General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations.
Availability:
Grown by one or two native plant nurseries in central Florida.
Description: Medium shrub.
Dimensions: Typically 3-4 feet in height. Usually taller than broad.
Growth Rate: Moderate.
Range:
Peninsular Florida from Volusia, Marion, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties south to Miami-Dade and Collier counties.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of ZIP codes with habitat recommendations from the Monroe County Keys north to Martin and Charlotte counties.
Habitats: Scrubby flatwoods and scrub.
Soils: Moist to dry, well-drained sandy soils, without humus.
Nutritional Requirements: Low; it grows in nutrient poor soils.
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: High; does not require any supplemental water once established.
Light Requirements: Full sun.
Flower Color: Pink.
Flower Characteristics: Showy inflorescence.
Flowering Season: Fall.
Fruit: Inconspicuous achene.
Wildlife and Ecology: Occasional larval host plant for gray hairstreak (Strymon melinus) butterflies. Attracts pollinators.
Comments: See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's
Flower Friday page.
