Make Your Lawn a Florida-Friendly Landscape

I imagine many of you have had plant loss due to this recent cold snap. Like myself, you’ll be busy this spring replanting areas. Want to have a more sustainable landscape and attract birds & butterflies? Consider a Florida-Friendly Landscape.

Figure 1: Florida-Friendly Landscaping.

Credit: Tyler Jones, UF/IFAS Communications.

So, what is “Florida-Friendly”? These are plants that are either native to Florida or non-invasive species, and are low maintenance. One can convert their landscape to “Florida-Friendly” simply by changing the way you take care of your yard. A Florida-Friendly Landscape has 9 major principles:

1. Right plant, right place – Select plants that match a site’s soil, light, water, and climatic conditions. Buy quality plants that welcome wildlife, consider plant size when you make your purchase, and aim for a diversity of trees, shrubs, groundcovers, and flowers.
2. Water efficiently –  Watch for signs of wilt before you irrigate, be a weather watcher (don’t irrigate if it’s going to rain), and water early in the morning if you can, following any restrictions in your area. Check your irrigation system regularly; repair any leaks, clogs, or breaks; and make sure all sprinklers are irrigating your plants, not the sidewalk!
3. Fertilize appropriately – Fertilize according to UF/IFAS recommended rates and application timings to prevent leaching—fertilizer leaking down through the soil rather than being absorbed by plant roots. Look for fertilizers with slow-release nitrogen and little or no phosphorous, unless your soil test indicates need (as many Florida Panhandle soils are phosphorous poor). Never fertilize within 10 feet of any water body, and don’t fertilize before a heavy rain.
4. Mulch – Retains soil moisture, protects plants, and inhibits weed growth. It gives your landscape a neat, uniform appearance and is a great Florida-Friendly choice for hard-to-mow slopes and shady spots. Keep a 2- to 3-inch-deep layer of mulch on plant beds. Always leave at least 2 inches of space around tree trunks to prevent rot. Create self-mulching areas under your trees by letting fallen leaves lie.
5. Attract wildlife – By providing food, water, and shelter for birds, butterflies, bats, and others, you can help these displaced Floridians while bringing beauty and benefits to your home landscape. Select plants with seeds, fruit, foliage, flowers, or berries that animals can eat.
6. Manage yard pests responsibly – Concerns for human and environmental health have led scientists to recommend Integrated Pest Management (IPM), a strategy that helps gardeners manage pests with as few chemicals as possible. Don’t treat by default—some of the insects you see may be beneficial, actually helping to control pest insect populations. Spot-treat only, rather than blanket spraying, and use selective rather than broad-spectrum insecticides.
7. Recycle – Landscape maintenance activities like mowing, pruning, and raking generate yard waste that you can recycle to save money. Decomposed organic matter, like pruned branches or grass clippings, releases nutrients back to the soil in a form that plants can easily use. Try composting, combining “green” (nitrogen-rich) and “brown” (carbon-rich) materials, such as grass clippings, weeds, plant trimmings, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea bags, twigs and branches, pine needles, corncobs, and shredded cardboard.
8. Reduce Stormwater – Florida’s waterways are vulnerable to everything we put on our home landscapes. Fertilizers and pesticides can leach through the soil or run off into storm drains. Along with landscape debris and eroded soil, these can wreak havoc on our water quality and the fragile ecosystems our water resources support. Creating shallow rain gardens, or shaping the earth on slopes with berms (rises) and swales (dips), can help slow runoff from heavy rains and allow the water time to soak into the ground. Make sure your downspout is pointed into the garden, not towards a sidewalk or driveway. Wherever possible, maintain permeable walkways, driveways, and patios of brick, gravel, earth, or crushed shell, to allow rain to soak into the ground.
9. Protect the waterfront – Florida boasts over 10,000 miles of rivers and streams, about 7,800 lakes, more than 700 freshwater springs, and the U.S.’s second-longest coastline. Even if you don’t live immediately on one of these water bodies, you do live in what’s known as a watershed (a drainage area). What you do in your home landscape has much further-reaching consequences than you might think. One of the most important steps you can take to protect any water body is maintaining a 10-foot “maintenance-free zone” around it. Do not mow, fertilize, or use pesticides in this zone. A stormwater pond or canal can become an aesthetically pleasing and lively place, edged with plants and home to wildlife. Work with your neighbors or homeowner association to make your stormwater pond a Florida-Friendly neighborhood amenity.

For more information on Florida-Friendly Landscaping please contact your local county extension office.

The information for this article can be found in the following the UF/IFAS publication, “The Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Handbook”: & website.