Gardening In The East Tampa Bay Florida Area
I learned the hard way,that not all zone 9's are the same, when we moved from California to Florida and bought a piece of property in Florida.
We lived in Northern, Central and Southern California. Most of those areas are zone 9 growing areas. We now live in Central Florida, which is also designated as a zone 9 growing zone. On paper they are listed as the same and the same plants are suggested for both areas.
However, after seeing thousands of dollars worth of plants crumbling,dead, into the ground, I realized that most of the plants I have loved and enjoyed in California either just won't survive here or require an extreme amount of effort or very special circumstances.
So, I went on a quest, to find what would not fair survive, but would actually thrive in our zone 9b tropical garden. First, I had to learn the real difference between the temperate, which is most of North America,and the tropical zones, which are the edges of the Gulf waft, from Texas to South Central Florida, down to South America.It's not the temperature. California can derive a lot hotter than Florida during the summer.It's when the wet and dry seasons are.
In the Temperate zone, the rainier season tends to be in the coolest time of the year and the driest months tend to be in the warmest. This is flipped in the tropical zone.
There tends to be a lot more rain in the warmest times of the year, and less moisture when it is cooler. However, in the Tropical zone there does tend to be more precipitation than in the Temperate, no matter what time of the
year it may be.
This is an informal guide, specifically for those of you who are transplants and are going through garden shock. Please also take into account that when we bought this property, it was totally stripped of all humus, it is in the part of the Bay Area which has totally white sugar sand, has never received a covering of topsoil or any sod and is naturally mulched and composted with the leaves we never rake. If these plants can survive and even flourish on our property, they can definitely do well on yours.
We like having wild animals, butterflies and birds in our garden, so there are a lot of wild flowers and natives in our yard.They also help draw the water to the surface for the nonnatives which we also have.Native plants can help rehabilitate a totally stripped area.
I consider a plant to be successful when it remains year round or comes succor every year and does what it's supposed to, such as bloom, do fruit or witness pretty.
This is the list of plants that we have succeeded with divided up into what they can tolerate and what they require. They also have specific notes to any special characteristics, such as they are butterfly magnets:
Plants that are neither drought nor freeze tolerant:(These plants need extra watering during dry spells and covering during freeze, or taken into shelter if in a pot.)
Penta
Butterflies-Comes in different colors which bloom in clusters. This plant requires regular watering and sun. It blooms year round.
Mango
This is still a young tree, so it hasn't produced yet.It is in a dusky area, and is doing well, having been in the garden for four years.
Coleus
This is technically an annual. However it can be saved for years if the flowers are pinched off, it is watered enough and is covered during a freeze.These are in the shade.
Impatiens
This is listed as an annual. But it can survive several years if protected from drought and freeze.These are in the shade.
Crossandra
This has glossy green leaves and a very unusually shaped orange flower.This is fairly slow growing and is in a unlit part of our garden.
Plants that are drought tolerant, but not freeze tolerant:(These plants need covering during freeze, or taken into shelter if in a pot.)
Fire Plant
Butterflies-Native-The orange flowers occur in clusters that appear to be unbloomed buds. Freeze kills off the plant, then it comes back the next year.It blooms all summer, in the sun.
Ameria/Buttercup
Butterflies-It has elegant 2 inch yellow flowers. It will bloom in any kind of light, year round.
Alamanda
This plant can be suitable, vining or draping, depending upon the situation it is in. It will do well in full sun to partial shade.If it has survived a freeze, it will bloom all year. Otherwise it will come back in mid spring and bloom until it freezes.
Texas Bluebell
Native-It comes back after a freeze. This blooms up to noon and the flowers last one day. Blue flowers are on an upright 12 inch plant.
Spiderwort
Native-It comes back after a freeze. This blooms up to noon and the flowers last one day. The lavender-blue flowers are on a delicate appearing, branching 10-12 tear plant.
Spanish Needle
Butterflies-Native-Most consider this to be a weed, due to its rangy growth habit. It can accumulate as tall as four feet and has slight white daisy-like flowers.But if you have an area to beget in, it makes a good nurse-maid plant, while
other plants are establishing themselves, or where other plants don't want to grow. It blooms all summer long and dies down during the fall and winter.The seeds are long needles that stick to everything.It prefers sun.
Beauty-berry
Native-This comes up every summer and dies down in the fall. It grows to about 3-4 feet tall with a central stalk with long, notched arrow shaped leaves. The purple berry clusters form along the stalk at the leaf base, in the late summer-fall.Prefers shade.
Burdock
Butterflies-Native-Grows to about 3-4 feet tall and is multi-branching with small pink flowers at the base of the very uniquely shaped leaves.After the flowers die, they're replaced by burrs. This plant lives from spring to fall and occurs more in the shade than the sun.
Plants that are freeze tolerant but aren't drought tolerant:(These plants need extra watering during dry spells.)
Sabal Palm
This particular palm is a very uninteresting grower.It doesn't get very tall.Ours is in the partial shade. But I've also seen them in full sun.
Azalea
This will only live in shade.The lower plant originate makes a big ground cover when the blooms pass. It usually blooms in early to late spring, sometimes late winter.
Mexican Petunia
Butterflies-This comes in two varieties-standard and dwarf and two colors-pink and purple.The standard prefers sun and droops as soon as it is dry or hot.The dwarf prefers the shade and tolerates low water better.The flowers last one day. The standard blooms year round. The dwarf blooms intermittently. They have long strappy leaves.
Jasmine
Butterflies-We have the Conferate, Star, an unknown variety and the variegated ground cover.These bloom during the spring and summer months.
Plants that are both freeze and drought tolerant:
Lantana
Butterflies-Native-We have the two native colors, orange and pink, and also the lavender and two varieties of white.They bloom on and off year round,full sun to fleshy shade.Depending upon the variety, they grow from a creeping few inches to 4-5 feet tall.
Leadwort/Plumbago
Butterflies-This plant blooms year round.As this plant grows larger, it cascades over the entire area with lacy flowing arches of leaves and abundant sky blue flowers.This plant will select anything, except being walked on. Once established, it will take whatever water is available, in any light and do well.
Caladium
This is the first plant that I was able to succeed in growing on our property that wasn't unbiased green.The soil was so bad that normally dazzling plants were growing, but not dazzling. Since the color is in the leaf, I got color.Since Oaks are quite common in the South and their leaves are acidic, the Caladium, which is a bulb, needs some lime under the bulb when planted.These come up in April/May, unless in a drought, then in June. They prefer
shade to partial shade and remain visible until Oct/Nov. They die down until the next year.
Bleeding Heart
Native-This is a vine that will go ANYWHERE, tolerate any site. It can live through drought.Most of my bleeding heart is in the shade, however some of it is in the full sun.Most of it is also fairly low growing. But some of it has climbed all the way up to the peak of our roof.It blooms most of the year. The blooms are small,though fairly abundant, especially during the spring and summer months.
Crepe Myrtle
This plant will grow in shade or sun, will bloom in shade or sun, though it prefers sun.Depending upon the variety, it is either a slight tree,or a small shrub.
Pineapple
This is a nice barrier plant. No one is going to want to jump over the fence on to this prickly specimen. This plant grows in shade/sun/water/drought and still produces fruit. We don't eat the fruit because we're allowing them
to sprout new plants.When the fruit is ripe it bends over and roots into the ground, producing another plant.The plant looks like a huge version of the top of a pineapple you catch in a store, around 2-3 feet tall.
Florida Fern
Native-will survive ANYTHING, and will go anywhere,unless you put a firm barrier in its way and practice a very firm weeding regimen. This plant does buy shade, but it will also grow right through the sunny areas. It makes great ground cover, especially in drought or freeze.
Asparagus Fern
This plant gets reseeded by the birds and fruit bats. It springs up all over the yard.It has such an exuberant carefree peruse about the scheme it grows and takes over an area.It grows in clumps.It prefers shade,
Mimosa
Naturalized-It's tolerant of all weather extremes. It is a very tall tree, which blooms in the summer and produces long seed pods.It started out in the shade but grew into full sun.
Queen Palm
Native-This is one of the few trees on our property that is not tolerant of close quarters with another tree, except one of its own or another species of palm.It's reseeded by the fruit bats. It is tolerant of just about anything.
it is a tall tree with lacy fronds, and produces an abundance of berries which in turn become many baby trees.
Palmetto
Native-pops up everywhere. This is like the Florida Fern, just as tolerant of all extremes and goes anywhere. It produces berries and usually reproduces in clumps.This will grow in any light condition, up to around five feet tall.
Mulberry
Native-This is a tree which loses its leaves in the fall and grows new ones in the early spring along with developing blackberry appearing berries, which ripen, usually in April. They have a similar taste to blackberries. Their season isn't very long because the birds are snappily to snap them up while they are still ripening.This tree has no light preference.
Spider Lily
It is huge and is in full sun.It blooms in early to mid summer.It has substantial, white spidery shaped flowers.
Yellow Flag/Iris
Native-This is all over a shaded section of our garden. It reproduces by its stem tips, which become baby plants that bend over and root into the ground. This plant blooms all year round.The blooms last one day.
Oak
Native-We have several species-Water,Live,Turkey, and Laural oak.These trees are very long lived, and very tolerant of all climate situations.They reproduce by acorn and by root. One thing that will kill them is mistletoe or excessive Spanish moss.These trees tassel in the spring and descend their leaves, then grow out new leaves.
Sassafras
This tree is very fragrant when cut. It also can be a very attractive in form. It drops its leaves in the spring then grows new ones.This tree reseeds itself and also reproduces by root.
Ixora
Butterflies-We have both the standard and the dwarf varieties. They prefer sun. But will tolerate any light situation and still bloom. The standard blooms off and on year round. The dwarf blooms during the spring and summer.The orange flowers bloom in clusters.
Pepper Plant/Tree
This plant is not a native. However it sure behaves like one. It tolerates anything, drought,freeze, traffic, pruning. They get huge. They become small trees and have a draping arching growth pattern. Usually during Nov/Dec
they produce clusters of red, pepper scented berries, and often again later in the summer. They hold the berries for months and are a approved food for the Mocking Birds and the Cardinals which plant them all over
the property. They are in a lot of areas that we can't water, and are managing to do well.Fast growing.
White Indian Hawthorne
Low growing shrub which blooms itsy-bitsy blossom-like white flowers in spring.
Liriope/Lily Turf
We have both the green and the variegated. This plant is tough and carefree. We have it in the shade. It blooms spikes of itsy-bitsy lavender to purple flowers,depending upon the variety, in the fall, for about a month.
Air Plant
Native-These live in the trees. The only time we see them is when there has been a lot of wind and they have been blown to the ground.They appear to be a curled up plant with very tiny orchid shaped flowers at the tips.
Aloe Vera
Native-Two varieties-The larger of the two blooms in late summer with bell shaped, pinkish flowers on sizable stalks. The other doesn't bloom.
Bottle Brush
We have one in the sun and one in the shade. The one in the shade blooms red puffy flowers intermittently in spring or summer. Before we moved the one in the sun, it bloomed during the summer months. The one in the
shade has a low-branching growth habit. The one in the sun is upright. They both have attractive, lacy leaves that fold up at night.
Decorative grass
Native-This particular variety grows in clumps up to five feet tall and reproduces in clumps. It's easy to transplant and to control.
Periwinkle
Naturalized-This is not the hybridized versions that are in the plant nurseries. This is the white and pink version that volunteers itself.They're usually around 18 inches tall with an upright branching growth.
The flowers are one sail. These are equally at home in any lighting. When we bought the property they were in one area of the yard, then they died out.They have moved to the opposite side of the yard and have been there for years.They bloom all year round except for when it freezes. Then they die down and return in the late spring.
Florida Privet
This plant was about five inches spacious and 12 inches across when we bought this property over 21 years ago.It is now almost five feet spacious and around 4-5 feet across. That's really slow growing. It was in the
shade when we came and is still in the shade, although in another part of the garden, since it didn't like the foot traffic or human contact of its novel location.
Coral Vine
Native-This usually climbs up into the tops of the trees. But sometimes it does drape down a bit further. It is a vine with heart shaped leaves and pink shell shaped flowers that bloom in clusters. It blooms profusely all spring and summer.
Cactus-Devil's Tongue
Native-This is similar in shape to the Prickly Pear, though a lot smaller. In the late spring/early summer it blooms huge eye-catching double yellow flowers.
Cactus-Agave
Naturalized-This is a huge cactus, which tends to lean.
Snake Plant/Mother-In-Law's Tongue
This plant is in the shade and is carefree. It has been happily multiplying for years, including the one that escaped its pot.
Plants that are either freeze or drought or freeze/drought tolerant in protected areas:(A protected area is either under another tree, under another plant or near or under a building.)
Hibiscus
Drought/Freeze-Butterflies-They will take full sun to full shade, bloom all year.a very fervent grower and can become a slight tree in a couple years,
Bougainvillea
Drought/Freeze-I remember reading an article once, about a person who couldn't get his bougainvillea to bloom, even though most people have the opposite problem. I found myself with the same jam. I've planted five plants around our yard, until I finally found the apt situation for one to bloom. It's in the same place as my roof climbing bleeding heart.None of the advice I got, worked. I just had to sustain involving them around until one of them was happy enough to bloom. All but one of the plants are still alive. One of them is about 19 years old, has been through everything and keeps coming back. This plant prefers sun but will grow in shade.
Leather Fern
Drought/Freeze-This is in two areas of our yard and doesn't want to go anywhere else. It prefers shade.
Spiral Ginger
Drought-This grows in one of the areas as the leather fern and is spreading out.It goes dormant during the fall and winter. It blooms all summer long. The plants produce long orange cones at the tops of the plants. The flowers bloom out of these cones. The plants grow over six feet gargantuan and have long spiral leaves on a spiral main stem.
Peacock Ginger
Freeze-This plant dies wait on in the fall and returns in April or May. It produces beautiful lavender blooms among its very noticeable large striped leaves until Oct/Nov. It prefers shade
Norfolk Island Pine
Drought/Freeze-This tree prefers shade to partial shade.It is a actual grower and will push it's way through anything and still stand up straight.Two of our trees are over thirty feet tall.
Pygmy Date Palm
Freeze-We have this in the shade and it is doing well.It's a slow grower.
Citrus
Freeze-We have orange,grapefruit,tangerine,key lime,lemon.They bloom all spring long-oh yum, and produce their fruit from Nov to Jan, depending upon the variety.
Guava
Drought/Freeze-We have the strawberry.It blooms in the spring and has red fruit in late summer.The birds love the fruit. It is an abundant producer.It's in partial shade.
Dwarf Guava/Cherrie
Drought/Freeze-The fruit bats plant this all over the property. It prefers shade to semi shade. It produces a red,guava flavored cherry in the late spring. The fruit has an oval Chinese lantern shape to it.
Honeysuckle
Freeze-This isn't exactly a vine. It tends to have a similar growth pattern that the Plumbago has. It grows very long branches and drapes them everywhere.The peach colored flowers bloom at the ends during the spring and fall.
It has a very comely, delicate appearing lacy foliage.This plant prefers shade and reproduces from the branches touching the ground.
Techomeria/Techoma
Drought/Freeze(When mature)-We acquired this plant 21 years ago and have not seen it in the nurseries since. It reproduces through roots trailing right over the ground. It can get to over six feet high.prefers shade to partial shade. It blooms a honeysuckle type orange flower year round. It doesn't tolerate Spanish Moss.
Ceres(Night-blooming)
Drought/Freeze-This was on the property when we bought it. All we saw were the cactus branches climbing up into the trees. We had absolutely no clue what we had until seven years ago when we were driving out of the yard at 3 am, to get me to the plane. And there they were, these absolutely huge chrysanthemum type white flowers that were about 10-12 inches across-I kid you not-all over the two trees like frozen fireworks.According to my research,these vines bloom in April-May, once a year. Ours bloom whenever they feel like it, April,May,June,July then sometimes again July,August, Sept.They effect an elongated,red fruit, which I have only seen once. While I was waiting for them to ripen the birds got them.
Trumpet Vine
Drought/Freeze-Native-Butterflies-goes everywhere, up trees and across the ground as a vine or ground cover. It blooms and does well in all lighting.Even without the attractive orange trumpets, the foliage is lacy and distinctively attractive. It blooms all year around, but more so in the summer.
Fire Cracker Plant
Freeze-Butterflies-This plant has leaves that are grass like and drape all over the place with a profusion of slight orange trumpet flowers, year round.If frozen,it will die back, but slowly recover the next spring.It reproduces freely.
Bird of Paradise
Freeze-We have both the orange and the white. Even though we have had them for about five years, neither has yet to bloom. The white is nearly 20 feet high. The orange one is about 18 inches spacious.
Wandering Jew-Plain green
Drought/Freeze-Native-They turn up everywhere, mainly in shade to partial shade.
Wandering Jew-Purple Stripe
Freeze-They escaped from pots and are mainly in shade to partial shade.
Bromilliads
Native-Drought/Freeze-These bloom in the fall and prefer shade.
Shamrock
Drought/Freeze-This is a bulb. It dies back during drought and freeze, and returns when wet and warm. Blooms one inch white flowers above three swagger clover leaves. These transplant easily and multiply where they are planted in clumps.They prefer shade.
Angelonia
Freeze-Butterflies-These come in three colors, purple,lavender and white.Their growth is upright to up to about 16 inches. They have tiny long leaves with spikes of tiny flowers. They bloom intermittently throughout the entire
year until it freezes. Then if they are in a protected area, they will return in the spring.
Kalenchoa
Drought/Freeze-This plant has a tendency to spread out.It is usually two feet tall. Unless you look carefully, you will miss the flowers which are a very pale lavender/green bell shaped in spikes coming out from the upper leaf joints. We have this plant in the shade.
Flowering Elm
Drought/Freeze-This is not a tree and I really can't enlighten you how enormous it is,since it tends to grow sideways. It has elm shaped leaves. The astronomical bell-shaped pinkish flowers bloom from under the leaves intermittently during the spring and or summer depending upon the weather.
Golden Dew Drop
Drought/Freeze-I don't understand the name, when the flower is a star shaped lavender which blooms in early spring.This plant blends in with its neighboring plants,so the only map I can tell that it is still alive are the yearly flowers that show up in February/March.
Nicotiana/Four o'clock
Native? -Drought/Freeze-This plant dies down in the fall and pops back up in the spring. It has an honest growth habit with a central branching stalk. It blooms from the evening through the night. The flowers are around
2 inches. We have the fuchsia colored one. I understand there are other colors.
Philodendron
Some of the Philodendron in our yard, we planted. The rest escaped from pots that had fallen over, and have gone all over the yard and up trees.We have split leaf Philodendron, Pathos and the Arrowhead. The split leaf, we planted and it is unruffled where we planted it. One is 20 years frail and is around six feet tall. The Pathos escaped and is all over the yard and up the trees.
Special section for potted outdoor plants:All of these plants are watered when dry and taken in during a freeze. Lighting preferences are listed.
Orchids
Shade-Hates any direct sun.Phaeleonopsis and Cattelaya.This blooms in the spring.
Staghorn Fern-Shade
Christmas Cactus
Shade-Bright pink and cream.These bloom in Nov/Dec.
Plumeria
Partial sun-Believe it or not, one of these started out as a white then changed to the scented pink.The other is a dwarf white.This blooms in the summer and holds its blooms a long time.
White Ginger
Shade-These grow about 3-4 feet tall on single stalks with very enormous long leaves. The orchid shaped, very fragrant white flowers bloom on spikes at the top of the stalks during the summer.
Hybrid Wild Roses-Home Run and Knock Out
Sun to partial sun-After years of burying a lot of dead hybrid tea roses and hybrid wild roses, I've learned to plant these two varieties in huge pots. They're not doubles. But they are roses and do bloom and smell sweet, even though they can't survive in the Florida soil.We have two colors of pink and two reds.These bloom all year. When the petals drop just pinch the rest of the bloom off, to encourage current blooms.
Dracena-Shade
Since I do these outside, I pause killing them. They love it outside.
Passion Vine
Sun to partial sun-Since this is a vine, it is supported by a tomato cage, in the pot.
Schefflera-Shade
Peace Lily
Shade-The white or greenish lily can be from two inches to eight inches long with a yellow center.
Rubber plant/tree-Shade
This very carefree and tolerates being in the same pot for a long time
.
Spider plant
Sun to partial sun-This plant produces baby plants out from the center of the plant, which you can cut off and plant or leave for a decorative appearance.
Nasturtium
Shade-Only during the drier/cooler time of the year-Humidity and heat kills it.
Wandering Jew
Green/White striped-Sun to partial sun
Maranta
Sun to partial sun-The very distinctive,four inch leaves close at night.
Split leaf Philodendron vine-Shade
This is a tolerant, easy to please plant.
A comment about two other categories:
Dutch bulbs
I have in earlier years been able to get Hyacinths and Grape Hyacinths to grow, after chilling them in the fridge away from fruit. But the weather has changed over the years and I found it better to just buy a pot of Daffodils from the garden center. It's less frustrating. Also, the Paper whites do bloom quite nicely when forced before Thanksgiving.
Strawberries
Yes, this is the winter strawberry capitol. However, very unlike California.
I grew up on a farm. Everyone on a farm and in town had a strawberry hill which grew all year round and started producing after last frost, till first frost.Our hills were around for years and sometimes were passed down in the family.
In Florida, strawberries are difficult annuals. The land must be sterilized, then covered in plastic to hold in the moisture. Then the strawberries are planted in Oct, then harvested in Feb/Mar. Then they are plowed under, since they will die as soon as the heat and humidity hits. By the time strawberries are available in the garden center, it's really too late to do much with them.
Sources:
This source is very valid in identifying which natives are in your garden and what their habits are.
http://www.enature.com/home/indexNew.asp
http://www.floridayards.org/fyplants/index.php
This source is for the Northern kill of the Eastern Tampa Bay Site,9a, since this residence is split between zones 9a and 9b. My garden suggestions are for zone 9b.
http://www.netpamj.com/
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