Cocoplum Chrysobalanus icaco

Reaching a height of 15 feet and a spread of 15 feet, salt-tolerant Cocoplum grows in full sun or partial shade on a wide range of soils, needing little irrigation once established. Plant 3 to 4 feet apart to establish a hedge farther apart for a less formal effect in a shrub border. Trees are … Read more

American Beautyberry – Callicarpa americana a Florida Keys Favorite

Beautyberry a rapidly-growing North American native forms a rather loosely-arranged, rounded shrub, five to eight feet tall and equally wide (Fig. 1). Branches form long arches bending toward the ground and lend almost a weeping habit to older, established shrubs. The coarse, fuzzy, light green, deciduous leaves are combined with small, lavender-pink blossoms densely clustered … Read more

Coontie in the Florida Keys Yard

Sunshine State gardeners have rediscovered the Florida coontie (Figure 1) as a native plant well adapted to Florida yards. Its increased use in landscapes has encouraged the presence of the rare atala butterfly, which uses coontie as a larval host plant. Landscapers and homeowners can encourage either the plant or the butterfly by following the … Read more

Health Can Bloom in the Florida Keys Home Garden

No one thinks of the Florida Keys as a major farming community anymore, but it was in the 1800s. Thousands of bushels of tomatoes were produced and canned. In 1882 Keys farmers sold $200,000 worth of pineapples alone. They sold Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, beets, carrots, turnips, and cassava, as well as the plentiful … Read more

Students Help Preserve Big Pine Key’s Grimal Grove

The Grimal Grove horticultural property at 258 Cunningham Lane was the brainchild of the late Adolf Grimal, an avid tropical fruit tree collector. During his time, Grimal turned the roughly 2-acre site into his own garden oasis. Over time, though, after his passing, the property eventually succumbed to wild overgrowth and hefty code violation fines. … Read more