If you’re looking for a glamorous little tree that can belt out scarlet flowers 365 days a year, consider a Jatropha integerrima ‘Compacta,’ or dwarf jatropha. This show-stealer is actually a shrub, but when trained to grow in multiple trunks, it earns star status as one of the best-dressed ornamentals you’ll ever see. A drought-tolerant evergreen, dwarf jatrophas reach only six to eight feet high, auditioning well as a single accent choice or as part of a 12-tree chorus. Tiny red flowers pop Continue Reading
Florida’s Prettiest Flowering Shrubs: Thrilling Thryallis
What you first notice about thryallis are thousands of lemony flowers busting out as if they’re all making a mad dash to the sun. And they are. Pert and pretty, these tough little sun chasers bloom with abandon and look spectacular planted in masses, in patio pots or along entry steps. Without a doubt, this evergreen shrub (Galphimia gracilis) has a sunny personality right up to the tips of its five-foot-long branches (although it can be kept to three feet). All thryallis asks for is at Continue Reading
Add a Ballet of Bulbine to Your Florida Landscape
You can see the ebullient little flowers dancing high above the grass-like leaves -- fluid and in unison, a ballet of tiny orange petals bending and bobbing like there’s no tomorrow. It’s almost as if they have to overcompensate for their industrial-sounding name. After all, they have soft succulent leaves. A graceful air. Peachy-orange petals But their name is bulbine. But there’s a reason for that. Named for the bulb-shaped tuber of plants in the family Asphodelaceae, bulbine Continue Reading
Inspiration You Can Draw On: The Cardboard Plant Brings Florida Landscapes to Life
It’s stiff as cardboard, but unlike the kind boxes are made of, the Cardboard plant will grow when planted in dirt. As most Sarasota and Venice homeowners will tell you, the Cardboard is practically a staple in their Florida landscapes. Known also as a leatherleaf palm, the Zamia furfuracea is actually a cycad with thick smooth foliage and up to 12 pairs of dark green leaflets cascading from each frond. No needles or spines, so you can plant it along a walkway if you like (just remember it Continue Reading