General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also wet to moist wildflower gardens.
Availability:
Grown by one or two native plant nurseries in South Florida.
Description: Medium herbaceous wildflower.
Dimensions: Typically 2-3 feet in height. Spreads and forms patches much broader than tall.
Growth Rate: Fast.
Range:
Eastern and central North America west to Arizona and south to Miami-Dade County and the Monroe County mainland; the West Indies (Cuba), Mexico and Central America (Honduras).
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: Moist to wet hammocks, marshes and swamps.
Soils: Seasonally wet to moist, moderately well-drained sandy or calcareous soils, with or without organic or humusy top layer.
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: Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established.
Light Requirements: Full sun.
Flower Color: Pink.
Flower Characteristics: Showy.
Flowering Season: Spring-fall.
Fruit: Inconspicuous nutlet.
Wildlife and Ecology: Valuable source of seeds for birds.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed and division.
References: Miami-Dade County Landscape Manual
(2005).
Comments: Can be aggressive, spreading from underground stems (rhizomes). See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's
Flower Friday page.
