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Florida Garden Select

New for 2012


Beach Sunflower

Common Name: Beach Sunflower

Beach Sunflower

Photo Courtesy of:
Leu Gardens
Botanical Name: Helianthus debilis
Hardiness Zone: 8-11
Height and Spread: 12" - 24" tall
Classification: native ground cover
Landscape Use: ground cover, borders, mass planting, edging, wall cascade -- best for coastal locations or for sryer inland sites Characteristics: Beach sunflower is a native, spreading perennial that has attractive, small, sunflower-like flower heads throughout the year. It's leaves are sand-papery coarse and heart shaped. It thrives in full sun and is drought tollerant and very salt tollerant. As a quick grower, this plant fills an area quickly and adds charm with its petite blooms and is especially useful on banks and slopes on beachfronts and beach walkways. In North Florida this plant will die down in winter and regrow in Spring. Two subspecies occur naturally on beaches and dunes from southeast Texas to the east coast of Florida. A rugged beauty, this plant will perform well, once established, in areas not regularly irrigated.
Characteristics: N/A
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Drift Series Rose

Common Name: Drift Series Rose Drift Series Rose
Photo Courtesy of:

Conard-Pyle
Botanical Name: Rosa x 'Drift' series
Hardiness Zone: 5-10
Height and Spread: 18" - 24" H X 2" - 3" W
Classification: miniature shrub
Landscape Use: mass planting, borders, perennial beds, small gardens, color accent, containers, ground cover
Characteristics: Answering the need for very small roses for groundcovers and containers is the Rosa 'Drift' series. Their performance in hot weather makes them well-suited for Florida's conditions. They are self-cleaning, easy to grow, proficient bloomers that are good in masses and are both drought and disease tolerant once established in the landscape.
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Mule Palm

Common Name: Mule Palm Mule Palm
Photo Courtesy of:

Harry P. Leu Gardens
Botanical Name: x Butiagrus nabonnandii
Hardiness Zone: 8A-11
Height and Spread: 20' - 40'
Classification: palm tree
Landscape Use: specimen, groupings, xeric garden, avenues
Characteristics: A hybrid palm created by crossing the Butia capitata and the Syagrus romanzoffiana, the mule palm adds a cold-hardy tropical flair and is well-suited for North Florida's climate as it's cold-hardy. The fronds are characteristically curvaceous and have a lush green appearance. This palm is sterile thus the name 'Mule Palm' and exhibit hybrid vigor. It tolerates a range of soil types from clay to sand. As with most palms, good drainage is an important factor in it's ability to thrive. The trees grow well in coastal areas and is salt water tolerate and cold hardy.
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Pond Cypress

Common Name: Pond Cypress Pond Cypress
Botanical Name: Taxodium ascendens
Hardiness Zone: 5-10
Height and Spread: 30' - 50' tall,
but can reach 70' - 80'
Classification: coniferous tree
Landscape Use: specimen, street tree, lake edge
Characteristics: Strikingly similar to bald cypress but more narrow and upright and with smaller cones and paler gray bark, pond cypress has bright green scale-like branchlets. The trunk is generally stout on the bottom even in younger trees and is thought to provide support and stability for its typically wet habitat. Pond cypress tend to produce fewer cypress knees than bald cypress. Cypress knees are woody projections above the water set by the roots of the tree. In the fall, the brachlets turn an attractive light pale brown before dropping. Pond cypress' small seeds are used by some birds and squirrels. Pond cypress is drought tolerant once established and is a handsome tree for large areas or pond areas where a native look is desired.
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Rosemary

Common Name: Rosemary Rosemary
Botanical Name: Rosmarinus officinalis
(prostratus and upright varieties)
Hardiness Zone: 8-11
Height and Spread: Up to 12"
Classification: short-lived perennial herb
Landscape Use: mainly containers, also as a border or in mass plantings, hanging baskets, herb gardens
Characteristics: Ideal for both ornamental and culinary use, rosemary has very fragrant, edible leaves. It flowers profusely in full sun with a range in color from white and pink to the more common shades of bluish purple. Good air circulation is important for this plant's success. It tolerates salt spray and attracts bees and butterflies. It is native to the Mediterranean and therefore used frequently in it's regional dishes.
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Slender Weaver's Bamboo

Common Name: Slender Weaver's Bamboo Slender Weaver’s Bamboo
Botanical Name: Bambusa textilis var. gracilis
Hardiness Zone: 8-11
Height and Spread: 20' - 30' tall.
Culms grow to 1.3" thick.
Classification: ornamental grass/bamboo
Landscape Use: specimen, large hedge, screen, wind break
Characteristics: This fast-growing, graceful bamboo is a tight clumper with an upright growth habit and exposed lower culms. As it grows, gracilis produces many tightly spaced canes. It has a delicate appearance, yet superior wind and hurrican resistence. It can easily be groomed into a handsome hedge. The foliage remains full from top to bottom giving it a tidy appearance. It is easy to grow and maintain and requires little care once established. It has a small footprint even at maturity. This is a winner most notably for the home landscape.
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Sun Parasol Mandevilla

Common Name: Sun Parasol Mandevilla Sun Parasol Mandevilla
Photo Courtesy of:

Suntory
Botanical Name: Mandevilla x 'Sun Parasol' series
Hardiness Zone: 10-11
Height and Spread: 6' - 8' tall
Classification: tropical and cold-tender perennial, vine
Landscape Use: accent, container, color splash, on trellis as a climber, tropical garden
Characteristics: Bred for it's exceptional, velvety flowers which have a rich color and last longer than other Mandevilla, 'Sun Parasol,' once established, are undemanding and require minimal care. Use in full sun pr part shade. They are recognized for excellent vigor, weather tollerance, long bloom cycles, disease resistence and ease of growing. Some 'Sun Parasol' blooms top out at a whopping 6 inches!
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