Small to medium tree often with somewhat scruffy form. Retain in a natural setting if present.

Wildflower in moist garden. Forms colonies.

This is a wetland plant, but it will do well once established in a moist garden setting. Moist wildflower gardens. Easily grown along streams.

Night blooming, fragrant.

Endemic to Florida. Wildflower garden,

Endemic to western peninsular Florida from Tampa south to Charlotte County. Wildflower garden.

For best results, use species naturally found in your area Wildflower garden. Most species bloom best if in light shade or sun, though it does depend on species.

Moist wildflower garden, especially acidic gardens oriented toward sphagnum, pitcher plants, and similar bog species.

Shade tree. Forest tree.

Information on salt tolerance comes from northern nurseries and likely relates to tolerance of salt used for de-icing or roadways.  The extent to which it would apply to Florida is unknown. Good hedge plant. Rose garden. Rear of a wildflower garden.

Requires a reliable cold period to persist. In most of Florida it can be treated as an annual in gardens. Listed as Endangered by the State of Florida.  While this is a common garden plant in the north, its range barely reaches Florida, and it is rare and exists only in a highly specific habitate in the wild. Works well in almost any garden with mixed wildflower species. North of Florida, this species is sometimes planted as single-species mass plantings.

Predominantly a Florida plant, but it has also been recorded in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Texas. The species name "tomentosa" refers to the dense, matted (tomentose) hairs on the leaves. Aphids are often a "problem" with milkweed plants -- they are a natural preditor on Asclepias, but we don't like them. Wildflower garden, dry wildflower meadow

Sawgrass is a sedge, not a grass. It was this plant that Marjory Stoneman Douglas referred to in her seminal work: "The Everglades: River of Grass." A second species (C. mariscoides) occurs in a limited area in north Florida.  Its uses and culture are similar. Typically used in wetland restoration. Also useful for planting in brackish settings where an emergent aquatic is desired. Spreads rapidly to cover large areas.

Bahama ladder brake hybridizes with the non-native and invasive China brake (P. vittata) forming Delchamps' ladder brake (P. x delchampsii). Bahama ladder break is threatened with extinction due to this hybridization. Because of this, we do not recommend planting Bahama ladder break -- if we plant it and there is any China brake around, we exacerbate the problem. When you find this plant in nature, please enjoy it there. Listed as threatened by the state of Florida. Grows in clumps. Unusual in that it thrives in high light, but needs moist soil.

Bloom can be long lasting relative to other early spring blooming trees -- as long as a month. Duration is dependent on temperature. Flowers grow directly from the trunk. Moderate-sized specimen tree.

Keep it if you have it.

Small specimen tree. Slow growing. Hedge.