I received an email recently stating that the plants I mentioned in my previous post were definitely not Florida natives. In addition, Elephants Ear is not only non-native, it is considered an invasive exotic pest plant by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council and dangerous to the Florida ecosystem. The writer went on to ask that I encourage my visitors to grow Florida native plants.

That absolutely makes sense. Here are just a few landscaping suggestions, depending on your area, from the Florida Native Plant Society:

• Central Florida - Forestiera segregata Florida privet, Hibiscus grandiflorus swamp rosemallow;
• Northern Florida - Amorpha fruticosa false indigo-bush, Kosteletzkya virginica saltmarsh mallow;
• Southern Florida - Argusia gnaphalodes sea-lavender, Myrica cerifera wax myrtle

So, while the plants I mentioned do grow well in Southern climates they certainly are not native. And we should be careful to add Florida Native plants to our landscapes as much as possible. Thanks to the writer for the reminder. Oh - the plant pictured here is Lantana involucrata wild lantana, native to my neck of the woods in the Central Gulf Coast area. Happy Florida Gardening.