New plantings at Palm Beach park, marina should be applauded

An atala butterfly rests on a native Florida firebush

November 4, 2021

The native plants used at the new Lake Drive Park and Town Marina will be a terrific addition to Palm Beach’s landscape.

Beds of coontie, silver buttonwood, sea grape, firebush, wild coffee, milkweed, muhly grass and orange geiger trees add beauty and diversity while providing essential food and habitat for birds and pollinators. This is the basis of a truly sustainable landscape. These plantings also underscore the need for proper understanding of plants’ growth habits and the difference between native and non-native species.

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As most of us know, milkweed (Asclepias) is the only host plant for the monarch butterfly and is therefore essential to its survival. As people have become more aware of this relationship, there has been a great resurgence of milkweed planting.

But there are many different species of milkweed and only a few are Florida natives. These include Asclepias incarnata, or swamp milkweed, which has lovely pink flowers, and Asclepias tuberosa, which has orange flowers and requires sandy, well-drained soil.

Unfortunately, the milkweed we most often seen planted is the non-native Mexican variety, Asclepias curassavica, with its bright orange and yellow flowers. This is often sold as a native, and butterflies flock to it regardless.

Sadly, it is also the cause of a disease deadly to monarchs caused by the protozoan parasite Ophryocystis elektroscirrha, or OE for short. This parasite lives on the leaves of milkweed and is tolerated in small doses by monarchs. When native milkweed dies back after flowering, the parasite dies with it.

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But tropical milkweed stays green all year, allowing OE levels to build up to dangerous levels when ingested by monarch caterpillars. The resulting butterflies may not be able emerge from their chrysalis, or may be so deformed that they cannot open their wings or fly. I have seen numerous butterflies with this affliction, and it is heartbreaking.

Another consideration in planting milkweed is to intersperse it among other native plants. When the caterpillars have finished feeding on the foliage and crawl off to form their chrysalis, the remaining denuded stalks are less than aesthetically pleasing. If milkweed is planted next to other perennials, or woven into the existing framework of a landscape, it is far less conspicuous after it has served as dinner for monarch caterpillars.

If you have already planted Mexican milkweed in your garden, as many of us have, cut it back to the ground after it has been eaten by caterpillars to avoid the buildup of harmful levels of OE.

Another important lesson to be gleaned from the plantings along Lake Drive Park is to understand the growth habit of your plants. Florida firebush (Hamelia patens) is an example of a terrific plant that is often mistaken for a small shrub, when it can actually reach a height of 15 feet. It is more often kept to 6 to 8 feet, but this is not something to be planted en masse in a small bed, as you would do with impatiens.

This wonderful Florida native, with stunning year-round clusters of reddish-orange tubular flowers, attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, numerous pollinators and a variety of songbirds. It tolerates full sun or partly shaded areas; in full sun the leaves will be slightly tinged with red. This is another plant that is often confused with its non-native counterpart. Look for the native species with redder flowers and slightly hairy leaves. This should definitely be incorporated into your Florida landscape.

More:We saved a native butterfly; now let's save our soils

The beautiful native muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) is another great addition to the plantings along Lake Drive Park. This wonderful shimmering beauty is in bloom right now, with delicate, silky violet plumes rising high above the foliage, creating a lovely pinkish haze. A wonderful, adaptable ground cover for poor, sandy soils, this stays about a foot high in dry conditions, reaching twice that height in moist sites. It is salt- and cold-tolerant, making it ideal along coastal areas.

Fakahatchee grass (Tripsacum dactyloides) is a taller beautiful grass that can be used as a terrific replacement for invasive pennisetum. This grows in lovely, graceful clumps of dark green arching leaves, producing blooms of red-brown spikes on tall nodding stems. Growing 4 to 6 feet, and tolerating drought as well as most soil conditions, this makes an excellent substitute for pampas grass, and is evergreen in South Florida.

Beds of beautiful muhly grass are among the plantings at Lake Dive Park

The wonderful native wild coffee (Psychotria nervosa) plant also is included in the Lake Drive Park plantings. This is one of the very best Florida natives, providing excellent versatility in the landscape as a hedge, a specimen or planted in small groupings.

The glossy, deep green leaves are a stunning background to the bright red berries on display right now, which are a favorite of numerous songbirds. In the spring, clusters of fragrant white flowers attract butterflies and pollinators. Preferring partial shade, or used as an understory beneath taller trees, this makes a terrific addition to any landscape.

Wild coffee is a great hedge plant for sun or shade

Orange geiger, silver buttonwood, sea grape, and coontie are other native additions to the park that will add sustainability and biodiversity. Our town is to be commended for implementing this forward-thinking plan and for understanding the importance of introducing native plants to our public areas.

More:Make sure plants in your yard perpetuate native ecosystem

Let’s all follow suit and add natives to our own landscapes. This will provide plant biomass and diversity essential to supporting local pollinators and wildlife while restricting the need for toxic chemicals, which we all need to avoid.

Coontie, a drought-tolerant native cycad, has been planted on South Lake Drive near the Town Marina. Photo by Meghan McCarthy/Palm Beach Daily News

Note: All minor glitches regarding the plantings in the park are being addressed — any mistakes should be regarded as wonderful learning opportunities for the rest of us. The important thing is that the natives are here to stay.

-Kim Frisbie

Original article on the Palm Beach Daily News is HERE.

Non-native Mexican firebush is often mistaken for the native version