South Florida are increasingly sensible alternatives to typical developer plantings. The long-term savings in water and energy make native planting a sensible alternative. And while native planting is a sensible alternative to thirsty non-native plants, they are also, being native, more resilient to the high winds associated with this subtropical environment.