Autum Fern

I last wrote about Crotons and said how they blended nicely in a semi-shaded area with Autumn Fern or the botanical name Dryopteris erythrosora. For my friends up North (that's you Elaine) this plant grows from New England all the way to Florida. It is evergreen in the South. It is a beautiful fern that grows to approximately 2' tall. What makes it special is that it has seasonal color. The new fronds emerging in the spring are a coppery color then turn to green and then a rusty brown in the fall. They are quite drought tolerant once established in the landscape. Plant these in the partial to full shade.

Top 20 Shrub Choices in Florida

When I first came to Florida I wanted to get information on what were the best, most reliable plants to use in this harsh environment. If you are from New England, stop complaining about your environment being so tough, Florida is quite a challenge: the heat, the dryness, the downpours and flooding. So, back to my top 20 shrub choices; it is good to know what shrubs will do well without a lot of extra work. These can be used as the backbone of your planting, then you can highlight with other possibly higher maintenance plants because you just like them.

The first plant I want to talk about is the Croton. The Botanical name is Codiaeum variegatum. I will be using the Botanical/Latin names for plants because really this is the only way to accurately identify them. For some reason, you do not see the Latin name used in Florida so it provides a great deal of mystery when buying plants with questions such as, " Is this the variety that grows 10 feet tall or 2 feet tall?" Answer, ummmm, " I think it is the short one." Wow, that really gives me security.

So, the Croton is very common but there are many interesting varieties. I will have more pictures later. The most common variety, Petra Croton, grows to about 6' tall and 4' wide but can be kept at 3'x3'. They will grow in part shade to full sun. The color can fade a bit in the full sun. These plants are subject to frost damage and this past winter with temperatures dipping into the thirty's with regularity, there wasn't a leaf left on any of the plants in my neighborhood. However most came back and on some of my jobs the entire top died and they came back from the base.

These plants, once established , will survive without irrigation, just the natural Florida rains. One of the nice things about these plants is the variety of colors in the leaves. As far as landscape design, you can work off these colors and make a beautiful arrangement. They also brighten up a semi-shaded area that is composed only of green plants. In the partial shade, mix them with Autumn Ferns, Ti Plant, Variegated Ginger and in the sun, use Cannas, Allamandas, Pentas.