Wildflower garden, groundcover

Specimen tree.

These species have a cold requirement. They should not be planted substantially south of their native ranges. Flower color varies from dark maroon to mixtures of green and brown. All trilliums are at least moderately uncommon in Florida; some are very rare. Please do not harvest from the wild. Late winter/early spring ephemeral wildflower. Retain and treasure if they occur on your site. Plant as a groundcover in a shady spot--but do not transplant from any place in the wild unless it is threatened by destruction.

Small specimen plant in wet areas.  Does well in bog gardens and rain gardens or bioswales.

Shade tree.

Understory tree, use as a background plant or screen.

Mostly a curiosity in the shade garden.

The distribution mimics the distribution of steepheads, a stream/valley system that originates in a very steep-headed ravine where the water seeps out of the ground to form a stream, and the headwall gradually moves uphill due to the water exiting the ground undermining it. Screen or specimen plant in shady wet settings.

Informal shady semi-shady gardens.

Shoreline stabilizer or plant as cover in a pond. Can tolerate wide water level fluctuations. Frequently used in marsh restoration and wetland creation projects.

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.

Benefits from controlled burns. There are contradictions in herbarium databases, and reliable observations in counties where there are no herbarium specimens. Probably native in low abundance in dry (xeric) native grasslands and open pinelands throughout the state. Makes a colorful contribution to a native plant meadow. Becomes darker (more purple) after pollination. When flowering, the stem needs support from surrounding plants. It is primarily a fall bloomer.

Very easily grown. Flowers are fairly small but very numerous. Plant on a trellis or fence.

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.

Rarely grown but of good potential for a dry native wildflower garden. Wildflower garden. When not flowering, the plant is a low-growing rosette of leaves that are white on the bottom. It flowers in the fall.

Depending on who you ask, there are two laurel oaks in Florida.  Q. laurifolia (swamp laurel oak) and Q. hemisphaerica (Darlington oak, sand laurel oak).  The taxonomists don't agree, and it appears that the two are distinctively different in north Florida but very much alike in southern and south Florida. Even if they are one species, this would be a ecotype that is more suited to drier settings. They are separated here because on is a wetland and floodplain plant, the other grows in dry uplands.  Some authors note that regardless of ID, they get planted without much regard for origin or drainage. Shade tree where fast growth is needed. Tardily deciduous.

This species is listed as invasive in Australia. Foundation plantings, small speciment plants. Of year-round interest since it has both blooms and fruits nearly all year.

Mass planting or specimen plant in moist areas. Best for informal gardens.

Can be used as an accent plant or grown in the mid-rear of the garden. Also suitable in wildflower gardens. Its broad tolerance of soil and moisture conditions make it a good plant for difficult places. More robust if grown in fertile soils.

Use as a specimen plant or understory tree. May be single or multi-stemmed.