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| Photo Credit: Felder Rushing |
| Yellow African bulbine has great color for an accent area. |
Perennials are powerful plants. For a small investment, they return or bloom year after year for our enjoyment. Unfortunately, sometimes these reliable growers simply die off – a disappointing fact that could happen for any number of reasons, such as just putting the plant in the wrong place. (How we hate it when that happens!) Luckily, there are state organizations out there – like the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association (FNGLA) – that can help make choosing the right plant for your particular region (and landscape) much easier.
One of the ways the FNGLA helps professionals and consumers alike is through its annual Florida Plants of the Year program, designed to promote outstanding Florida plants. The winners are selected by a committee of horticulturists, growers, retailers, landscape professionals and University of Florida faculty. Only those plants that have proved themselves as performers under a variety of situations make the elite list. Selections are based on ease of care, pest and disease resistance, drought tolerance and other desirable traits that will ensure calls for an encore by Florida gardeners (as well as by those living in similar climates). Here are just some of the great past perennial winners that you might want to give a try: Bulbine frutescens (yellow African bulbine) is a flowering perennial hardy in zones 9b-11. It reaches 14-16 inches tall with a 24- to 30-inch spread. A great selection for its color or as an accent that prefers full sun, the plant has light-green succulent foliage and produces ever-blooming stems of many star-shaped, yellow or orange flowers from late spring to early summer. It can withstand a light frost but should still be protected.
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