Florida Nursery Plant Sheets
14 Issues in this Publication (Showing 1 - 10) Next
Breadfruit - Artocarpus altilis
Common Name: breadfruit
Type: Broadleaf evergreen
Family: Moraceae
Native Range: Malaysia
Zone: 10 to 12
Height: 30.00 to 50.00 feet
Spread: 30.00 to 50.00 feet
Bloom Time: Seasonal bloomer
Cherry of the Rio Grande – Eugenia Involucrata
The Cherry of the Rio Grande grows on a narrow shrub of the same name, that reaches an average of 5 meters tall and has dark green, glossy leaves. A Cherry of the Rio Grande is oblong and measures around 2 to 3 centimeters. This beautiful small tree has very attractive dark glossygreen waxy leaves and very ornamental bark. deep purple cherry sized fruit approximately 3 weeks from the time of flowering. Like a pomegranate, the remnants of the flower bud (called a persistent calyx) are prominent at the end of the fruit, appearing like green beaks. The showy white flowers are followed by fruits that emerge with a pale pink to red skin and mature to a dark red and almost purple-black color. The skin is thin and hides a paler-colored flesh and one to two small white seeds The fruit has a sweet juicy cherry flavor eaten fresh or can be picked at maturity, frozen for later use or used in jellies, jams and juices. The flavor is described as a combination of cherry and plum, and some even say hints of banana.
Summer Spinaches Take the Heat
Tropical spinaches will grow in containers, as well as in the ground, in an area that receives sun to part shade. They tolerate a range of soil types but prefer well-drained organic soil and consistent moisture. Those that grow like a vine do well on a trellis or fence. Cut stem tips when harvesting to keep plants bushy and productive. Newer shoots and leaves are more tender and milder in flavor than older ones. These herbaceous perennials will freeze to the ground but often regrow from roots or seeds. Relocate plants in containers to a protected spot, or take cuttings from in-ground plants, and grow them indoors in winter.
Okinawa Spinach (Gynura crepioides) is a member of the Aster family and hails from Indonesia and parts of southeast Asia. It performs well in zones 9-11, the subtropical and tropical climates of central and south Florida. This vigorous plant is low growing, and its attractive green and purple leaves are borne on short stems. Eat the leaves raw or cooked. Bright orange flowers in spring attract butterflies but are usually sterile. Any seeds produced may not come true, so the best method of propagation is by stem cuttings.
Longevity Spinach (Gynura procumbens) (Chinese Spinach), also called Leaves of the Gods and, is the all green cousin of Okinawa spinach. The somewhat succulent leaves are a bit stronger in flavor and texture. The name “Longevity” could refer to its purported health benefits in lowering blood sugar, inflammation, and cholesterol. Propagate this plant from cuttings like Okinawa spinach.
Cinnamon Apple: Pouteria hypoglauca
Pouteria hypoglauca, or Cinnamon Apple, as it is more commonly known, is a small tree native to Central America. Growing to a maximum of 10-20 feet, these trees thrive in full sun and need regular water. Though mature plants are cold hardy at least to 30F for a short time, they are only hardy to 28F once they have been established. This tree is typically found in Zones 9-11 according to USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Mosquito Plant (Citronella)
This plant is commonly found under a number of names, such as citronella plant, mosquito plant geranium, citrosa geranium and Pelargonium citrosum. Though many of its names leave the impression that it contains citronella, which is a common ingredient in insect repellent, the plant is actually a variety of scented geranium that simply produces a citronella-like scent when the leaves are crushed. The mosquito plant geranium came about from taking specific genes of two other plants – Chinese citronella grass and African geranium. Though growing mosquito plant is not as effective as using bottled repellents, mosquito plant works gently, and when you grow it in your garden, it is always on hand.
A member of the geranium family, mosquito plant carries the fragrance of citronella in itsPlants owe their medium green texture to the lacy leaves. Growing upright to 2 to 3 feet in height, they can be used as a summer border or one of several contrasting textures in a garden composition or a large mixed container.
Cranberry Hibiscus - Hibiscus acetosella
This African native is a short-lived perennial shrub in the subtropics and tropics but can be grown as an annual in cooler climates. It is also known also as false roselle, red leaf hibiscus or maroon mallow It grows rapidly to 1.7 m high with deeply cut leaves similar to Japanese maple. The leaf color of deep cranberry red is highly ornamental; the flowers are a small, very pretty, rose-pink hibiscus-type. The 2-inch wide flowers appear in late fall and last through the winter. Cranberry hibiscus is a hardy plant that thrives when it is warm and wet; it prefers full sun but will grow in partial shade. It needs ample water, rich, fertile, well-drained soil that is kept mulched and a pH of between 6.1 and 6.5. Hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 through 11, cranberry hibiscus grows quickly and requires spacing of 6 to 10 feet.
Custard Apple: Annona reticulata
The custard apple tree is not especially attractive. It is erect, with a rounded or spreading crown and trunk 10 to 14 in (25-35 cm) thick. Height ranges from 15 to 35 ft (4.5- 10 m). The ill-smelling leaves are deciduous, alternate, oblong or narrow-lanceolate, 4 to 8 in (10-20 cm) long, 3/4 to 2 in (2 5 cm) wide, with conspicuous veins. Flowers, in drooping clusters, are fragrant, slender, with 3 outer fleshy, narrow petals 3/4 to 1 1/4 in (2 3 cm) long; light-green externally and pale-yellow with a dark-red or purple spot on the inside at the base. The flowers never fully open.
The compound fruit, 3 l/4 to 6 1/2 in (8-16 cm) in diameter, may be symmetrically heart-shaped, lopsided, or irregular; or nearly round, or oblate, with a deep or shallow depression at the base. The skin, thin but tough, may be yellow or brownish when ripe, with a pink, reddish or brownish-red blush, and faintly, moderately, or distinctly reticulated. There is a thick, cream-white layer of custardlike, somewhat granular, flesh beneath the skin surrounding the concolorous moderately juicy segments, in many of which there is a single, hard, dark-brown or black, glossy seed, oblong, smooth, less than 1/2 in (1.25 cm) long. Actual seed counts have been 55, 60 and 76. A pointed, fibrous, central core, attached to the thick stem, extends more than halfway through the fruit. The flavor is sweet and agreeable though without the distinct character of the cherimoya, sugar apple, or atemoya.
Durian
The durian tree is ultra-tropical, a native of Southeast Asian equatorial rainforests, and needs much tropical warmth, abundant moisture, and sunshine to thrive (except for the young trees’ first year, when semi-shade is preferred — simulating rainforest conditions). Most commercial durian cultivation in Southeast Asia is located within 15 degrees latitude of the equator. For an ultratropical, durian is surprisingly tolerant of relatively low mean temperatures.
The upper limit for growing durians is said to be 600 m [2000 feet]; in the Philippines, 700 m [2300 feet], in Malaysia, 800 m [2600 feet]. These are the upper limits at which it’s possible to grow Durians at all.
Edible Hibiscus - Hibiscus sabdariffa or Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
Hibiscus are definitely edible by creatures both great and small. Hibiscus flowers are traditionally used for tea in Asia and the Nile Valley area of Africa. Many hibiscus teas are made from a different species of hibiscus, called Hibiscus sabdariffa, but Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, the ancestor of the modern, exotic hibiscus, is also frequently used for tea. Tea makers report that all parts of the hibiscus plant can be used, but that the flowers make a sweeter tea, and the leaves make a more astringent tea. Hibiscus tea was traditionally used to soothe or help a variety of ailments, from coughs and skin diseases to high blood pressure, gallbladder attacks, heart disease, and even some cancers. Whether these claims have any basis in science or fact, we have no idea.
It is known that hibiscus leaves and flowers do contain certain antioxidants, such as flavanoids, and proanthocyanidins, and have a kind of diuretic effect on at least some animals. Department of Agriculture and the American Heart Association found that hibiscus tea lowers blood pressure in adults with mildly high blood pressure! In the study, 3 cups per day of tea made from Hibiscus sabdariffa flowers over a period of 6 weeks lowered systolic blood pressure an average of 7-13 points, and diastolic blood pressure 6.4 points.
Vegetable Fern - Diplazium esculentum
Common Names: Vegetable fern (En); fougère végétale (Fr); kuwareshida (Jp); fern vegetal (Sp); 過溝菜蕨, 過貓 (Cn)
Plant Distribution: East, Southeast and South Asia, Oceania
Edible Parts: Tender fronds are blanched, boiled, or stir-fried.
This plant is a large perennial fern with ascending rhizome of about 20 cm high and covered with short rufous scales of about 1 cm long. The plant is bipinnate with long brownish petioles, and the petiole base is black and covered with short scales. The frond can reach 1.5 cm in length, and the pinnae is about 8 cm long and 2 cm wide.
