WATER NEEDS: Drought tolerant: normal rainfall is sufficient.  

USES: Valuable for its green compact foliage and handsome stalks of flowers as desert or tropical garden accent plants.  Since leaves are flexible their sharp points are not considered a threat to pets or children. 

RANGE: AL, MS, FL, GA and the Carolinas 

PROPAGATION: Seed  

POLLINATION: Pollination occurs naturally by wind and insects.   

SEED COLLECTION AND PROCESSING In late summer or early fall (August or September) seed pods dry on the stalks.  Watch them, and strip from the stalks before the capsules split and scatter seed.  Separate the seed from the capsules and they are ready for planting. 

PLANTING AND GROWING OFF

Seed may be planted in a deep pot in topsoil, but a spaded bed in the open is best.  Scatter seed on the surface of the soil, cover with 1’2” – 1” of sandy soil, compact, water and wait for sprouting. 

Leave seedlings in the bed until they are vigorous and have a good root system before potting.  Water and fertilize the small plants sparingly and wait until they make vigorous growth before planting in a permanent location.   

PESTS & DISEASES Insects very seldom attack Yucca.  The biggest danger is Rootrot which will invade the root crown if too much water is supplied.  Water sparingly, and only during periods of no rain. 

SIZE: 5’ – 6’  

FLOWERS: Flowers are tubular, white, 1” – 1 ½” long borne in an elongate panicle 18” – 24” in length, much longer and with more individual blossoms than flower spikes of A. pavia.  Flowers in May and early June after leaves develop. 

LEAVES: Deciduous, palmately compound with 5 leaflets.  Leaflets about 5” - 6” long, elliptic oblong or elliptic obovate. Smooth; deep green above, lighter below

with margins  finely serrate.  

LIGHT REQUIREMENT: Full sun to light shade is best.           

SOIL: Does best in deep topsoil over clay.  Tolerates sandy soils with high humus content, but will not tolerate wet sites.  

WATER NEEDS: Drought tolerant; normal rainfall is sufficient except after transplanting. 

USES: A shorter, bushier shrub than A. pavia blooming later and heavier.  Use in informal borders, in beds where perennials are needed and as single species groups under high tree canopy.  

RANGE: Northern FL, southern AL and MS 

PROPAGATION: Seed  

POLLINATION: Pollination occurs naturally by wind and insects.   

Species has pistils and stamens in the same flower

SEED COLLECTION AND PROCESSING

Seeds are usually single in a dehiscent skin, and are ¾” – 1 “ in diameter, brown in color and attached to the panicle where flowers were.  Strip them from the stalk by hand in late July to August when the skin splits, or pick up from ground if they have fallen.  No further processing is necessary before planting. 

PLANTING AND GROWING OFF

Plant seed in August or early September as they lose viability with drying.  Use a tray 3” – 4” deep, filing with 3” of topsoil scatter seed over soil, and cover with 1” of soil, firm, water and set aside to sprout. 

SIZE: Cluster of leaves 18”- 24”, flower spike to 6” 

FLOWERS: Flowers in summer, attached to loose virgate spike, greenish yellow, fragrant.  Perianth 18 mm – 24mm

its narrow tube twice the length of the erect lobes

LEAVES: Thick, fleshy leaves up to 2’ long, are entire or denticulate, arising from a thick fibrous-rooted crown and clustered at the base of the flower spike. 

LIGHT REQUIREMENT: Full sun is required.

SOIL: Dry sandy soil with minimum organic content is suitable for this species which is adapted to well drained sunny sites.  

WATER NEEDS: Drought tolerant: normal rainfall is sufficient.  

USES: Suitable for beach planting, and good for showy flower stalks and leaf form in xeriscape groupings of native grasses and Yucca spp. in home gardens and parks. 

RANGE: FL to TX, east to SC, VA, and north to OH, IN, IL and MO

PROPAGATION: Seed

POLLINATION: Pollination occurs naturally by wind and insects.

SEED COLLECTION AND PROCESSING

Strip seed capsules by hand from drying flower stalk in August or September.  Rub on a flat surface or on wire mesh to separate the black, semicircular flat seeds from the capsules.  Fan away trash and store seed in a paper bag.  No further processing is required. 

PLANTING AND GROWING OFF

Plant seed in seed in September or October a tray 3” – 4” deep, filing with 3” of sandy topsoil and 10% peat.  Scatter seed over soil, and cover with 1” of soil, firm, water and set aside to sprout.  The best method to induce sprouting is to set the tray in the open, fully exposed to sun and rain.  In spring transplant the seedlings to pots when leaves are 2” – 3” long. – 21 – 30 days.  Carry plants in sprouting tray until April, then transplant to pots.

PESTS & DISEASES

 SIZE: To 12’  

FLOWERS: Flowers are violet or purple, crowded in terminal clusters of spiciform raceme.  Calyx is inversely conical, 5-toothed, persistent.  Standard wrapped around stamens and styles.  Stamens number 10. 

LEAVES: Deciduous, odd-pinnate; long-petioled, 13 – 35 leaflets per petiole.  Individual leaflets are       HOW MANY INCHES IS 1 TO 6 CM

LIGHT REQUIREMENT: Full sun is required for good form and flowering.

SOIL: Tolerates many soils, including fairly wet sites along margins of watercourses, or sandy edges of intermittent ponds.  Deep topsoil with high humus content over clay subsoil produces vigorous plants. 

WATER NEEDS: Drought tolerant; normal rainfall is sufficient except after transplanting. 

USES: A colorful, fine-textured shrub for use in mixed borders and informal hedges for its unusual flower color.  Successful near garden pools.  

RANGE: FL to LA, north to KS, MO, MI, WI, WVA, PA, OH, NY and New England 

PROPAGATION: Seed  

POLLINATION: Pollination occurs naturally by wind and insects.     

SEED COLLECTION AND PROCESSING

Seeds are in 1 or 2 seeded legume pod.  Strip pods from the branches by hand in October.  Rub on a flat surface under your hand to separate seed from pods. Collect seed for planting; no further preparation is necessary. 

PLANTING AND GROWING OFF

Plant seed in seed in one gallon pots if there are only a few, or use a tray 3” – 4” deep, filing with 3” of topsoil scatter seed over soil, and cover with 1” of soil, firm, water and set aside in the open to allow sun, rain and natural chilling to bring about sprouting.  Carry plants in sprouting containers until 6” high, then transplant to single pots.

PESTS & DISEASES

SIZE: 8’ – 12’  

FLOWERS: Plant is dioecious. Conspicuous flowers in autumn on female plants, yellowish in color but with showy white pappus giving the plant a cloud-like appearance. Flower heads pedunculate or sessile in 3 to 5 glomerules. 

LEAVES: Evergreen, alternate a whitish green and somewhat fleshy.  Leaves elliptic to obovate, ¾” to 1 ½” long and about 1” wide, coarsely serrate, mostly toward apex.  Plant guttates through glands on underside of leaves and frequently salt crystals are obvious under a hand lens. 

LIGHT REQUIREMENT:  Full sun is best.           

SOIL: Tolerates wide range of soils, but prospers on deep topsoil over clay or limestone.  Does very well in muddy salty soils near the coast and salt marshes or in sandy soils over a high water table.  

WATER NEEDS: Most frequently occurs in marshes, ditches or pond margins where water is present or near the surface.  On drier sites, normal rainfall is sufficient.  

USES: A good coastal plant, its white and green colors are attractive in fall when few shrubs bloom.  Baccharis is especially attractive planted near Yaupon or other native Hollies, which produce red during its flowering season. Use as an accent or a drift planting for a “wild” look in a wide vista. 

RANGE: Coastal Plain and outer Piedmont from VA south to FL, west to AL and MS 

PROPAGATION: Seed  

POLLINATION: Pollination occurs naturally by wind and insects.     

SEED COLLECTION AND PROCESSING

Seed is in the flower heads at the base of the pappi.  Seeds are lustrous tan, cylindrical, 10ribbed, small (1.2mm INCHES ???????Collect seed from tips of twigs when the wind begins to scatter them in mid-October.   Rub on a flat surface or on wire mesh to break up pappus and separate seed. Fan away trash and store seed in a paper bag.  No further processing is required. 

PLANTING AND GROWING OFF

Plant seed between November and January in a tray 3” – 4” deep, filling with 3” of topsoil.  Scatter seed over soil, and cover with ½” - 1” of soil, firm, water and set aside to sprout. Sprouting should take place in 20 – 30 days. Carry plants in sprouting tray until they are 5” – 6” high (April or May) then transplant to pots.

PESTS & DISEASES

SIZE: 5’ – 6’  

FLOWERS: Flowers in early summer, very small, pale pinkish lilac, in axillary cymes clustered along the stems.  Calyx 5-toothed, petals united and 5-lobed.  Knots of violet berries that follow in late summer are showier than the blooms. 

LEAVES: Deciduous, 3” – 4” long and 2” – 3” wide, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, crenate to serrate and scurfy stellate pubescent beneath like the stems. Leaves have a strong odor when crushed. 

LIGHT REQUIREMENT: Full sun produced smaller, more compact plants, which may fruit heavily. Prefers light to medium shade in open stands of trees, and will even prosper under Live Oaks.           

SOIL: Tolerates many soils, including light sandy soil of the Coastal Plain.  Grows thickly and resides easily on deep topsoil over clay subsoil.  

WATER NEEDS: Drought tolerant: normal rainfall is sufficient once established. 

USES: As a butterfly plant and for its lovely fall fruit clusters, but self-seeds so readily that it should be sited in large areas where spreading is not a problem. 

RANGE: Southeastern states: FL north to VA, NC & SC, west to TN, MS and AL

PROPAGATION: Seed  

POLLINATION: Pollination occurs naturally by wind and insects.     

SEED COLLECTION AND PROCESSING

Seed clusters of 50 or more ripen in October.  Strip from plant by and, place in a tray and allow to dry, then rub between your hands to break the clusters and skin of individual berries, fan away trash and prepare to plant.  No further processing is required. 

PLANTING AND GROWING OFF

Plant seed in seed in a tray 3” – 4” deep, filing with 3” of topsoil.  Scatter seed over soil, and cover with 1” of soil, firm, water and set aside to sprout – 21 – 30 days.  Carry plants in sprouting tray until April, then transplant to pots.

PESTS & DISEASES

SIZE: To 8’  

FLOWERS:  Flowers in summer, numerous, small, yellowish with long protruding styles, and grouped into compact globular heads 1” – 1 ½” in diameter.    They are scented and attractive to butterflies. 

LEAVES: Deciduous, simple, opposite, or occasionally in whorls of 3 or 4.  Leaf blades are oblong-oval, elliptical or ovate, 3” – 7” long with margins entire, bases rounded or cuneate, apices acute. 

LIGHT  REQUIREMENT: Full sun is required.

SOIL:  Wet, muddy, sandy soils high in humus are best.  Primarily occurs on pond margins, or in the center of intermittent ponds. Low swales with high water table also are suitable. 

WATER NEEDS: Requires much water. 

USES: Use in landscaping is limited to open moist or wet areas, or beside ponds.  Foliage and flowers are attractive and desirable, growing as they do where few plants will survive.  Crooked limbs make an interesting silhouette even after leaves are shed in the fall.  

RANGE: FL west to Mexico, north to Quebec, NY, Ontario along river valleys and in the Coastal Plain 

PROPAGATION: Seed  

POLLINATION: Pollination occurs naturally by wind and insects.     

SEED COLLECTION AND PROCESSING

Seed ripens in the fall.  In late September or October strip the round seed balls from the bush.  I necessary let dry until they crumble easily.  Break up seed balls on wire mesh or by rubbing between the hands.  Fan Away trash from seeds and they are ready for planting. 

PLANTING AND GROWING OFF

Plant seed in seed in a tray 4” deep, filing with 3” of topsoil.  Scatter seed over soil, and cover with 1” of soil, firm, water and set aside to sprout – 21 – 30 days.  Carry plants in sprouting tray until spring, then transplant to pots using a soil mixture containing 20% peat.

PESTS & DISEASES

SIZE: To 4’ occasionally reaches 8’ in tropical climates.

FLOWERS: Flowers in terminal inflorescence on the topmost 10”-12” of the dark red usually leafless prickly stalks arising from crown.  Inflorescence has few to many papilionaceous flowers; calyx glabrous, tube campanulate, truncate, the standard scarlet, stamen diadelphous, stigma capitate, ovary and stipe pubescent.

LEAVES: Deciduous, pinnately trifoliate; leaflets thinly chartaceous, glabrous, occasionally prickly beneath, hastately 3-lobed to widely deltoid.  Fruit is a legume 8” – 10” long, round, ½” in diameter constricted between seed. Matures to dark brown, splitting to show scarlet seed.  Sometimes mature specimens produce 2 or 3 blossom stalks after seed stalks.

LIGHT                       

REQUIREMENT: Full sun is best, but plant tolerates light shade.           

SOIL: Tolerates many soils; deep topsoil over clay or deep sand with silt are both excellent.  

WATER NEEDS: Drought tolerant, thanks to a large tuber underground.  Normal rainfall is sufficient.  

USES: A fine species for infertile droughty sands of the seaside garden, or as an accent in beds and drifts of annual wildflowers.  Erythrina goes dormant annually, and above ground stems and foliage can be removed.  The underground tuber grows larger each year, and older specimens will put up multiple flower stalks. 

RANGE: Mainly on the sandy Coastal Plain of GA, FL, AL and MS 

PROPAGATION: Seed  

POLLINATION: Pollination occurs naturally by wind and insects.     

SEED COLLECTION AND PROCESSING

Seed pods form in May and ripen from late July to September.  When the pod splits to expose the red seed in August, strip from the stalk and shell out the bright red beans.  No further processing is necessary before planting. 

PLANTING AND GROWING OFF

Seed should be planted in a deep pot (12”) to permit the tuber to develop early.  Fill the planting container with 9” of topsoil.  Scatter up to 50 seed on the surface and cover with 1 ½” – 2” of additional soil, firm, water and set aside to sprout.  Seed will sprout in 15 – 30 days.  Carry seedlings in the planting pot until August of the first growing season, then plant the tubers in one gallon plastic pots.  The next season they can be planted.

PESTS & DISEASES

SIZE: 6’ – 8’  

FLOWERS: Flowers in spring, very small and fairly inconspicuous. 5 pale green petals are widely ovate, with 5 stamens. Flowers are terminal or sub terminal on axillary peduncles about ½ the length of the leaves.  Seed capsules are transversely ellipsoid and about 1” in diameter.  Surface is rosy red, muricate or warty, splitting when ripe to expose 5 bright orange red seeds, giving the plant another common name: “Hearts A Bustin’ “.

LEAVES: Deciduous, opposite, 3” – 4” long and 1” – 1 1/2” wide, lanceolate to ovate, cuspidate to acuminate, crenate to serrulate on margins.  Stem and twigs have green bark.
LIGHT REQUIREMENT: Prefers light to medium shade.  Deep shade produces sparse foliage and few flowers.

SOIL: Tolerates many soils, although deep topsoil with clay or limestone subsoil is best.  Tolerates sandy soil with high humus content, and wet sandy stream banks. 

WATER NEEDS: Normal rainfall is sufficient once established, but water consistently for one year after transplanting. 

USES: Strawberry Bush is unusual for its green bark, rosy red capsule that looks like a flattened strawberry, and dangling bright red seed.  Use in home gardens as a conversation plant near garden pool or in informal borders and hedges.  Birds relish the seed. 

RANGE: Carolinas, TN, GA, FL, AL, MS 

PROPAGATION: Seed  

POLLINATION: Pollination occurs naturally by wind and insects. 

SEED COLLECTION AND PROCESSING

In late September or October, the seed are conspicuous and ripe.  Strip the seed capsules from the branches by hand and separate seed from capsules.  Let seed dry for a couple of weeks.  No other processing is required. 

PLANTING AND GROWING OFF

About November 1, plant seed in a 4” deep tray, filing with 3” of topsoil.  Scatter seed over soil, and cover with 1” of soil, firm, water and set aside to sprout – 14 -21 days.  Carry plants in sprouting tray through the winter and transplant to pots in May or June when seedlings are 6” – 8” tall.

PESTS & DISEASES

SIZE: 3’        CHECK THIS ONE 

FLOWERS: Flowers are in densely packed racemes clustered in short terminal panicles.  Flowers are larger in P. Marina. Calyx of individual blossoms is deeply 5-parted, its thick-edged ovate lobes valvate in the bud.  Corolla ovoid-urceolate, 5-toothed.  Stamens 10, anther-locules each with a deflexed awn on the back at the junction with the filament.  Capsule globose, not thickened at sutures, seeds scobiform. 

LEAVES: Evergreen, coriaceous, broad, lanceolate-oblong, acute or acuminate at apex, margins ciliate-serrulate. 

LIGHT REQUIREMENT: Full sun to light shifting shade is best.

SOIL: Deep sandy soil with good humus content is required for this species of the lower Coastal Plain.  

WATER NEEDS: Drought tolerant; normal rainfall is sufficient except after transplanting. 

USES: Makes fine low beds or drifts due to numerous flowers.  Effective mixed with wildflowers such as Liatris and Kalmia hirsuta. 

RANGE: Carolinas, GA, FL, AL, MS, most frequent on low sandy plains. 

PROPAGATION:  Seed

POLLINATION: Pollination occurs naturally by wind and insects.     

SEED COLLECTION AND PROCESSING   

Seeds are in small ericaceous capsules at ends of stem and branches.  In October strip by hand from the plant into a receptacle.  Spread on newspaper in a sunny place until all of most capsules have split.  Shake seed onto paper and collect in a container.  Return unopened capsules to paper and roll them under a glass jar to fracture.  Screen through fine wire mesh to separate seed from trash.  No further processing is necessary. 

PLANTING AND GROWING OFF

Fill a tray 4” deep, with 3” of sandy topsoil scatter seed over soil, and cover with about ½” of soil, firm, water and set aside to sprout.  Seed should sprout in 14 – 21 days.  Carry seedlings through the winter in the tray.  When they are 2” -6” high, usually by May, plant in pots.                         

PESTS & DISEASES

SIZE: To 20’ 

FLOWERS: Flowers small and green in terminal cymes on upper two nodes of branches.  Calyx is 5-lobed, lobes lanceolate, slightly longer than the tubes.  Corolla green mottled maroon; stamens 5, exserted.  As with a Poinsettia, at each flower cyme one (or two) showy, large (4”-5”) pink bract or modified leaf occurs, giving the appearance of a large-petaled flower. 

LEAVES: Deciduous, opposite, rough textured, 6” – 7” long and 3”-3 ½” wide, ovate to elliptic. Petioles are connected by a narrow, glabrous, stipular line. 
LIGHT REQUIREMENT: Species needs full sun.           

SOIL: Sandy loam with high humus content and good drainage is best, although it occurs frequently in wet sites and will tolerate short term inundation when mature.   

WATER NEEDS: Drought tolerant: normal rainfall is sufficient once established. 

USES: Effective as a feature or specimen plant near garden pool or natural wet seep, but in sun.  Species makes an impressive display of rosy pink colored bracts against light green foliage in May or June.  Plant has a natural quinaid compound, hence its name Fever Tree.

RANGE: SC, GA and FL  

PROPAGATION: Seed  

POLLINATION: Pollination occurs naturally by wind and insects.   

The species is difficult but rewarding, once you get vigorous plants.

Plant seed in seed in November in a 4” deep tray, filing with 3” of sandy loam or sand mixed with 10% peat.  Scatter seed over soil, and cover with ½” of soil, firm, water and set aside to sprout – 14 to 21 days. 

Carry plants in sprouting tray until early spring, protecting from cold with plastic shroud and from fungus with Dithane spray.  Transplant into pots of sandy soil mix.  Seedlings will grow vigorously.  Water sparingly, treating soil with a drench of ½ teaspoon of Subdue in a gallon of water.  Use Subdue drench again when summer showers come. 

PESTS & DISEASES

 SIZE: 4’ – 5’ tall; forming colonies 

FLOWERS: Flowers are perfect, monoecious, clustered on branchlets from a stout central stalk which is never higher than the leaves.  Sepals 2mm ??petals 3-5 mm long; 6 stamens; stigma and style are solitary.  

LEAVES: Leaves evergreen, to 3’ in diameter, palmately divided into non-filamentose segments; midrib absent.  These “fans” are on stout petioles armed on both sides with sharp saw tooth edge from central bud to leaf margin. 

LIGHT REQUIREMENT: Full sun is best, but colonies frequently grow even under Live Oak tree canopy.           

SOIL: Sandy soil with some humus over a limestone base is a normal habitat, but Saw Palmetto will persist on deep topsoil over clay on upland margins of the Coastal Plain.  

WATER NEEDS:Species is drought tolerant due to extensive underground stem system. Normal rainfall is sufficient.  

USES: Valuable for its salt tolerance, and can be used in beachfront gardens and groupings for a tropical effect.  Maintenance free and good for foliage effects and for soil stabilization anywhere on sandy infertile Coastal Plain soils.   

RANGE: AL, MS, FL, GA and the Carolinas, primarily on the Coastal Plain. 

PROPAGATION: Seed  

POLLINATION: Pollination occurs naturally by wind and insects.   

SEED COLLECTION AND PROCESSING

Fruits are subglobose drupes ripening in late summer and fall.  When their color is more yellow than green, strip them from the stalks into a bucket.  Spread them in an airy place to dry, and when pulp splits abrade on stout wire mesh to remove pulp and scarify seed.  Seed are then ready to plant. 

PLANTING AND GROWING OFF

Plant seed in an 8” – 10” deep box with sandy topsoil.  Cover with 1” of topsoil and set aside to sprout.  Leave seed in the soil for at least two growing seasons to allow root development. 

A better method is to spade up a deep bed in sandy soil and scatter seed on soil, firm and water.  Keep seed and young sprouts moist and fertilize lightly but frequently after sprouting until they develop a robust root system.  Survival of young seedlings will depend on a strong root system before transplanting into permanent positions.  Growth is slow.                     

PESTS & DISEASES

SIZE:  8’ – 10’  

FLOWERS:  White blossoms in small drooping raceme-like clusters terminating branchlets appear in spring.  Calyx is 5-parted, lobes erect, whitish, petals 5, erect and spatulate.  pistil of three carpels united in the axis, their long styles lightly cohering.  Capsules are large “bladders” inflated 3-locular, with locules containing 1-4 bony seed.   

LEAVES:  Deciduous, compound, opposite pinnate with 3 or 5 serrate leaflets, elliptic to ovate, acuminate.  The terminal leaflet is long-stalked.  Leaves are light green on greenish striped branches.

LIGHT REQUIREMENT:  Light to medium shade suits this margin or understory tree.           

SOIL: Deep loamy soils of streamside slopes with clay or limestone subsoils are best.  Will do well in sandy alluvial soils on pond or swamp margins. 

WATER NEEDS: Likes moist soils on sideslopes of watercourses, but normal rainfall is sufficient.  

USES: A rare and unique species grown as a pleasant curiosity or botanical oddity.  It is not conspicuous, but may be grown for its striped bark and open effect in a group of natives beside a small pool or in other intimate landscape settings. 

RANGE: Quebec to MN in north, southward to AL, AR, OK, GA, NC, SC, and north FL 

PROPAGATION: Seed  

POLLINATION: Pollination occurs naturally by wind and insects.   

SEED COLLECTION AND PROCESSING

Seeds ripen in August and September.   Strip seed bladders with locules from tips of branches.  Let dry and rub between hands to separate paper-like trash from seed. No further processing is required. 

PLANTING AND GROWING OFF

Plant seed between November and January in a tray 3” – 4” deep, filling with 3” of topsoil.  Scatter seed over soil, and cover with ½” - 1” of soil, firm, water and set aside to sprout. Sprouting should take place in 21 – 30 days. Carry plants in sprouting tray until spring, then transplant to 1 gal. pots.

PESTS & DISEASES