South Florida Plants That Like the Hot Sun

Gardening in South Florida

• Colloquially, South Florida includes the counties and cities south of the line from Sarasota to Ft. Pierce. The naturally sandy soils or thin topsoils atop coral do not hold moisture long and require constant irrigation to keep many garden plants healthy. Plants growing in blazing full sun in the region need to be naturally resilient to the intense rays and heat. Both native and exotic plant species meet the challenge, and some species need moister garden soils to look their best in South Florida.

Herbaceous Plants

• A collective term to include all plants that lack woody trunks or stems, herbaceous plants act as ground covers or filler plants in contrived garden borders or in more naturalistic meadow-like settings. Native wildflowers that scoff at the South Florida sun include beach sunflower, coontie cycad, blanketflower, Tampa verbena, red sage, orange milkweed, prickly pear and Adam's needle. If you have wet soil in full sun, the scarlet and swamp hibiscuses and Florida mock grama grass are sound choices. African iris, aloe, dyckia and aechmea bromeliads, firecracker plant, society garlic and blue porterweed are exotic species that do well in full-sun settings.

Shrubs

• Shrubs that grow in the native sands near the beaches prove their tolerance to hot sun. Many full-sun shrubs tolerate the heat and light better if the soil is mulched by shade and soil remains moist, especially in May through October. Cocoplum, necklacepod, lignum-vitae, Cherokee bean, joewood, saw palmetto, tetrazygia and Walter's viburnum are native plants for sunny sites. Elderberry and needle palm grow well in wetter soils. Exotic shrubs for full sun include desert rose, crown of thorns, allamanda, bougainvillea, croton, Chinese juniper, cape leadwort, African daisy, Caribbean copper, candlebush, desert senna and cardboard palm.

Trees

• No South Florida landscape is complete without trees that provide shade. Native tree species gain favor since they naturally adapt to conditions and tend to show better resilience to tropical storm winds. Native trees for full-sun sites are West Indian mahogany, strangler fig, gumbo limbo, live and sand live oaks, yaupon holly, slash pine, bald cypress, stoppers, silver buttonwood, sea-grape and pond apple. Exotic trees such as black olive, silk floss tree, royal poinciana and Geiger tree make good choices, but the massive tropical ficus trees do not since they topple in hurricanes. Native palm "trees" for sun are royal, cabbage, key thatch, paurotis and buccaneer palms. Exotic palms that relish hot sun are coconut, zombie, foxtail, bismarck, blue latania, date, pindo and fishtail palms.