Achieving a healthy, low-maintenance home landscape starts with putting the right plant in the right place. Select Florida-Friendly plants and turfgrass that match a site’s soil, light, water, and climatic conditions. Buy quality plants that welcome wildlife, consider mature plant size when you make your purchase, and aim for a diversity of trees, shrubs, and groundcovers. Once these plants are established, they’ll require minimal amounts of supplemental water, fertilizer, or pesticides, saving you time and money. Help stop the spread of invasive plants by removing them from your yard—see the UF/IFAS Assessment of Non-Native Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas. 

Benefits:

• Plants mature to the desired size and will require less pruning.
• The right plant in the right place can thrive with little or no irrigation once established. 
• Plants planted in the correct soil type and pH require fewer nutrient additives, if any.
• Planting pest-resistant plants mean fewer applications of pesticides, if any. 
• You may appreciate that the landscape always has an acceptable appearance.

When designing a community landscape think about what features will be valued by your community members. Landscapes can be designed for ease of maintenance, to attract wildlife, to slow and treat stormwater, and so much more. Consider how your community uses the common areas. Do you need plants that provide shade, hold up well to foot traffic, or that create an eye-catching display of colors? The first step in creating an environmentally friendly landscape that meets your community’s needs is selecting the right plant for the right place.

Benefits:

• Plants mature to the desired size and will require less pruning.
• Plants, once established, require a limited amount of supplemental irrigation.
• Plants planted in the correct soil type and pH require fewer nutrient additives.
• Pest-resistant plants require fewer applications of pesticides.
• Residents should appreciate that the landscape always has an acceptable appearance.
• Choosing appropriate non-invasive plants helps to keep the landscape from being overgrown.

When designing a landscape, locating the right plant in the right place will ultimately determine how well the landscape will perform in the future and how much time, money and effort it takes to maintain.  A complete site analysis should be conducted and followed when plants are chosen.  Choose Florida-Friendly plants that mature to the appropriate size and are pest resistant. 

Benefits:

• Plants will mature to the desired size and will require less pruning
• Plants once established, require a limited amount of supplemental irrigation
• Plants planted in the correct soil type and pH will require fewer nutrient additives
• Planting pest-resistant plants will mean fewer applications of pesticides
• Clients should appreciate that the landscape always has an acceptable appearance
• Choosing appropriate non-invasive plants helps to keep the landscape from being overgrown