INFORMATION
• www.sfwmd.gov, the South Florida Water Management District website, has a wealth of information on drought and drought-tolerant plants. Click on Water Supply to learn about restrictions, water-saving tips and YardSmart Landscaping.• Waterwise South Florida Landscapes, a free Water Management District publication, features information on plants' and trees' growing and watering needs, salt tolerance, light requirements, mature size and growth rates. The District's website provides a link to obtain a copy.• www.regionalconservation.org features Natives for Your Neighborhood, an interactive guide to selecting plants appropriate to your ZIP Code.• www.solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu tackles sustainable living, from driving techniques for saving gas to selecting drought-tolerant plants.• Florida Gardener's Guide, Revised Edition, (McCubbin and Tasker, Cool Spring Press, $24.99) indicates drought-tolerant plants, companion plants, sun preferences and appeal to birds, bees and butterflies.• Native Florida Plants, Revised Edition, (Haehle and Brookwell, Taylor Trade, $29.99) discusses plant communities and culture, trees, shrubs and wildflowers.• Natural Florida Landscaping, (Walton and Schiller, Pineapple Press, $12.95) shows how to convert a suburban yard into a wildlife habitat.The South Florida Water Management District is considering making the twice-weekly limits placed on sprinkling your St. Augustine permanent. Workshops discussing the idea wind up at the end of the month.
One way to have your landscape thrive under such restrictions, which are currently in place, is to use drought-tolerant plants.
It's possible to select from a wide range of plants that contribute to the overall beauty of the garden as well as water savings. Think not only of how they can reduce water use, but also how they work to provide structure, shelter, color, habitat and a beautiful picture.
I used these guidelines to come up with the following dozen drought-tolerant plants.
The native live oak, I believe, is the best landscape tree, but I also wanted to include the lignum vitae for small size, toughness and those fabulous blue flowers.
Palms are a must in South Florida; they give us our special ambience. Cycads also grow here and while the coontie is native, I prefer the larger, showier Encephalartos.
White flowers are easily seen in twilight, so at least one white-flowering shrub should be included, and it's a plus that it's perfumed. But think about the hummingbirds and butterflies, and two more serve well.
Bromeliads add touches of bold color with little care. And there has to be an orchid in any garden, especially one as self-reliant as a Schomburgkia.
Here are the 12:
1. Quercus virginiana, the live oak, might well be the basis of a garden. A live oak can grow to 60 feet. By creating a high, dappled shade, it makes an ideal microclimate for ferns, aroids or bromeliads. It is host to a world of insects, birds and plants that grow on its long horizontal limbs.
Live oaks are thought to be slow-growing, and they are if compared to such exotics as tropical almond or African tulip or ficus. However, if properly established and fertilized during the first three or four years, it doesn't take long for a sapling to become a 15-footer.
2. Guaiacum sanctum, Lignum vitae, grows to 15 to 20 feet. Native to the Florida Keys, this remarkable plant has extremely dense wood that was used to build ships in World War II and, even earlier, for locks in the inland canal system.
The tree forms a rounded canopy of compound leaves and its flowers are purple-blue. Plant in full sun and provide excellent drainage.
3.Stemmadenia litoralis, from Central and South America, is a white-flowering shrub. ''It's the next big landscape plant,'' promises Mike Davenport, director of living collections and landscape gardens at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. It stays green all winter, likes full sun and well-drained soil. It grows to 15 or 20 feet. Plant Creations nursery in Homestead brags that it is one of the most beautiful ornamental plants in the world.
4. Senna mexicana var. chapmanii, Bahama senna. This is a pinelands and coastal strand native that stays small in sun (about 3 feet) and grows taller in shade (to 9 feet). It has compound leaves and its yellow flowers are attractive to sulfur butterflies.
5. Sophora tomentosa, necklace pod, grows to 15 feet. The yellow-flowering shrub has hairy or tomentose leaves that help retain moisture and reflect sun. The grayish form is from the West Indies; the greener form is from South Florida. Flowers are on terminal spikes and attract hummingbirds and butterflies. This is a shrub that grows wider than tall, and usually requires pruning.
6. Bulbine caulescens, a tough ground cover that provides winter colors of solid yellow or yellow and orange flowers. The plant is from South Africa. Davenport says bulbines can take irrigation or thrive without it. It has narrow, succulent leaves and the flowers are held on slender spikes.
7. Thrinax morrissii, Key thatch palm. These slender native palms are quite wonderful when grouped. It also is called brittle thatch. The fronds are circular and silvery on the undersides. There is no crown on the palm; the leaves emerge from the growing point. Plant this in full sun, as you would the other Thrinax or Coccothrinax palms. Then, wait many years for it to reach 10 or 15 feet. It can be used in small yards and in entryway gardens.
8. Encephalartos ferox, a cycad with magnificent red or orange cones (pictured on 1H). The leaves are rather holly-like, complete with sharp edges. (Ferox means ferocious.) Plant in full or part sun. Sometimes called the Zululand cycad, the plant grows in a wet/dry regimen, with rain in summer, similar to our own. The female plants have cones that are rounder and larger; male cones are narrower.
Two bromeliads for spots of brilliant color, in two sizes:
9. Neoregelia fireball, which is a small maroon plant when grown in full sun.
10. Aechmea blanchetiana 'Wally Berg,' a red-bronze cultivar of the orange A. blanchetiana.
The first is a plant that is incredibly versatile and can be grown in trees, on rocks, in rocky garden beds. It spreads on rhizomes and pups often. The Aechmea is a large landscape specimen that achieves a powerful color through full sun and some water stress. Michael's Bromeliads in Venice carries it; The Bromeliad Society of South Florida may be another source. Davenport is growing 'Wally Berg' on a slab of rock called a capstone. (Sparingly use Gorilla Glue to keep a bromeliad in place on rock.)
11. Yucca rostrata, a tree-like yucca that reaches about 15 feet. Most often it is a single-trunked plant and the blue-gray crown of leaves stand on end as if the plant has seen a ghost. Old leaves collapse onto the stem, forming a soft brown coat, or may be cut away. In the agave family, this plant is sometimes called the beaked yucca and comes from the American southwest and Mexico. To avoid bud rot caused by overwatering, make sure to provide fast drainage.
12. Schomburgkia tibicinis is an orchid that can be left to its own devices to create tall spikes of flowers every year at this time. Do nothing other than attach it to a tree or palm, and enjoy. Face it east for morning sun.
