As just about any Realtor will tell you, most buyers decide if they like or don't like a house before they even get out of the car. Curb appeal is very important when selling a house. Since we spend so much time outside in the Florida Keys curb appeal is even more so important. There are so many low cost but great looking plants and landscaping you can add to your house to make it "Pretty". A $200 investimet combined with a couple hours of your time could return $25,000 or more.
Being located on Florida’s southern-most tip, the Keys offer residents a taste of sun, sand, salt, and year-round warm temperatures, as well as a vast and varied assortment of plants hardy to the region. Whether you’re looking for a groundcover, plants that flower, or something that grows directly on the oceanfront, there’s a wealth of hardy choices.
The best plants for the Florida keys are plants that can withstand the tropical and salty climate. Some good examples of plants that will thrive in the keys are Bay Cider, Bougainvillea, Gumbo Limbo, Pigeon Plum, Sea Oats, Crinumum Lilly, and Saw Palmetto.
The best plants for residences located in the Keys need to be able to withstand conditions that are consistently hot, sunny, dry and with a dash of salt spray mixed in.
Fortunately, plant choices are many and include evergreens, flowering, deciduous, natives, and those that attract pollinators.
Whatever your design style or area’s conditions, there’s a hardy plant fulfilling those needs that will thrive in your environment. Continue reading because we outline some popular plants hardy to growing in your Keys landscape.
Plant Choices & Characteristics
When considering what type of plants will grow best in your location of the Keys, it’s best to know the environmental conditions of the proposed area where the plants will be growing. Familiarizing yourself with the area’s soil and light conditions helps in selecting appropriate plants for the area.
Additionally, it’s good to familiarize yourself with the growing conditions the particular plant prefers for healthy growth.
For example, you don’t want to plant something that grows best in full sun in a site that receives little sunlight. Planting the right plant in the right place goes a long way in promoting years of maintenance-free and problem-free growth.
Bay Cedar
Native to South Florida, bay cedar (Suriana maritima) thrives in wind, salt, drought and heat, making it a perfect choice for landscapes in the Keys.
Performing as a large shrub or pruned into a tree, bay cedar grows anywhere from 5 to 20 feet tall generally with multiple trunks with attractive brown bark. The arching branches fill with small, fleshy, grayish-green leaves covered in downy.
Inconspicuous clusters of cup-shaped, yellow flowers bloom year-round that attract butterflies. Bay cedar works well as a hedge, mass planting, specimen, or used in beachfront landscapes.
It prefers a sunny site with soil that drains well.
Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spp.) is one of my favorite bushes. They are low cost, come in a variety of bright colors, grow large enough to serve as a privacy wall and they are beautiful. A Bougainvillea adds flamboyant color to landscapes with its colorful flower bracts in hues of purple, white, red, pink and yellow.
They fill the evergreen and shrubby vine’s canopy with a riot of color year-round. Depending on the variety, bougainvillea can easily reach heights of over 20 feet with a spread of 40 feet.
Its size makes it useful as a screen and its heavily thorn lined branches add to its use of adding privacy. For the best performance, grow in a sunny site in a variety of well-drained soil. Bougainvillea has a high tolerance to drought and grows well in coastal areas.
Bleeding heart vine (Clerodendrum thomsoniae) thrives in the warm conditions of the Keys, but requires a sheltered location for protection from winds.
The evergreen, sprawling vine makes an attractive addition used on an arbor, pergola, trellis or fence area located in full sun to partial shade. However, the more shade the plant gets, the fuller and denser the leaf coverage.
The glossy, dark green foliage makes an attractive contrast against the clusters of white flower bracts with red tips that bloom year-round. As the red flower falls from the cluster, the bracts change to an eye-catching purplish-pink color. For the best performance, grow in fertile soil kept moist through regular water applications.
Frangipani
Those looking for a fragrant flowering small tree that gives a tropical appeal to coastal landscapes should look no further than frangipani (Plumeria spp.).
The sausage-like branches fill with foot long, green, deciduous leaves in late spring, followed by heavily fragrant blooms in shades of white, yellow, red, pink or a mix of several hues.
Trees have a high tolerance to salt and drought, growing best in full sun to partial shade and in a variety of well-drained soils. Frangipani makes an attractive addition to planters, used as a specimen or tropical gardens.
Gumbo Limbo
Native to the Keys and earning its nickname “The Tourist Tree” due to its red peeling bark, gumbo-limbo (Bursera simaruba) trees have a tough nature, standing up to salt, drought and strong winds.
The semi-evergreen tree quickly grows up to 40 feet tall with a similar spread, performing well in full sun to partial shade and in well-drained soils. Gumbo-limbo makes an attractive specimen, shade, or residential tree planted away from powerlines.
The only downside I see with a Cumbo Limbo is the roots grow very long and are very think. With a lot of the Florida Keys being on septic tank you want to keep a colse eye on the roots. They can hurt the septic tank and in some cases even cause them to crack.
Jamaican Dogwood
Jamaican dogwood (Piscidia piscipula) is a Keys native and forms into an attractive but underutilized residential tree. The deciduous tree averages around 45 feet tall and is covered in leaves topped in green with grayish-green undersides.
In late spring, pea-like clusters of white flowers tinged in red and pink bloom followed by long seedpods. The hardy tree is tolerant to salt, drought, and occasional brackish and seawater flooding. It grows best in full sun to partial shade and in well-drained soil.
West Indian Mahogany
Keys native West Indian mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni) trees make fast-growing and attractive additions to landscapes used as a shade tree or for framing. However, its invasive roots mean the tree should be planted away from structures or walkways.
Averaging around 40 feet tall and wide, it forms a loose symmetrical canopy filled with 4-inch green, semi-deciduous leaves that cast light shade. The sturdy wood is wind-tolerant and the tree is drought- and salt-tolerant.
West Indian mahogany trees grow well in full sun to partial shade and in soils that drain well.
Buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus), also called green buttonwood, is native to the Keys and thrives in windy and salty coastal conditions.
With its low-branching habit with multiple trunks, buttonwood makes an attractive large shrub or evergreen tree filled with bluish-green foliage. In spring, inconspicuous greenish flower bloom, followed by small reddish-brown, cone-like fruits.
Growing around 30 feet tall and with a 20 to 30-foot spread, it works well as a hedge, planted by a patio or deck, or utilized as a medium-sized tree. Hardy buttonwood grows well in sandy to brackish soil located in full sun to partial shade.
Pigeon Plum
Native to the Keys, pigeon plum (Coccoloba diversifolia) forms into an attractive evergreen tree with a symmetrical canopy filled with dense, glossy evergreen foliage that is green once mature but emerges as red.
Adding to the tree’s attractiveness are the panicles of white spring flowers followed by the small edible fruits that are purple. Additionally, the grayish-brown bark peels from the trunk exposing a dark purple, adding even more color.
Growing 15 to 25 feet tall with a similar width, this hardy tree tolerates wind, drought, and salt, thriving in well-drained soils located in full sun to partial shade. Pigeon plum makes an eye-catching shade tree or specimen.
Passion Flower
Although there are several species of passion flowers native to Florida, Maypop (Passiflora incarnate) is the showiest, producing exotic 3- to 5-inch blooms that are purple or lavender and with wavy fringes over the petals.
Flowers last for a day and green oval fruits form after the blooms fade(which are edible) but said to not taste too good.
The blooms attract a host of pollinators from bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, bats and other insects Grow passion flower in a sunny site in fertile well-drained soil and utilize on a fence, trellis or arbor.
Locust Berry
Locust berry (Byrsonima lucida) is a Florida native that is considered endangered. It has an irregular branching habit growing around a foot tall in sandy soils lacking nutrients but obtains a height of 8 feet in richer soils.
The evergreen shrub is covered in small green foliage and color-changing blooms form in springtime. The showy flower clusters start out as white, changing to pink and then a dark red and attract a host of beneficial pollinators.
Locust berry works well used in native or butterfly gardens, as well as a screen. It tolerates salt and drought and performs best in fertile soil located in partial sun or partial shade.
Golden Creeper
Golden creeper (Ernodea littoralis) is a South Florida native that thrives in hot, dry, and salty conditions, making it the perfect choice for planting directly on the dunes, oceanfront landscapes, or along brackish waters.
The succulent groundcover grows 1 o 3 feet tall, developing into spreading mounds filled with red succulent stems covered in tiny green leaves. It blooms year-round in pinkish-white, tubular flowers that are unnoticeable. Golden creeper grows best in a sunny location with sandy soil.
The tough and low-maintenance evergreen tolerates salt, heat, and drought and in fact, will fail to thrive and possibly die if irrigated too much.
Blanket Flower
Blanket flower (Gaillardia pulchella), a Florida native guarantees a blast of brilliant eye-catching color whether used in containers or the garden. This salt- and heat-tolerant perennial fills with 2- to 3-inch daisy-like flowers with frilly petals and large centers in hues of orange, red, yellow, copper scarlet, and rose-purple.
Mounds grow over a foot tall and wide, making the plant a good border, filler, or ground cover plant. The flowers attract butterflies and spent seeds readily send up volunteers. Colorful and cheery blanket flower is a welcome addition to wildflower, native, seaside, and pollinator gardens. Grow in a sunny location in soil that drains well.
For a low-maintenance, easy to grow, year-round native bloomer that is both salt-, heat- and drought-tolerant, you cannot go wrong growing lantana (Lantana involucrate).
Perennial plants produce clusters of small flowers that are multi-colored, yellow or orange-red. Toothed green foliage is velvety and the shrub grows several feet tall and wide.
Plants attract butterflies and work well used in containers, hanging baskets, borders, filler plants or mixed gardens. Grow in well-drained soil in full sun.
Blue Porterweed
Native to South Florida, blue porterweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis) is a small perennial shrub that produces a year-round display of blue flowers born on long spikes attached to the ends of the shrub’s stems.
The dark green, serrated, evergreen foliage highlights the attractive masses of blooms. Various beneficial pollinators are attracted to the flowers. Blue porterweed grows 4 to 8 feet tall and wide with a round habit and makes an attractive hedge, used on borders, or in butterfly gardens.
The heat-, salt- and drought-tolerant plant thrives in full sun to partial shade and in well-drained soils.
Coontie Palm
The only cycad native to Florida, coontie palm (Zamia floridana) is both tolerant to salt and drought, making it a good choice for landscapes in the Keys. The cycad grows slowly, reaching a mature height of 2 to 4 feet, with a spread of 3 to 5 feet.
The stiff, palm-like leaves grow 4 to 8 inches long and are evergreen, bringing a green appeal to gardens year-round. Although underutilized in landscapes, coontie palms make attractive additions to borders, mixed tropical gardens, shade gardens, used as specimens or accent plants.
It also grows well in containers and as an indoor plant. The native thrives in partial sun to partial shade and in soils that drain well.
Whether you're preparing your home to sell or just want to beautify your backyard, a small investment and a few hours of your time can make a world of difference. I have had to convince many of my sellers that $200 worth of landscaping is far more important than fresh paint in the master bedroom. Curb appeal is definitely something where a little bit goes a long way. Plus, designing your yard to make it yours is fun.
Gary
