New Natives Take Root at Shamrock Park’s Demonstration Garden

The Demonstration Garden at Shamrock Park and Nature Center in Venice has had a major makeover. Today September 24th, we planted 35 large trees and shrubs, 52 small shrubs, 215 native wildflowers and understory plants. We also spread ~690+ cubic feet of pine bark and pine needles as mulch. Through a partnership with Keep America Beautiful and Keep Sarasota County Beautiful, and with funding and volunteer hands from two local companies, Critter Control and Trutech, we installed a new collection of Florida native plants chosen to showcase what coastal, wildlife-friendly landscaping can look like. Many of these species are South Florida and Florida Keys natives that thrive in the park’s salt-influenced, sandy conditions. Here are a few of my favorites from the planting.

Lignum Vitae (Guaiacum sanctum)

Few native trees rival lignum vitae in beauty. Small and compact it is usually 8–15 feet (occasionally with ancient specimens up to 25 ft), with purple spring and summer flowers, showy orange fruit, extreme hurricane wind resistance, and moderate salt spray tolerance. The blue flowers fade as they age and linger on the tree, and the orange capsules split open to reveal black seeds wrapped in a bright red aril. Patience is required: after the seedling stage, it may add as little as an inch per year without fertilizer. Its dense, self-lubricating wood was once used for judge gavels, ball bearings, and ship propeller shafts, and overharvesting has left it state-listed as endangered in Florida. It also offers wildlife value as a larval host for the lyside sulphur butterfly.

Cinnecord (Vachellia choriophylla)

Another endangered flowering native tree we planted was Cinnecord. It offers the extreme fragrance and spring flowers we love about native acacias without the thorns. Also called thornless acacia or tamarindillo, it typically reaches 8–12 feet (up to 35), keeps its dark green foliage year-round, and bears fragrant yellow flowers in spring. Its blooms draw bees and butterflies, birds eat the seeds, and it handles salty wind and brief storm-surge flooding moderately well. One consideration: FNPS notes the wood is brittle, so give it a spot sheltered from the worst wind.

Wild Tamarind (Lysiloma latisiliquum)

Wild tamarind is one of the most underutilized native trees in South Florida for human landscapes. It hosts caterpillars of the large orange sulphur, mimosa yellow, amethyst hairstreak, and Cassius blue; provides nectar for many moths; and draws gnatcatchers, vireos, flycatchers, and migrating warblers, many of which feed on insects around the flowers and foliage. Its fragrant, pompom-like blooms are present for the majority of year. FNPS lists it at 40–60 feet tall and 30–50 feet wide, fast growing, and well suited to street tree use, making it a strong choice for urban settings. It handles compacted soil and alkaline soils far better than other more commonly planted native trees. As a legume, it fixes nitrogen, which likely helps it succeed on these nutrient-poor sites.

Key Thatch Palm (Leucothrinax morrisii)

This is one of the most elegant small palms available for our area. It is prized for the silvery undersides of its fan leaves, its high salt tolerance, and its compact form. Reaching its mature height of 15-20 feet tall can take 100 years unfortunately. Besides the dainty size it has striking fruit and high hurricane wind resistance. UF/IFAS notes it is small enough for residential landscapes and works well as a single specimen or in groups of three. Its slow growth is the trade-off for a palm that will stay in scale for years.

Florida Thatch Palm (Thrinax radiata)

For those who want a native palm, Florida thatch palm is an excellent alternative to the overused pygmy date palm. It averages about 6 inches of height gain per year and can flower when only 6 feet tall. At a mature size of 15–30 feet tall it is on the smaller side, its slender trunk typically reaches 10–20 feet.. In the wild it grows near the coast in south Florida, where it has adapted to heavy winds, salt, and drought. It is state-listed as endangered, so nursery-grown plants are the way to go.

Weeping Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria ‘Pendula’)

This weeping form of our native yaupon is as ornamental as it is useful. Female plants produce red berries that birds and other wildlife eat through winter; plants usually reach 15–20 feet tall with a 10–20 foot spread. Its flowers attract bees for several weeks, and if you want berries, choose a female plant. UF/IFAS rates it high in both drought and salt tolerance. Yaupon also has a place in the teacup: its leaves make a commercially available tea with substantial caffeine content.

Bahama Wild Coffee (Psychotria ligustrifolia)

Of our native wild coffees, this one earns top marks for tidiness and blooms. It is normally 3–4 feet tall and wide, evergreen, and flowering and fruiting year-round except during cold spells. It grows more compactly and has darker leaves than the more common P. nervosa, and its small white flowers draw butterflies while the red fruit draws birds. It is also more drought tolerant than shiny-leaf wild coffee and seldom wilts once well established.

Coontie (Zamia integrifolia)

Coontie is about as bulletproof as native plants get. It is a cycad, not a palm, and serves as the larval host for the rare atala butterfly and the echo moth. Coontie typically stays 1–3 feet tall, tolerates drought extremely well and salt moderately, and grows in sun or shade. As adaptable as a plant can be. It does not tolerate very wet soil, so plant it in well-drained areas. Expect some chewed foliage when atala caterpillars arrive; plants recover, though they can look rough for a while.

Pineland Lantana (Lantana depressa)

This is one of our most striking native lantanas. It as a small, low-growing, fairly slow plant whose flowers range from bright yellow to orange. Butterflies may pollinate it by day and moths by night, bees visit too, and birds eat the fruit and spread the seeds. The greatest threat to native lantanas is hybridization with the invasive Lantana strigocamara, which is one more reason to plant true natives and keep nonnative lantanas out of the landscape.

Starry Rosinflower (Silphium asteriscus)

We are calling this one rosinflower, because “weed” doesn’t do it justice. Its bright yellow flowerheads reach up to 2½ inches across and attract butterflies, native bees, and other pollinators, and birds eat the seeds. It has a long bloom season from early spring well into fall. I have seen it bloom year-round in our mild winters. Its natural range in Florida runs along the west coast from the Panhandle to Lee County, and it adapts to nearly any typical landscape condition. It readily self-seeds, so expect a few welcome volunteers.

Seaside Ageratum (Ageratum maritimum)

This is a wildflower that deserves far more use. It as a sprawling, roughly 1-foot plant with blue flowers year-round and moderate salt spray tolerance, suited to coastal wildflower gardens. It doesn’t reseed readily from my experience but cuttings can keep it going. Butterflies such as monarchs find it irresistible. A south Florida native it is not freeze tolerant, even though it blooms best in the winter months. It is another state-listed endangered plant.

West Coast Dune Sunflower (Helianthus debilis subsp. vestitus)

We were careful to use west coast genetics here. This subspecies is endemic to just six counties: Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, and Lee. It can hybridize with the east coast beach sunflower, so the east coast form should not be planted within the west coast subspecies’ natural range. It handles long dry periods and significant, ongoing salt exposure. Butterflies, moths, and bees visit the flowers, its dense growth shelters small animals, and birds eat the seeds. Give it a dry, sunny spot and it will reward neglect with near-constant blooms.

Come See the Garden

Stop by Shamrock Park and Nature Center to see how coastal, wildlife-friendly plantings can be both resilient and beautiful. Demonstration garden tours are held the first Friday of every month at 9 AM. Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/demonstration-garden-tours-2961109/

Total list of new Florida native plants added:

• Lignum Vitae
• Cinnecord
• Paradise Tree
• Gumbo Limbo
• Fiddlewood
• Wild Tamarind
• Mahogany
• Key Thatch Palm
• Florida Thatch Palm
• Weeping Yaupon Holly
• Red Stopper
• Spanish Stopper
• White Stopper
• Red Mulberry
• Myrsine
• Scrub Live Oak
• Myrtle Oak
• Bahama Wild Coffee
• Beach Morningglory
• Native Porterweed
• Coontie
• Frogfruit
• Saw Palmetto
• Dense Blazingstar
• Shortleaf Blazingflower
• Maypop Passionvine
• Muhly Grass
• Pineland Lantana
• Prickly Pear
• Starry Rosinflower
• Scrubmint
• Seaside Mistflower
• Silkgrass
• Sunshine Mimosa
• West Dune Sunflower

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