Flowering Plants for Nebraska & Florida

Yellow Lady's Slipper Orchid

• Look anywhere in Nebraska to find this distinctive perennial flowering plant blooming from April to August. Small, creamy- to golden-yellow slipper-shaped flowers bloom singly or in pairs at the end of the stem. Two fused sepals form the bottom of the slipper. Three narrow, long, purple-brown to yellow-green petals hang down from above making slightly twisted shoestrings. The yellow lady's slipper orchid prefers partial shade and wet to slightly dry, sandy loam, loamy soil. It reaches a height of 2 1/2 feet.

Illinois Bundleflower

• Single or multiple stems of Illinois bundleflower rise from a central base, reaching up to 3 feet tall, occasionally 5 feet. The yellow-green to medium-green, deciduous leaflets fold in half if they're touched or when it's a clear, sunny day. Small, green-white, ball-shaped flowers bloom from May to September after it rains. Decorative bundles of flat seedpods follow the flowers. Illinois bundleflowers prefer loamy, moist, fertile soils in full sun to dappled shade. It tolerates heat, cold and slight drought, but doesn't grow well in clay or coarse, sandy soil. They grow in both Nebraska and Florida according to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center website.

Lantana

• The lantana's tiny flowers come in colors such as hot-pink, orange, creamy- to pure-white, yellow and red and bloom year-round in tropical climates. They only bloom during the summer and fall in northern Florida, where the plant can die when the temperature falls to 28 F. It's an evergreen, tropical shrub with the ability to climb like a vine and surpass its usual shrub height of 6 feet.

  Lantana isn't picky about soil type as long as the soil is well-drained in full sun to partial shade and is highly drought-resistant. It's a fast-growing favorite of butterflies, able to grow on the coast and handle the high heat and humidity of a Florida summer. Lantana has no serious pests or disease problems according to the Floridata website.

Florida Anisetree

• While the Florida anisetree may not be the most pleasantly scented plant, it makes a statement. It's a large shrub to small tree with lush, broad-leaved, evergreen foliage and numerous slender petals on the bright-red to maroon-colored flowers that bloom in April and May. Anisetree is so named because of the scent of anise that's released when you crush the foliage.

  It reaches a height of 6 to 10 feet but no more. The dark-green, shiny foliage measures up to 6 inches long and 2 inches wide. Plant Florida anisetree in well-drained, fertile soil where it's in partial to full shade. It tolerates full sun if it's kept well watered.