Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

The herbarium specimen from Polk County almost certainly has a wrong location.  Lithia is in Hillsborough County and the most likely translation of a wrongly written latitude and longitude is also in Hillsborough County -- but the exact location would have been agricultural in 1962. Hedges, back borders. Blooms in summer.

Red/orange fall color is excellent. Leaves have three separate shapes: ovoid, tri-lobed, or mitten-shaped (left or right). Mature trees tend to have fewer lobed leaves. Subject to laurel wilt disease.  Please be careful not to move firewood or dead wood around.  Best not planted in areas where laurel wilt is present. A relatively small tree that often forms thickets. Best used in informal settings.

Salt tolerance has not been studied but it has been recorded (in New England) in salt marshes, suggesting tolerance of at least brackish water and likely tolerance of some salt spray. Information is lacking regarding pollination for the species. However, the family exhibits flowers that are hermaphrodite, dioecious, or gynodioecious (fairly commonly), and is most often pollinated by insects, (bees, butterflies & moths, or flies).  Also has cleistogamous flowers,so self pollination may also occur(Collins 1976 as cited in New England Native Plant Trust, 2002). Wildflower garden. It blooms early before most of the other wildflowers.

Very thorny. In the northern parts of its range, a thornless cultivar is planted. Specimen tree. To avoid insect issues, best not to plant in large numbers.

Trellis or fence

This plant is considered to be Threatened in Florida. Please preserve in the landscape and acquire new plants in an environmentally sound manner (seed or nursery-grown plants). Good as a buffer plant. Could be used as an informal hedge.

Specimen plant, typically forms clumps of stems,the young fan-shaped fronds hide the principal stems. The lower fronds can be removed so that the trunks can be clearly seen. Sometimes used as a street tree.

Use as a small specimen shrub in moist areas. Can also be used in floodplains.

Moist wildflower garden.

Litsea aestivalis is listed as Endangered by the State of Florida.  Since that listing, the laurel wilt disease has come to Florida, and is known to kill this species.   It is likely best to plant this plant only if the stock is known to be disease free, and only if planting it is not likely to provide new hosts for the disease.  As with any Endangered species, please acquire only from reputable nurseries with appropriate licences to grown and sell this species. The documented range of this species suggests that the occurrence is sparse, but fairly broad in the northern half of Florida.  It is also a plant that is easily overlooked and that may have a wider range than that suggested by documentation from herbarium specimens given that much of its habitat has likely been eliminated by forestry practices.  It is also probably that the range is becoming sparser due to laurel wilt. Wetland areas where the goal is to attract birds.

Some literature sources suggest that this species may have some salt tolerance as it apparently grows along the upper edges of some salt marshes, but so far as we have seen recorded, not in Florida. Moist/wet wildflower garden.

Informal shady semi-shady gardens.

This is one of Florida's most showy and most under-appreciated wildflowers. Look for it along disturbed roadsides in mid-late winter and early spring. This is a personal favorite of one of the authors -- it grows and bloom early and attracts lots of insects.  The only issue is the prickles, so I wear gloves when weeding around it.  It reseeds readily so long as there is good sun and  bare ground where the seeds land. Don't let the name fool you, this is a Florida native. Wildflower garden. Roadside wildflower areas. This plant blooms from late winter into spring displaying its large flowers when little else is blooming in the garden.

Flowers tend to appear in spring or after a significant rainfall. Otherwise inconspicuous. Small wildflower or plant in with other low groundcovers. Foliage is very fine and the plant is inconspicuous except when in bloom.

Listed as Endangered by the State of Florida. Please acquire in an environmentally conscientious manner. Retain in the natural landscape if present. Specimen tree or screening plant.

Choose a species that grows naturally in your area. Wildflower garden. Rarely grown, mostly small wildflowers. Plant near the front of the garden so that they will be seen.

Natural landscapes including meadows and butterfly gardens.

Coreopsis is the State wildflower. Cultivated flower beds, wildflower gardens, meadows, and butterfly gardens.

This is a wetland plant. It is rarely grown, but it has potential in appropriate sites. Specimen plant or background screen for wet places.

The range of Prunus serotina includes most of eastern North America as far north as southern Canada.  It extends west into Texas and there are spotty occurrences as far west as Arizona.  In Florida, the range appears to be continuous as far south as the central peninsula after which it disappears, a pattern generally associated with temperature.  This species should grow well down to the central peninsula. Some people consider this to be a weed tree.  This author has it in my "field" where it is thriving and very welcome.  It is an early successional tree, but not a problem plant.  The tree lis an important component of deciduous forests in north Florida and eastern North America. Shade tree. Useful for informal reforestation of old grove land.