Shrubs & Hedges (A-Ci)
Notes:
- -- indicates plants commonly available in nurseries and/or garden centers in south Florida
- © indicates Florida native plants
-
indicates
plants that can tolerate wet soils or occasional flooding.
Click on linked scientific names for photos and/or more information.
Common name |
Size |
Light |
Salt tolerance |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
UF Fact Sheet (48KB pdf) |
6-15 |
Full sun to partial shade |
Moderate |
Medium to large shrub with large, oval, evergreen leaves. Separate male and female plants. Females have long, velvety clusters of purple, bright red, or crimson flowers resembling fluffy cat’s tail. Can wilt in full sun during drought. |
Copperleaf -- UF Fact Sheet (49KB pdf) |
8-15 |
Full sun to partial shade |
Moderate |
Purple/red, green and pink foliage. Excellent for hedge or border, but can be over-powering. |
Desert rose -- |
3-10 |
Full sun |
Moderate |
Very showy flowers year-round, particularly during hot, dry weather. Must have perfect drainage since this plant is very prone to root and stem rots. Will loose leaves during cool weather. Excellent for rock gardens. Scales occasional pest. |
Century plant -- UF Fact Sheet (64KB pdf) |
6-8 |
Full sun |
High |
Dramatic foliage and form. Evergreen, silver/gray to blue-green foliage. Showy, green-brown fruit. Armed with spines. Gritty, free- draining soil required. Blooms anywhere from 12-20 years of age, then dies. Excellent for rock gardens. Many other agaves available; some are variegated; all are drought tolerant. Caution: Sisal hemp, A. sisalana is a FLEPPC Category II invasive. |
Purple allamanda -- UF Fact Sheet (57KB pdf) |
10 |
Full sun |
None |
Evergreen, vining shrub with purple, tubular flowers. Attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds. Also known as Allamanda violacea. |
Bush allamanda UF Fact Sheet (53KB pdf) |
3-5 |
Full sun to partial shade |
Moderate |
Colorful, bright yellow, trumpet flowers. Glossy leaves in whorls of 3-6 on smooth stems, which bleed milky sap if cut. Attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds. |
|
Shell ginger -- UF Fact Sheet (61KB pdf) |
6-12 |
Full sun to partial shade |
Moderate |
Tall stems topped with drooping inflorescences bearing white, pink, red, and yellow, shell-shaped flowers. Forms dense clumps. Green and variegated forms. Best growth in moist soil, but can tolerate drought. Benefits from mulch. |
Anthurium salviniae |
60 |
Partial to full shade |
None |
Large, herbaceous shrub or epiphyte consisting of majestic cluster of long, erect, tropical-looking leaves with wavy margins. Flowers relatively insignificant. Other bird’s nest anthuriums also drought tolerant. |
Marlberry © UF Fact Sheet (36KB pdf) |
5-20 |
Partial shade |
High |
Native plant with attractive foliage and berries. Can be used as small specimen tree or barrier shrub. Attracts birds. Does poorly in full sun. Caution: The related shoebutton ardisia, A. elliptica, and coral ardisia, A. crenulata, are FLEPPC Category I invasive plants. |
West Indian sea lavender |
4-6 |
Full sun |
High |
Rounded shrub with fine, grayish-green leaves and small white flowers. Also known as Mallotonia gnaphalodes. |
Silver sea oxeye UF Fact Sheet (46KB pdf) |
2-4 |
Full sun |
High |
Yellow, daisy-like flowers. Widely used on banks and slopes. Excellent for beach-front plantings in sand. Elsewhere, use freely draining soil to prevent root rot. |
Bougainvillea -- UF Fact Sheet (62KB pdf) |
5-30 |
Full sun |
None |
Very showy, thorny vine-like shrub with best bloom during dry season. Numerous cultivars available in a striking array of colors, magenta being the most common. Some with variegated foliage. Best effect as a vine but can be trained as a shrub. Caterpillars occasional pest. Requires freely draining soil. Do not over-fertilize. |
UF Fact Sheet (50KB pdf) |
3-8 |
Full sun to partial shade |
Moderate |
Aptly named shrub with pansy-like flowers that open purple on the first day, then turn pale lavender and the second day, and finally white on the third day. Some leaf drop may occur during persistent drought. |
Butterfly bush -- UF Fact Sheet (156KB pdf) |
6-12 |
Full sun to partial shade |
Moderate |
Fast-growing shrub with attractive pink, purple, or white flowers and gray-green leaves. Highly attractive to butterflies—hence the name. Nematodes occasional problem in sandy soils. Other tropical Buddleia also drought tolerant. |
Locust-berry © UF Fact Sheet (53KB pdf) |
3-30 |
Full sun to partial shade |
Moderate |
Native shrub to small tree with spreading canopy. Attractive flowers are white/pink to yellow. Orange to yellow berries attract wildlife. Can be used as a hedge. |
Dwarf poinciana -- UF Fact Sheet (147KB pdf) |
5-20 |
Full sun |
Moderate |
Large shrub to small tree. Showy orange/yellow flowers during warmer months. Needs good drainage. Leaves and seeds poisonous. |
Beautyberry -- © UF Fact Sheet (127KB pdf) |
6-8 |
Full sun to partial shade |
Moderate |
Native shrub. Flowers insignificant, though long-lasting purple berries are quite attractive, and provide a good food source for birds. |
|
6 |
Full sun |
Moderate |
Large, thick, grayish-green leaves and purple to white, crown-like flowers. Tolerates poor soil, but requires excellent drainage. Host plant for monarch butterfly larvae. |
UF Fact Sheet (39KB pdf) |
5-25 |
Partial Shade |
Moderate |
Small, shrubby, native tree with burgundy-tinged new growth and insignificant white flowers. Can be sheared and grown as a hedge. Good drought tolerance, but prefers moist soil. |
Jamaica caper -- © UF Fact Sheet (54KB pdf) |
18 |
Full sun to partial shade |
High |
Native, slow-growing, undemanding plant with attractive, white, fragrant, spider lily-like flowers. With time, can be shaped into attractive hedge. |
Caper bush |
2-5 |
Full sun |
None |
Elegant shrub often grown for its green capers—which are flower buds, pickled and salted. When allowed to flower, produces large, long-stemmed, pink or white flowers with long stamens. Leaves nearly round. Canopy open. |
Natal plum -- © UF Fact Sheet (40KB pdf) |
3-20 |
Full sun to light shade |
High |
Large shrub to small tree with attractive, thick, glossy foliage, fragrant, jasmine-like flowers, and edible fruit. The spiny leaves and stems make this a good barrier plant once established. Web blight a problem if excessively wet. |
Candle bush UF Fact Sheet (111KB pdf) |
8 |
Full sun |
Low |
Large, pinnate leaves. Terminal, 6” yellow flower spikes appear in late summer and fall. |
|
Cat palm -- |
3-8 |
Full sun to partial shade |
Low |
Mounding palm with elegant, dark green, glossy, feathery leaves. Can be used as a shrub or a hedge. |
UF Fact Sheet (59KB pdf) |
6-10 |
Partial to full shade |
None |
Heavily clumping palm with tall, slender stems resembling bamboo canes. Can be used as a shrub or a hedge. Also known as C. seifrizii. |
Cocoplum -- © |
3-15 |
Full sun to partial shade |
High |
Native shrub with insignificant flowers, but new foliage quite attractive. Often used as hedge, but will thin if planted in too much shade. Available in spreading and erect forms. |
Pineland snowberry © UF Fact Sheet (42KB pdf) |
2-3 |
Full sun |
Low |
Native vining shrub with glossy green, elliptical to lanceolate leaves and tiny white flowers. Also known as C. pinetorum. |
Fiddlewood © UF Fact Sheet (42KB pdf) |
50 |
Full sun |
High |
Large, tropical tree with pyramidal crown, glossy, bright green, elliptical leaves, and elongated, arching panicles—to 1’ long—of small, white, fragrant flowers. Leaves turn bronze in cool weather. Fruit are dark purple berries. Attractive to birds. Also known as C. fruticosum. |