Plants That Can Tolerate the Hot Florida Sun

The brilliant bougainvillea vine is an iconic Florida sun plant.

Florida is not a place for faint-hearted plants. Torrid heat, enervating humidity and 10 million acres of sandy soil are some of the conditions facing gardeners. Another is the abundant, hot sun responsible for the Sunshine State's nickname. None of these challenges has prevented Florida from becoming a showcase of year-long blooms, courtesy of the many trees, shrubs, perennials and other plants that thrive in full, hot Florida sun.

Vines

Bougainvillea vines (Bougainville spp) grace garden walls, columns and trellises across Florida with their thorny, arching canes of evergreen leaves and gaudy blooms. Papery bracts of white and a host of bright shades envelop their modest, yellow flowers in a winter and spring display. Plants grow from 15 to 40 feet. Dwarf varieties perform as ground covers. This sun lover handles drought and sand, clay or loamy soils. Evergreen coral vine (Antigonon leptopus) spreads rapidly to fill sunny spots with its tendriled stems of pale green, heart-shaped leaves and summer-to-frost, deep pink blooms. This vine is deciduous in central Florida and evergreen in the southern part of the state.

Shrubs

Pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana) has multiple trunks with drooping, thorny branches of silver-tinged, green foliage. Its showy pink-and-white, red-stamened spring flowers have edible petals to accompany its pineapple-flavored, green summer and autumn fruits. The salt-tolerant shrub grows throughout Florida. Firebush (Hamelia patens), another multi-trunked shrub common across the state, has large, oval, red- or purple-flecked green leaves. Clusters of orange-red tubular flowers hang from its twigs throughout the year. Both these 8- to 12-foot ornamentals flower best in full sun.

Flowering Trees

Plumeria's delicate blossoms thrive in Florida.

Plumeria (Plumeria spp.) trees stand from 25 to 40 feet high, with thick branches and clusters of large, leathery, deciduous green leaves. The foliage serves as a backdrop for the trees' hauntingly fragrant, waxy summer flowers. Bauhinias, or orchid trees (Bauhinia spp.), have profuse orchidlike flowers. Their blooming seasons vary among species. The elegant blossoms open along the 20- to 35-foot trees' arching branches of pale green leaves. The flowers of both trees may be white, red, yellow, purple or red. Plumerias need rich soil. Orchid trees grow in well-drained sand, loam or clay.

Perennials

Giant cigar flower's (Cuphea micropetala) tubular 1-1/2-inch flowers line its branches' tips from August to November. Bloom color deepens gradually from pale green of the flowers' mouths to bright red-orange at their bases This easy-to-grow perennial attracts hummingbirds. Given enough time, the spreading plant fills large spaces. Perennial ground cover Blue Daze (Evolvulus glomerata) forms 6-inch to 1-foot, rounded mounds of delicate, gray-green foliage. Its small, pale blue flowers open in the morning and close by afternoon. They nearly conceal its leaves. Blue Daze blooms throughout the year in sunny to partly sunny sites across Florida.

References

• University of Illinois Extension: Myakka -- Florida State Soil
• University of Florida IFAS Extension; Bougainvillea Spp; Edward F.Gilman; October 1999
• University of Florida IFAS Extension; Antigonon Leptopus Coralvine, Queen's Wreath; Edward F. Gilman; May 2007
• University of Florida IFAS Extension; Feijoa Sellowiana: Feijoa; Edward F. Gilman; March 2007
• Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association: 2009 Florida Plants of the Year & the Best of the Decade
• University of Florida IFAS Extension; Hamelia Patens Firebush, Scarlet Bush; Edward F. Gilman, et al.; May 2007

Resources

• UF IFAS Extension; Calycanthus Floridus Carolina Allspice, Sweetshrub; Edward F. Gilman; May 2007
• Floridata; Plumeria Spp.; Jack Scheper; May 2007
• UF IFAS Extension; Bauhinia Spp.: Orchid-Tree; Edward F. Gilman; April 2007
• Gardening in the Panhandle; Seasonal Color; David W. Marshall; September-October 2010
• Floridata; Cuphea Micropetala; Steve Christman; December 2007
• UF IFAS Extension; Perennial Gardening in Florida; Sydney Park Brown; February 2007
• UF IFAS Extension; Evolvulus Glomeratus; Edward F. Gilman, et al.; October 1999