General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also wet to moist wildflower gardens.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts.
Description: Small to medium herbaceous wildflower.
Dimensions: Typically 10-15 inches in height. Taller than broad.
Growth Rate: Moderate.
Range:
Rare in South Carolina and southern Georgia south to Miami-Dade County and the Monroe County mainland. Not documented on barrier islands in Florida, but possibly historically present; it grows well at
Pan’s Garden in Palm Beach.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of suggested ZIP codes from South Florida north to southern Brevard, Osceola, Polk, and Pasco counties.
Map of ZIP codes with habitat recommendations from the Monroe County Keys north to Martin and Charlotte counties.
Habitats: Marshes and swamps.
Soils: Wet to moist, seasonally inundated organic, sandy or calcareous soils, with or without humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements: Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.
Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance: Low; salt wind may burn the leaves.
Drought Tolerance: Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought.
Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade.
Flower Color: Blue.
Flower Characteristics: Showy.
Flowering Season: Summer-fall.
Fruit: Inconspicuous capsule.
Comments: See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's
Flower Friday page.
