Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations.
Availability:
Grown by one or two native plant nurseries in South Florida.
Description:
Medium to large short-lived herb with shiny red berries.
Dimensions:
Typically 1-4 feet in height. About as broad as tall.
Growth Rate:
Fast.
Range:
Monroe County Keys north to Duval, Marion and Levy counties and west to Arizona; West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America.
Habitats:
A wide variety of forested ecosystems.
Soils:
Moist, well-drained sandy, limestone, or organic soils, with 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 long-term flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance:
Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation.
Drought Tolerance:
Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established.
Light Requirements:
Light shade.
Flower Color:
Pinkish.
Flower Characteristics:
Semi-showy racemes.
Flowering Season:
All year.
Fruit:
Showy red berries.
Horticultural Notes:
Can be grown from seed.
Comments:
Rouge plant recruits readily from seed in the garden and can become very aggressive in shady areas. The fruits have been used to make red dye and rouge.
Gann, G.D., M.E. Abdo, J.W. Gann, G.D. Gann, Sr., S.W.
Woodmansee, K.A. Bradley, E. Grahl and K.N. Hines. 2005-2013. Natives For Your Neighborhood. http://www.regionalconservation.org.
The Institute for Regional Conservation. Delray Beach, Florida USA.