FNGLA 2011 Plant Selections

Snow Princess
Photo credit:
Provenwinners.com

Every year the Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association (FNGLA) chooses a selection of Florida's best plants. These plants are chosen for several reasons...one being their success in growing in our diverse Florida climate.

For 2011 the six "Florida Garden Select Plants" chosen were:

* Gold Medallion Tree (Cassia leptophylla) - This cassia has yellow blooms in early summer and can survive temperatures into the mid to low 20's. That definitely sounds promising considering our winters lately.
* Prostrate Yew or Japanese Plum Yew (Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Prostrata') - This low growing shrub  has dark green leaves similar to a conifer.
* Caranday Palm (Copernicia alba) - This palm tree for zones 9b - 11 has silver-green fronds and can grow up to 50 feet tall.
* Snow Princess (Labularia hybrid 'Snow Princess') pictured above - An annual in other parts of the country, white blooms cover this mounding plant, and is perfect for hanging baskets.
* Yellow Butterfly Pea Vine (Cailaeum macropterum (formerly Mascagnia macroptera)) - This Mexican native sports 1" yellow cascading flowers. It grows up to 15 feet tall and is heat-loving.
* Wire Vine (Muehlenbeckia axillaris) - a small, glossy green-leaved groundcover.

These plants are available for purchase at your local garden center. Now you can also keep up with the FNGLA by becoming a fan at Facebook.

Click here for photos and more information on these plants.

University of Florida Trial Garden

No need to recreate the wheel when you can take advantage of all the plant information gleaned by the University of Florida in their trial garden.

They tested the metal of over 850 cultivars, including 284 new introductions during the hottest part of the year - April through August.

You can find a specific plant by searching "trial results" or for the best results in your yard, skip to the "awards" section for the top-rated plants. A "plant suppliers" list is provided in the event you can't find a specific plant at your local nursery.