| Key Takeaways |
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| • Top picks: Florida’s most popular landscape plants include azaleas, crape myrtles, palms, lantanas, and native firebush and tickseed. • Region matters: Florida spans several hardiness zones, so check that a plant suits your part of the state before you buy it. • Built for Florida: The best plants handle heat, sandy soil, salt spray, wind, and swings between heavy rain and drought. |
The most popular landscape plants in Florida are American beautyberry, azaleas, crape myrtles, firebush, junipers, lantanas, magnolias, palms, salvias, and tickseed. They’re common for a reason: They grow well and look good in Florida’s climate.
When you’re looking for a new plant for your garden, take a look around your neighborhood. Below, you’ll find each plant’s size, sun, soil, and water needs, plus the traits that help any plant survive in a Florida yard.
If you’d rather enjoy your yard than work in it, LawnLove’s local gardening pros can help plant and care for your garden beds.
10 most popular landscape plants in Florida
Florida’s 10 most popular landscape plants mix native shrubs, flowering trees, palms, and tough wildflowers. Here’s how they compare at a glance before the full profiles.
| Plant | Type | Where it grows in Florida |
| American beautyberry | Native shrub | Whole state |
| Azaleas | Flowering shrub | North and Central |
| Crape myrtles | Tree or shrub | Whole state |
| Firebush | Native shrub | Whole state |
| Junipers | Tree, shrub, or ground cover | Varies by species |
| Lantanas | Flowering shrub | Whole state |
| Magnolias | Tree or tall shrub | North and Central, plus two species in South |
| Palms and cycads | Tree, shrub, or ground cover | Varies by species |
| Salvias | Flower | Whole state |
| Tickseed | Native wildflower | Whole state |
1. American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)
American beautyberry is a native Florida plant with floppy branches covered in bright green leaves. From late summer to early fall, clusters of purple berries burst forth for a pop of color.
American beautyberry grows naturally all over Florida, and many people include it in their landscapes as a specimen plant or shrub screen.
Plant basics:
Growth habit: Shrub
Where it grows in Florida: Whole state
Size at maturity: 3-8 feet tall and 4-8 feet wide
Duration: Perennial
Foliage: Deciduous in North Florida and evergreen in South Florida
Sunlight needs: Full sun or partial shade
Soil preferences: Grows best in loam soil high in organic matter but also tolerates nutrient-poor sandy soils
Water needs: Water about 1 inch per week when there’s no rain and skip weeks with rainfall
Hazards: Non-toxic and no safety hazards
2. Azaleas (Rhododendron spp.)
You know it’s springtime in North and Central Florida because you see azaleas blooming everywhere. In April or May, these flowering shrubs are absolutely covered with pink or white blossoms, and there are less common varieties available in blue, yellow, red, and other colors.
Unfortunately, South Floridians don’t get to enjoy these beauties because azaleas don’t do well in extreme heat.
Plant basics:
Growth habit: Shrub
Where it grows in Florida: North and Central Florida
Size at maturity: Up to 10 feet tall and 8 feet wide, depending on the species
Duration: Perennial
Foliage: Some species are evergreen and some are deciduous
Sunlight needs: Partial shade
Soil preferences: Acidic soil that drains well
Water needs: Water only when the top few inches of soil dry out (usually 2 or 3 times a month in cooler weather and up to twice a week during summer)
Hazards: Toxic to people and pets if ingested
3. Crape myrtles (Lagerstroemia indica)
Crape myrtles come in all shapes and sizes because there are many different cultivars, from full-size trees that grow up to 30 feet tall to dwarf varieties that are more like small shrubs.
They produce beautiful fluffy-looking flowers that are usually pink but also can be different shades of red, purple, or white. Blooms first appear in July and sometimes stay until the first frost of winter.
Plant basics:
Growth habit: Tree or shrub
Where it grows in Florida: Whole state
Size at maturity: Anywhere from 2-30 feet tall and 2-15 feet wide depending on the variety
Duration: Perennial
Foliage: Deciduous
Sunlight needs: Full sun
Soil preferences: Tolerates most soil types as long as they have good drainage
Water needs: Water deeply once per week, maybe twice per week in summer if you find the soil dries out quickly
Hazards: Non-toxic and no safety hazards
4. Firebush (Hamelia patens)
Firebush is another Florida native shrub. It shoots out flares of vibrant orange-red tubular flowers that keep blooming from late spring until frost. The flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds, and the plant’s berries attract songbirds.
In North Florida, don’t be alarmed if firebush dies back after the first freeze. It grows again in spring, which makes it a root-hardy perennial.
Plant basics:
Growth habit: Shrub; can be grown as a small tree in South Florida
Where it grows in Florida: Whole state
Size at maturity: 3-8 feet tall in most of the state (up to 15 feet tall in South Florida) and 2-6 feet wide
Duration: Perennial
Foliage: Evergreen
Sunlight needs: Full sun or partial shade
Soil preferences: Any soil that drains well
Water needs: Water deeply once per week for the first year, then switch to once every 2 weeks (skip watering when there’s rainfall)
Hazards: Non-toxic and no safety hazards
5. Junipers (Juniperus spp.)
Juniper trees and shrubs are extremely low-maintenance, they keep their leaves all year, and they can grow in a variety of conditions. For these reasons, they’re popular landscape plants across the country.
The juniper plant’s foliage is needle-like at first, but it flattens out as it matures and becomes more of a scale shape. Some species have green foliage, but others are blue, silver, or gold, and some change colors in winter.
There are dozens of juniper species to choose from, some as small as 6 inches tall and some soaring above 100 feet tall, and they have various growth habits for countless different uses in the landscape.
Plant basics:
Growth habit: Tree, shrub, or ground cover, depending on the species
Where it grows in Florida: Varies by species, but there are species that grow in the whole state
Size at maturity: Varies by species, from 6 inches-130 feet tall and 1-25 feet wide
Duration: Perennial
Foliage: Evergreen
Sunlight needs: Full sun; some species need afternoon shade for summer
Soil preferences: Prefer slightly acidic soil high in organic matter but tolerate pretty much any soil with good drainage
Water needs: Drought-tolerant; little to no watering required outside of natural rainfall once established
Hazards: Toxic to pets if ingested
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6. Lantanas (Lantana spp.)
Lantanas are popular ornamental plants in tropical and subtropical climates around the world, including Florida. Their brightly colored orange, red, pink, lavender, blue, or yellow flowers bloom year-round or nearly year-round.
They’ll bring pollinators such as hummingbirds and butterflies (along with a blast of fall and winter color) to your garden beds.
Plant basics:
Growth habit: Shrub
Where it grows in Florida: Whole state
Size at maturity: 2-6 feet tall and 3-10 feet wide
Duration: Perennial in Florida’s warm climate
Foliage: Evergreen
Sunlight needs: Full sun
Soil preferences: Well-draining, slightly acidic soil
Water needs: Drought-tolerant; little to no watering required outside of natural rainfall once established; water once or twice per week during long dry spells
Hazards: Toxic to pets and people if ingested
7. Magnolias (Magnolia spp.)
A true Southern staple, magnolia trees are everywhere in the cooler regions of North and Central Florida. Most varieties don’t like South Florida’s heat, but southern magnolia and sweetbay magnolia can do well there with proper care.
Magnolia trees are immediately recognizable by their glossy dark green foliage and huge, creamy white blossoms. Different species are available in Florida, some full-sized trees and some smaller varieties that are more like tall shrubs.
Plant basics:
Growth habit: Tree or tall shrub, depending on the species and how you prune it
Where it grows in Florida: North and Central Florida, plus 2 species in South Florida
Size at maturity: 40-80 feet tall and 30-40 feet wide for the standard southern magnolia tree; other species can be as small as 8-12 feet tall and wide
Duration: Perennial
Foliage: Some species are deciduous and some are evergreen
Sunlight needs: Full sun for the most blooms but also grows in partial shade; either way, shade in the afternoon can help prevent scorching of leaves and flowers
Soil preferences: Slightly acidic soil that’s rich in organic matter and retains moisture well
Water needs: Water deeply once per week for most of the year; increase to twice per week in extremely hot weather and decrease to once every other week in cool weather
Hazards: Non-toxic and no safety hazards
8. Palms and cycads
Even though we often call them “palm trees,” palms are in fact not trees but their own type of plant altogether. Some palms, such as Florida’s state tree, the sabal palm, grow to tree size. Others, such as saw palmetto, grow in a clumping, shrub-like habit.
Palms can be big or small, single- or multi-trunked, spreading or upright, with different colors and shapes of fronds. Basically, no matter what your landscape needs, there’s a palm to fit the bill. Just about every landscape in Florida has a palm included somewhere.
Cycads are another group of plants that look very similar to palms and are often mistaken for them. The main difference is that cycads don’t produce flowers, while palms do.
Cycads come in all shapes and sizes just like palms.
The most popular cycad for landscaping is a small species called sago palm. But beware: This species is extremely toxic. Eating any part of the plant, especially the seeds, can cause severe illness, liver failure, or death in pets.
Plant basics:
Growth habit: Different species grow as trees, shrubs, or ground covers
Where it grows in Florida: Many species grow throughout the whole state, but some aren’t cold-hardy enough for North Florida
Size at maturity: Size depends on the species
Duration: Perennial
Foliage: Evergreen
Sunlight needs: Some species require full sun, while others do best in partial shade
Soil preferences: Sandy, well-draining soils
Water needs: Water 1 to 3 times per week, more often in hotter weather and less often in cooler weather
Hazards: Several species of palms and cycads are toxic, and some have sharp spines; do your research on a particular species before adding it to your landscape
9. Salvias (Salvia spp.)
Salvias are popular flowers for Florida gardens because they’re low-maintenance and bloom year-round in warmer years with no frost. Salvias rarely need you to water them except during long dry spells, and they have few problems with pests or plant diseases.
Different species have different color blooms, from white to red to blue to lavender.
Plant basics:
Growth habit: Flower
Where it grows in Florida: Whole state
Size at maturity: 1-6 feet tall and wide (size varies by species)
Duration: Some species are perennial and some are annual
Foliage: Some species are evergreen and some are deciduous
Sunlight needs: Many species require full sun, but some can grow in partial shade
Soil preferences: Tolerates various soil types as long as there’s good drainage
Water needs: Drought-tolerant; little to no watering required outside of natural rainfall
Hazards: Non-toxic and no safety hazards
10. Tickseed (Coreopsis spp.)
The brilliant yellow tickseed is a Florida native and, fittingly, the Sunshine State’s official state wildflower. Sow tickseed seeds anytime from October through January. Several species of tickseed grow throughout Florida, and any one of them makes a bright and sunny, low-maintenance addition to a garden bed.
Most tickseed species are yellow, but you can find some with orange, pink, or red flowers.
Plant basics:
Growth habit: Flower
Where it grows in Florida: Different species throughout the whole state
Size at maturity: 1-4 feet tall and 1-2 feet wide (size varies by species)
Duration: Some species are perennial and some are annual
Foliage: Evergreen
Sunlight needs: Performs best in full sun but can grow in partial shade
Soil preferences: Can grow in just about any soil that drains well
Water needs: Drought-tolerant; needs watering outside of natural rainfall only during long dry periods
Hazards: Non-toxic and no safety hazards
Read more:
Characteristics of a Florida-friendly landscape plant
A Florida-friendly landscape plant tolerates heat, sandy soil, salt, wind, and both heavy rain and drought. If you think living in Florida’s heat and humidity is hard for a human, try being a plant.
Along with extreme summer heat, Florida plants face nutrient-poor sandy soils, salty air, and torrential rain followed by long dry spells. Plants with the following characteristics will perform best.
Heat-tolerant
First and foremost, you have to choose plants appropriate for Florida’s hot climate. Look for plants suited to your area’s hardiness zone, a scale of measurement developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and based on an area’s lowest annual temperature.
The scale ranges from 1 to 13, with 1 representing the coldest climates and 13 the warmest.
Florida’s hardiness zones are as follows:
North Florida: Zones 8b-9b
Central Florida: Zones 9a-10a
South Florida: Zones 9b-11b
When you’re thinking about adding a plant to your landscape, check which hardiness zones the plant thrives in and make sure your zone is included. In total, Florida spans zones 8 through 11 on the USDA map of plant hardiness zones.
In addition to planting for your zone, you should avoid any plants with flowers or foliage that fade or burn under intense sunlight.
Likes sandy soils
There are 6 main soil types: clay, sand, silt, loam, chalk, and peat. Sandy soil is the most common type in Florida, and it has some serious disadvantages. Because sand is so loose, it drains quickly and doesn’t retain moisture or plant nutrients.
For most of Florida, the best garden plants are those that tolerate nutrient-poor soil and that need good drainage. These will thrive in sandy soils.
However, living in Florida doesn’t automatically mean you have sandy soil in your yard. Soil types can vary even from one area of your yard to another. Test your soil to find out what type you have before choosing new plants.
Salt-tolerant
In Florida’s coastal areas, high soil salinity can occur naturally, and salty irrigation water or excess fertilizer can add more. Too much salt makes it difficult for plants’ roots to absorb water, which can cause wilting, leaf burn, and stunted growth.
Salt spray coming in on the wind from the ocean (or the Gulf, depending on which side of Florida you live on) also can damage plants. It burns newly developing leaves and flower buds and dries out the plant.
Salt causes big problems for many gardeners in Florida, especially along the coasts. You’ll have an easier time keeping your plants alive if you choose salt-tolerant varieties.
Wind-resistant
It’s no news to Floridians that hurricanes tend to tear down tall trees with severe winds. This is bad for your landscape and the tree’s health, but more importantly, it poses a safety risk because trees could fall on your home.
Gardeners in hurricane-prone Florida can think ahead by landscaping with wind-resistant trees. Wind-resistant trees are less likely to fall, snap, or lose branches in high winds.
Tolerates torrential rain and periods of drought
Florida’s weather can be moody sometimes. We’ll have nonstop rain for a week, then none at all for a month. This on-again, off-again relationship with rain can leave your plants waterlogged and drowning one second and dying of thirst the next.
Look for plants that can survive both standing water and drought if you don’t want to spend a good chunk of the year nursing your garden back to health.
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Plant basics vocabulary
New to gardening? There may be some words and phrases in this article you don’t recognize, or at least don’t know exactly what they mean. Here’s a quick plant vocabulary lesson to help you understand what we’re saying about these Florida landscaping plants.
Duration: Duration means how long a plant lasts before dying.
Perennial: Perennial plants don’t die in winter. They may go dormant, which means they stop growing and flowering, but they’ll come back and bloom again in spring. Some perennials last for a few years, while others can last for decades.
Biennial: Biennial plants last for 2 growing seasons before dying.
Annual: Annual plants last for only 1 growing season, then die in winter. You have to replace annuals every year.
Foliage: Foliage is a technical term for leaves.
Evergreen: Evergreen plants keep their green leaves all year, even in winter.
Deciduous: Deciduous plants lose their leaves in cold weather. Any plant with leaves that change color and drop off the branches in fall is deciduous.
Full sun: A plant that needs full sun should get at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day.
Partial sun or partial shade: A plant that needs partial shade or partial sun (they mean the same thing) should get 3 to 6 hours of direct sunlight per day.
Full shade: A plant that needs full shade should get 3 or fewer hours of direct sunlight per day. Full shade does not mean no sun at all, as all plants need some sunlight to survive.
Acidic soil: Acidic soil has a soil pH of 6.5 or lower. Find out your soil’s pH with a simple soil pH test from your local hardware store or garden center.
Alkaline soil: Alkaline soil is the opposite of acidic soil. It has a pH of 7.4 or higher.
Plant tags use these same terms, so match them to your yard. As Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp of The Hoosier Gardener in Indianapolis, Indiana, puts it, “If they’re labeled for shade, plant them in the shade.”
Read more:
FAQs
It’s not enough to find plants suited for Florida’s climate in general. You also have to think about the specific conditions in your own yard. Choose plants that are suited for:
• Your soil type
• How much sun your yard gets
• How much space you have for new plants
• The level of maintenance you’re willing to put in (watering, pruning, cleaning up fallen flowers and leaves)
If you have pets or small children, also avoid toxic plants and plants with sharp spines.
Because of Florida’s mild winters, several plants keep on blooming all year long (especially in South and Central Florida). Some popular flowers that bloom year-round in Florida are:
• Bougainvillea
• Hibiscus
• Lantana
• Petunia
• Salvia
High temperatures and humidity make Florida uninhabitable for many delicate plants. Avoid any plants that can’t stand the heat or the wet air. Plants that need very moist soil also may struggle (especially in full sun), because Florida’s loose, sandy soils don’t retain moisture well.
When in doubt, go native
Finding plants that thrive in Florida’s challenging conditions can be a struggle. But it doesn’t have to be. Each area of Florida has a wide variety of native plants that have adapted to live with the local climate, soil type, rainfall, and pests.
Native plants are also often easier to maintain once established, since they typically need less fertilizer, watering, and pesticide.
Some of the popular landscape plants on this list are Florida natives, and some aren’t. If you want plants you can be sure will stand the test of time (and temperature), natives are a reliable choice.
Check out our more extensive list of Florida natives to help you find the right plant for your garden.
While you take care of your Florida garden, let LawnLove’s local lawn care pros take care of the lawn, because the last thing you want to do when it’s 95 degrees out is push around a heavy lawn mower.
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