It’s the Sunshine state surrounded by water and filled with rivers and lakes. Florida easily fits into the category of a flower paradise. Florida’s tropical climate makes it a great state for discovering flowers found nowhere else in the continental United States. Case in point, Florida is the orchid capital of the United States.
Florida’s state tree, the cabbage palmetto (Sabal palmetto) ad state flower, the orange blossom (Citrus sinensis) are additional ways to highlight the uniqueness of Florida fauna.
This introduction to Florida Flowers emphasized garden and landscaping themes.
Flower species often inhabit multiple states, so if your flower picture is not presented here, please click on link to flowers and browse through all the listings top see what might catch your eye.
Also, all four PDFs provided in the guide open easily with the click of a button. Right click on the mouse or click the download button on a mobile device to save it for future reference.
Florida Landscaping
When it comes to providing Florida landscaping tips, the book A Guide to Florida Friendly Landscaping need to be the go to book for Florida residents new and old. The one hundred plus page book, organizes its suggestions around nine environmentally friendly principles.
- Right Plant, Right Place
- Water Efficiently
- Fertilize Appropriately
- Mulch
- Attract Wildlife
- Manage Yard Pests Responsibly
- Recycle Yard Waste
- Reduce Stormwater Runoff
- Protect the Waterfront
Florida algal blooms making national media attention explains the importance of Floridians paying close attention to the water and fertilizer use and why those topics take up four of the nice principles. While larger agriculture enterprises account for the most severe algal blooms attributed to point source pollution within the state, state residents who over water and over fertilize amplify the effects due to the sheer number of Floridians who seek nicely landscaped properties.
The book is light on plant choices. Nonetheless, coupled with the booklet Florida Friendly Plant List, and eighty page garden guide to trees, shrubs and flowering plants suited to all Floridians, a Florida gardener is almost ready to go. The guide starts by dividing Florida into three USDA cold hardiness zones, north, central and south. It also provides soil and light requirements for each plant as well as plant characteristics such as size and benefits for local wildlife. For example, with respect to the state tree, the Sabal Palmetto, it says,
FL’s state tree; adapted to most landscapes; white flowers, summer; watch for weevils/scale/ganoderma butt rot; high wind resistance; older palms transplant easily; fruit important to wildlife
With over four hundred trees, shrubs, flowers, vines and grasses covered it ranks as a comprehensive guide to Florida fauna. While the large number of suggestions lack accompanying pictures, the booklet is a great go to resource for basic fauna information.
Florida Flowers
For all the talk about comprehensive landscaping advice, many Floridians, like many Americans, only want to know about flowers for their gardens. Fair enough.
Finally, no resource on Florida flowers would be complete without a word on annuals. Flowers are big business in Florida, and gardeners flock to local plant nurseries throughout the year to purchase the season’s annuals.
Consumers can play it safe by choosing common garden flowers such as Dianthus (pictured), Black-eyed Susans or less common flowers such as the pictured Red Penta.
Because of the different Florida climates and soils, local garden clubs and commercial enterprises are the best sources of information covering basic garden preparation and pest management practices. along with flower characteristics such as height, flower color and soil and light requirements.
Gardeners interested in working with native plants might want to check out Guide for Choosing Native Wildflowers and Plants. It provides similar information as the Central Florida guide, however the seventy or so flowers covered are suited to one or more of the three Florida USDA zones. Interested in a Florida butterfly garden? The pamphlet also provides information covering plants that make great butterfly nectar plants.