Flowering suggestions for northern exposure
 

Our golf course view has a northern exposure. I was thinking of putting some color in between the basic shrub plant they put off the pool/lanai area. Because it is a northern exposure, in winter it is shaded by the birdcage for the most part. Any suggestions?

Azaleas and camelias will perform if there is some sun. Most flowering shrubs need at least few hours of sun to bloom well. Muhly grass is attractive, hardy and has a pink bloom even in mostly shade. All will take the strong winter wind across the golf course when the fronts roll through.

We learned a lot by taking a peek at what others did. (during our journeys out and about) We went into established areas to see how the landscape plants held up over time and how big they could eventually get. We watched the plants we found attractive for a few seasons, to see how they looked at different times of the year.

We also paid attention to homes that were the same color as ours. (for color/plant combo inspiration)
Looking at the staples that The Villages uses for permanent plantings helped too.

I did a lot of research online, to find out how to maintain the ones that really caught my eye. I was most interested in minimum fuss and disease-resistant selections.
Some plants bloom seasonally... not continually, so I checked that out too.

Often people use plants and shrubs that are marginally hardy here and don't mind replacing them after winter, for fresh beautiful color. Plants become available for sale seasonally when the time is right for planting.

I was a pretty avid perennial gardener up North, but soon found I have a lot to learn about Central Florida gardening. The UFL extension has online charts that are quite helpful, and if you google "Florida Friendly Landscaping" you will find excellent guidelines.
We also have master gardening clinics here, if you want to get that involved.
Check the Daily Sun for info on those.

I kept getting mixed opinions/instructions on plants at various landscape/garden centers around here.... so I let my own observations and my follow-up research guide me.

Did find a master gardener at the Market of Marion that I like. Everything that I have purchased from him is thriving. He has also brought in additional things for me when I wanted them at very good prices.

His name is Richard Toth. His stall is in D South. (next to the flag guy)

If you have ideas and want experienced input, there are lots of interested Gardeners on our forum. Just ask!
Most of all, have fun.

contact the FL state plant clinic

Is there any shrub that you can recommend (other than knock-out roses) that is frost hardy, blooms year round, and requires little maintenance?

My variegated ginger does beautifully in the shade. It's beauty is the light green striped leaves, no flowers. It grows only about to 2 feet high and fountains out. It does get hit by frost but easily grows back. No maintenance.

I'll look for Richard Toth. Thanks.

You can't go wrong with any shrub in the "Holly" family. Rich green all the year through!!

I like holly. It makes a nice bird sanctuary. We usually have nests within our bushes. And of course we have knock-out roses which provide year-round color. But I long for something tropical looking that blooms year round. I guess it is just too cool here, everything tropical needs to be covered when the temperatures dip.

Borjo:

My variegated ginger plants produce a strand of beautiful shell-shaped flowers in late spring- early summer. The shape of that flower gives the plant its other name, Shell Ginger. Yours should also! If they don't, give them a stern lecture!

;)

:wave: Well, depending on how big you want to go.... some larger types: Evergreen types of Hibiscus, repeat blooming azaleas, Loropetalum and Oleander have long and/or repeat bloom seasons. Low maintenance, all.

Firecracker plant (Russelia) is rather shrub-like in it's growth pattern and blooms profusely much of the year, but is more of a single specimen plant.

Others I can think of aren't as frost hardy, or only bloom seasonally. Camellias, for example are lovely and very hardy, but they only bloom in winter.
Anyone else have suggestions to add?

blooms year round?
 

hate to be so blunt but this is central florida, a SUB-tropical climate. this is not Miami or Key West, where there is no frost. and Knockout roses do not bloom year round!:024:

My knockout roses do bloom year round. Travelguy, I realize this isn't a tropical climate. But thanks Uptown Girl for some great suggestions!

Do you have problems with your Oleanders and caterpilars??? Seems like they just keep coming back after spraying!!

The one thing to be careful of Oleander is they are poisonous so if you have dogs around, it can be a problem.

There is a moth that uses Oleander as a host, laying it's eggs in clusters you can see on the underside of leaves. The caterpillars, once hatched can munch the plant pretty good. You can cut the leaves with eggs off, seal them tightly in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer for 24 hours to kill the eggs. Then toss the bag in the garbage. Wear gloves - as sap can irritate the skin.
Some think that dwarf Oleanders (still pretty large) are less likely affected. I would plant those varieties.

The moth looks rather like a large, black and white polka dot wasp. You will see it in the daytime (it's not nocturnal) Caterpillars are orange w/ black hairs.

I'm told that giving the soil around the oleander a neem oil mixture drench about every two weeks (as a preventative) usually helps. ( I use it on a number of my plants) The eating cycle for these caterpillars lasts about 20 days a year.

The recommendation if you see caterpillars is to mix up a bucket of sudsy, soapy water and (with gloves) pluck them off and drown them. Actually more effective than chemical sprays.
If your oleanders are very tall, and you really want to spray, try a hose applicator that you can put lemon dish soap into and hit the underside of the leaves with a good blast. That will help until it rains again and the soap gets washed off.
P.S. Oleanders affected will not die from getting chewed. They live a long time.

People around our neighborhood have planted ginger, and I really liked the variegated green/yellow leaves. However lately I've noticed the leaves on their plants are turning brown. Even noticed this in some landscaping around Milennia Mall, which has full time gardeners. So now I'm not so sure about this plant's ability to stay beautiful year-round.

They are a little tender in our zone, but carefully placed in a spot protected from abundant sun and nestled from cold, they are magnificent.
Sometimes we can have a micro-climate spot somewhere on our property that will allow us our more tropical delights!

How about "Butterfly" bushes? Saw article in paper on smaller bushes for pots. I have a butterfly bush, from Virginia Beach that was given to me, and is flourishing right now. (not as rich green like holly, but seems to grow great)

That would be lovely. Are they miniature? What size pot?

The Morse family money tree. OOPS; did I say a bad thing?

:a20:

QVC has been selling Flutterby Butterfly bushes.

Butterfly bush (Buddleia) blooms spring through fall. They are open branched and lovely in bloom. It's recommended here in Florida to cut them back about 1/3 in early spring, before new growth.

I have not used it here, but we had many scattered throughout the townhouse complex we lived in up North. Sadly, they had to remove all of them within two years. The bushes we had were very susceptible to powdery mildew and spider mites, even with regular treatment.
Butterflies LOVE them, but only if the plants are healthy.

Mine is about 3 ft high right now with purple flowers, blooming right now. (Planted in ground) The article I saw on minature Butterfly bushes, required pretty good size pots. I'm pretty sure the article was in last saturdays paper.

Can you start another cutting from plant? This time of year