General Landscape Uses:
Specimen or massed in shrub borders.
Availability:
Widely available in central Florida. Commonly available at native plant nurseries in northeast Florida.
Description: Erect, deciduous shrub with a rounded, open crown. Large, coarse leaves 8 inches long. Profuse blooms starting creamy white and progressing to pinkish, purplish, and light brown, persisting on the plant for several months. Flowers appear in 12 inch long, 4 inch wide clusters.
Dimensions: Typically 4-8 feet in height. Usually as broad as tall.
Growth Rate: Slow.
Range:
Southern United States south to the Florida Panhandle and Marion county.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Bluffs and ravine slopes, especially along streams.
Soils: Moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, with humusy top layer and acid pH.
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: Low; salt wind may burn the leaves.
Drought Tolerance: Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established.
Light Requirements: Moderate to light shade.
Flower Color: Creamy white to pink to purple to brown.
Flower Characteristics: Showy.
Flowering Season: Late spring to early summer.
Fruit: Small dry pods.
Wildlife and Ecology: Seeds attractive to wildlife.
References: Nelson (
2003)
Comments: We have been adding data for this species for central and northern Florida and welcome any feedback or review. If you would like to contribute information or images, please contact George Gann via the IRC staff page.
