Want to replace a ficus? Try these plants

The green buttonwood will withstand salt, drought

and hurricane-force winds

March 19, 2022

When choosing a hedge — perhaps to replace your ficus — it’s important to first consider its location.

We have two distinct planting zones on our barrier island: oceanfront and interior hammocks. Plants that thrive in hammock areas won’t work along the ocean as they generally cannot handle the salt spray and full sun.

Conversely, frontline or salt-tolerant plants won’t do as well in the hammock areas. Planting native species will alleviate the need for toxic pesticides or fertilizers. Natives will provide valuable habitat for birds, butterflies and wildlife while keeping poisonous chemicals out of our soil, air and aquifers.

A hedge of Simpson’s stopper, in which new growth can be seen.

Among the best hedge plants for use along the ocean are silver and green buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus). Able to withstand salt, drought and hurricane-force winds, these are also very valuable as specimen or shade trees, with attractive trunks and open, spreading canopies.

Green buttonwoods grow 40-50 feet; silver buttonwoods are somewhat smaller, reaching 25 feet. The cultivar ‘'Silver Sheen’' is one of the best, with fuzzy silver green foliage resistant to scale and mealybug, which can cause sooty mold on the common silver form.

Buttonwoods are the larval hosts for the martial scrub hairstreak and tantalus sphinx and provide nectar for the amethyst hairstreak and numerous other butterflies. These are among the most important host trees for epiphytes in South Florida; the rough bark is a great base on which to plant your spent orchids.

The orchids’ aerial roots will readily attach, giving you blooms for years to come. The flowers, leaves and bark of buttonwood attract numerous insects, which provide additional food for birds and wildlife.

Cinnamon bark has beautiful clusters of green and lavender buds that become bright red flowers followed by red berries.

Cinnamon bark (Canella winterana) is another great hedge plant on display at Pan’s Garden at the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach. Growing to 25 feet, this makes a lovely small specimen tree with beautiful clusters of green and lavender buds that become bright red flowers followed by red berries.

The attractive dark green leaves have pale green undersides and a spicy fragrance when crushed. This is a nectar plant for the Schaus’ swallowtail and other butterflies, and provides food and cover for wildlife. It is listed as endangered in the state of Florida.

The malberry is one of the plants on display at the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach.

Other great hedge plants on display at the Preservation Foundation are marlberry, Simpson's stopper, Spanish stopper, and sea plum. Go take a look!

On a recent visit to Meadow Beauty Nursery in Lake Worth Beach, I found the endangered Florida boxwood (Schaefferia frutescens), which makes a terrific thick hedge in sun or part shade, reaching an ultimate height of 15-20 feet.

This multi-stemmed large shrub has attractive light gray bark and is highly drought-tolerant once established. Florida boxwood is dioecious, meaning individual plants are either male or female, so it’s important to plant both. Female plants produce greenish berries that ripen from yellow to orange to a bright red; these are an important food for migrating birds passing through in the fall and are especially relished by mockingbirds.

The smallish, waxy green leaves are borne close together, giving this plant a look similar to the well-known English boxwood. This is wonderful in a mixed planting with wild coffee, blackbead, indigoberry and cocoplum. Its endangered status makes it an important addition to the landscape.

Blackbead (Pithecellobium keyense) is a great hedge plant or small tree, and is native from the Florida Keys to Brevard County. Salt and drought-tolerant, this does well in full sun or part shade and the hard wood withstands storms and heavy winds. Beautiful dense clusters of fragrant white or pink powderpuff-like flowers attract numerous nectaring butterflies. The young foliage is the larval host for the large orange sulfur, cassius blue and Miami blue butterflies.

The fruit is a reddish-brown coiled pod that splits open to reveal a red aril enclosing black seeds. Listed as endangered in Florida, blackbead provides important habitat for birds and wildlife, and should definitely be more widely planted in our landscapes.

The waxy green leaves on the Florida boxwood are borne close together, giving this plant a look similar to the well-known English boxwood.

Black ironwood or leadwood (Krugiodendron ferreum) is a small evergreen tree or large shrub with shiny green leaves that makes another tough hedge. This is hardy under even the most adverse conditions, known for withstanding hurricane-force winds.

Black ironwood has the heaviest wood of any American tree, weighing in at over 80 pounds per cubic foot; it will sink in water. It’s native to coastal hammocks, is drought-tolerant and a relatively fast grower once established. Reaching an ultimate height of 25 feet, this does well in sun or part-shade.

The locustberry is an evergreen shrub with showy pink, white, yellow and red flowers.

Locustberry (Byrsonima lucida) is a terrific evergreen shrub with showy pink, white, yellow and red flowers, all appearing on the same florescence. Multi-stemmed and spreading, this small tree or large specimen shrub usually reaches a height of 15 feet. The foliage is a shiny dark green above, with pale green undersides, creating a pleasing effect with ascending branches. Highly drought-tolerant, this works in full sun or light shade, with year-round flowers that peak in spring and summer.

Locustberry is the larval host for the Florida duskywing and a nectar source for numerous butterflies. The duskywing larvae hide from predators by creating shelters of a few leaves tied together with silk, which are fascinating to find on the plant. Birds and wildlife love the berries and nest in the foliage. This is a sensational plant for any landscape.

Every native you add to the landscape plays an important role in preserving the sustainable ecosystems on our fragile barrier island. If you are adding or replacing a hedge, remember that a mixed planting of numerous diverse species can be just as effective and potentially more beautiful than a barrier wall created from a single species.

Diversity is key, adding interest as well as habitat, food and protection for our native species of birds, butterflies and wildlife.

-Kim Frisbie

Original article on the Palm Beach Daily News is HERE.