Common Name: Yellow Alder
Latin Name: Turnera ulmifolia

Introduction:
This durable plant has few requirements including watering regularly and occasionally fertilizing.  The dark green leaves of the Yellow Alder provide a contrast to its bright yellow flowers that it produces on a daily basis.  The Yellow Alder can be used as a ground cover.  If it gets too high or “leggy” in appearance, it can be cut back.

Size: 24 to 36 inches
Flower: Yellow
Leaf: Dark Green
Bloom time: Year around color, foliage is evergreen

Culture: Full Sun, any type of soil, ph 6-7.8, can withstand high temperatures, needs good drainage.

Use: The Yellow Alder can be used in mass plantings, border hedge, or as a ground cover.

Geiger Tree
Latin Name: Cordia sebestena

Introduction:
Here is a small shapely tree that will grow to 25 feet tall and wide. It is from South America but grows quite well from Tampa south to the Keys. It is considered by most to be native of Florida Keys.

Historians using Key West records have documented that Dr. Strobel’s Neighbor was Captain Geiger. The Cordia tree became ‘Geiger Tree’ named after Captain Geiger who built his home on Whitehead Street in Key West.

Size: 15 to 20 feet
Flower: Orange or yellow and white with a gold center Flowers 2 in wide
Leaf: large 7 in, dark green
Bloom time: Year around color, evergreen

Culture: Sun to partial shade, acidic soil 6-7ph. Does not like wet feet, drought tolerant, medium growth rate, ideal plant for poor soils. Salt tolerant to spray, frost sensitive

Use: Container or above ground planter, large parking lot islands. Recommended for buffer strips around parking lots or median strip in highway. Near a deck or patio, shade tree, sidewalk cutout or residential street tree. Attractive to bees, butterflies and birds

Common Name: Florida Fiddlewood
Latin Name: Citharexylum fruiticosum

Introduction:
If you are from the north and you love the smell of Lilac then this is as close as you will get here in Florida. Small tree or large bush available in native nurseries. This has a slow to moderate growth rate and its habitat is pineland or hammocks. Fiddlewood is best not planted in groups because moth caterpillar can defoliate leaves

Size: 15 to 25 feet 39 feet in S. Florida

Flower: White, Fragrant, with male and female on different plants

Bloom time: Year around flower

Culture: Salt tolerant is low, moist well drained sandy soils, tolerant of brief periods of drought. Grows best with some organic content in the soil. Full sun to light shade.

Use: Provides food and cover for wildlife and nectar for butterflies. Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restoration. Also useful in buffer plantings

Duranta “Gold Mound" - Golden Dewdrop
Latin Name: Duranta erecta, Duranta repens

Introduction
It has pretty flowers, attractive fruit, and once established requires little care except pruning.Golden Dewdrops gained the attention of landscapers and growers as a Florida Plant of the Year, and is now a featured item in many garden centers in southern Florida.
However, there are a few yellow caution flags that ought to be considered when choosing Golden Dewdrops: there are some limited reports of poisonous characteristics and thorny growth which are very small and limited and have not been completely bred out of the variety yet. Despite these limitations, Golden Dewdrop or Duranta can be a very colorful addition to your Florida Yard. Will attract butterflies when flowering and then form berries that attract birds.

Use:
There are two Duranta species commonly used as ornamentals.Duranta erecta is thought to be a native of the Florida Keys, but is more likely to have been collected from Mexico or South America.This small-leaved species was previously identified as D. repens.A second species, D. stenostachya,has been called Brazilian Skyflower by some, and it has noticeably larger leaves.Both have been used to produce hybrids and many different varieties. In frost-free areas Duranta has gained favor as a flowering shrub that can be pruned into a small flowering tree, know as a standard.
Be sure to give it three-foot spacing if planting as a bush unless there is a desire to be constantly cutting it back. Durantas may also be trained into bonsai specimens and can be pruned into topiaries .

Size:12-24in    Flower: Blue-Purple   Dormant: Year around color on Foliage

Culture:
Sun or partial shade and requires normal water, but is considered drought tolerant and heat tolerant. Loves heat and humidity, native plant.

Common Name: Muhly Grass or Purple Muhly Grass
Latin Name: Muhlenbergia capillaries

Introduction:
Muhly Grass has a clumping form growing 3 to 4 feet tall and as wide. A stiff upright growth habit makes this markedly different from many other grasses. Delicate purple flowers emerge in the fall well above the foliage and can literally cover the foliage. It is native to pine flatwoods, coastal upland and beach

Use:
Muhly is a tough native grass useful in many different landscape sites. It is well suited to tolerate flooding or wet land sites as well as beach sites. Plant is large sweeping drifts on a large landscape for a dramatic effect. Maintenance free except in those instances where you might want to remove the brown foliage in spring by cutting the clump back to the ground before new growth emerges.  Pest are not serious but could see Spider mites during drought.

Size: 3-5 ft     Flower: Pink   Dormant: remains green in winter

Culture:
Plant grows in full sun prefers sandy loam soil. Drought tolerance is high and salt tolerance is medium. Spacing is 24 to 36