The Best Plants for Hedges in Southwest Florida

Overcoming Ficus Hedges

• All across the southern tip of Florida, the weeping fig (Ficus benjamina) grows as a meticulously sheared hedge. Although widely common, inexpensive and extremely fastgrowing, fig hedges remain a poor choice for Southwest Florida. The roots of the fig become massive and spreading, uplifting roads, sidewalks and making maintaining underground utilities difficult. University of Florida extension agents urge the public to avoid fig hedges for many reasons, mainly because they grow to become large trees and pruning to keep them small is so labor intensive. Figs also aren't native, succumb to thrips and ficus whitefly, and are easily toppled by tropical storms and hurricane winds.

The Florida-Friendly Concept

• Florida's subtropical climate and international shipping commerce makes it vulnerable to exploitation from exotic, non-native animal, insect and plant species. One of the precepts of the Florida-Friendly Landscape is growing plants that benefit native wildlife and survive on natural Southwest Florida soils and climatic conditions. Therefore, the best hedges are those that are not on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council's list as invasive plants, but often are native or exotic but drought tolerant and not an uncontrollable weed.

Native Plants for Hedges

• Native evergreen shrubs or small trees recommended for Southwest Florida include the Jamaican caper (Capparis cynophallophora), fiddlewood (Citharexylum fruticosum), Simpson's stopper (Myrcianthes fragrans), Walter's viburnum (Viburnum obovatum), Florida privet (Forestiera segregata), Spanish stopper (Eugenia foetida), silver buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus), spicewood (Calyptranthes pallens), pigeonplum (Coccoloba diversifolia) and seagrape (Coccoloba uvifera). Contact your local country Cooperative Extension office for precise recommendations, as some native plants, such as the seagrape, do not grow well where frosts occur.

Exotic Hedge Species

• Mike Malloy and Doug Caldwell of the Collier County Cooperative Extension office don't recommend the native firebush as a hedge since it grows too tall and often loses leaves in winter. However, they do favor the non-native smooth firebush (Hamelia patens var. glabra) since it is evergreen, tolerates pruning better and matures to shorter heights more appropriate for hedging. Other non-native shrubs good for hedges in Southwest Florida include Texas sage (Leucophyllum frutescens), Awabuki viburnum (Viburnum awabuki), copperleaf (Acalypha wilkesiana), croton (Codiaeum variegatum), shrubby Chinese podocarpus (Podocarpus macrophylla) and broadleaf podocarpus (Nageia nagi). Again, contact local Cooperative Extension offices for specific recommendations based on your county's soil and winter temperatures.