[Step 1 Get to Know Your Yard][Step 2 Get the Water Right][Step 3 Right Plant,Right Place][Step 4 Designing for Wildlife][Step 5 Pest Management][Step 6 Reducing Stormwater Runoff]

Step 3 Right Plant, Right Place

Your Florida-friendly NatureScape is built on this foundation. Putting the right plant in the right location will save you time, money, resources and headaches in the long run. Pretty plants fill nurseries and garden centers, but you have to know which ones will do well once you bring them home.

Plant Selection

Without a doubt, the best part of landscaping is choosing the plants! Florida offers a bounty of native plant varieties that have adapted to our subtropical climate. With any plant you choose, knowing a little about them before you buy will help you get the most for your money. For example, decide how much care you want to give plants and choose accordingly. After all, you are custom designing a low-maintenance NatureScape to enhance your life.

To help you determine what plants should go where in your NatureScape, take another look at your site analysis. Full sun areas receive 6 hours, partial shade areas receive 3-6 hours, and full shade areas receive less than 3 hours of sunlight throughout the day. So, you will want to:

• Select a variety of low maintenance plants to reduce the need for supplemental water, fertilizers and pesticides Limit the amount of high maintenance plants, place them where they will have the most visual impact and group them together according to water needs. The key to efficient irrigation means knowing the watering requirements of each plant, and watering plants on the same watering schedule.
• Consider plants that provide wildlife cover, nesting habitat, and food.
• Diversity is the spice of NatureScapes. Choosing many different types of plants adds visual impact, provides wildlife habitat, and strengthens your NatureScape's overall pest resistance.

*NOTE: Don't be fooled by the appeal of fast growing plants -- these can require frequent pruning, which creates more clippings and yard waste. Slow growing plants often live longer, are healthier, and create less work.

Go Native! Typically, half of the plants in a NatureScape yard are native plants. 'Native' refers to plants that have been present in Florida since the arrival of Europeans in about 1500, and represent thousands of years of adaptation to the intense Florida environment. Native Florida plants tend to be drought tolerant, able to withstand strong winds, and pest resistant. They require little care, once established.

Click Here for an extensive native plant database that allows you to search by: plant common and scientific name; plant type (large tree, small tree, shrub, vine);sunlight needs (full sun, light shade, etc.); soil conditions; and whether the plant attracts wildlife.

Choose exotic plants wisely. Exotic plants come from other parts of the world and were introduced to Florida on purpose or accidentally. Many exotic plants will grow well but may require more fertilizer application, watering, and pest control than native plants. Some invasive species are prohibited in the state of Florida.
Here is another resource to help you select the right plants for your place: click here

Avoid Invasives. These plants are exotics gone bad. Invasive exotics take nutrients, water, sunlight and space from native plants. These fast-growers go wild in some places because boats, wind, water, birds, and other animals easily carry their seeds. They choke waterways, interrupting water flow in our stormwater control system. As they take over native plant territory, they reduce native wildlife habitat. Few Florida pests and diseases affect them. Some types of invasives are so aggressive that their sale is prohibited, however you may still find others in your local nursery. The high cost to taxpayers for governmental invasive plant control grows every year. If you have invasives in your yard now, pull them up by the roots and throw them away!

Click here to find out more how invasives impact our area. For a listing of invasives, click here

Avoid all invasive exotic plants