May Free Plants

Open Greenhouse & Plant Swap, Saturday, May 7, from 9 am to 1 pm, 602 Ronele Drive, Brandon, FL 33511

My new favorite plants are the few and far between that still look great after three nights in the 20s. Even better, most of them are easy to share!

I was gifted a Simpson stopper shortly after we moved here 13 years ago, and it’s been trucking right along. It has gorgeous shiny green leaves, little white flowers in the spring, followed by pretty red berries in the fall, so it’s an attractive addition to the landscape. The best part, however, is that it was totally unfazed by the cold. You can’t even tell what it’s been through! And all those years, it’s been throwing volunteers into the wooded copse where it’s been growing. They’ve been overshadowed by more flamboyant neighbors like firebush and salvia, but now they’re ready to shine – and to share! Please plan on putting them in pots for a couple of months, maybe until rainy season, and then they grow in either sun or shade.

We give away tons of American elderberry every month because people want to grow it for the health benefits, but it may have an even more important wildlife benefit because it’s still blooming. What looks like a big white bloom is actually dozens of tiny white flowers that are feeding the pollinators and butterflies emerging from the cold. If you don’t pick the berries, they’ll attract dozens of birds. The literature says they thrive in wet locations (and they do) but they also do well even in the driest parts of my yarden where the only water they ever get is rain. They do spread by runners, so you’ll need to be prepared to allow them extra space or plan on digging them up.

I bought Southern black haw (viburnum rufidulum) to grow as a large shrub near west-facing windows and haven’t paid much attention to it since. But like the elderberry, it’s covered in thousands of small white flowers that are feeding my pollinators while nothing else is blooming. The literature says it can be rooted with semi-hardwood cuttings, although I haven’t tried it yet. (The literature also says it suckers, but I haven’t seen a single one.)

Nearly everyone who comes for an Open Greenhouse leaves with at least one mulberry cutting because it’s probably the easiest fruit to grow in Florida and kids LOVE them. They lost all their leaves in the cold, but they’re popping out with green now and I’m sure flowers won’t be far behind. Like elderberry, they’re a favorite food for birds (the literature says over 30 species) if you don’t get to the fruit in time.

My Louis Phillippe rose – also known as the Florida cracker rose – didn’t miss a beat in the cold either. They root pretty easily in water and I intentionally haven’t trimmed this back so it needs it!

And watching the thousands of areca palms dying in cold weather made me really appreciate the fact that my lady palms still look phenomenal. I’ve seen comments about them being invasive, and they have spread since we moved in 14 years ago, but I’ve never seen one just pop up somewhere it wasn’t planted. They have giant roots and you may want to transplant them into a pot you can keep in the shade to start, but there’s plenty here to share.

Along with you-digs and cuttings, we have a nice selection of seeds to share including zinnias (fast-growing color), cucumber (nearly your last chance to plant them), native red salvia, dwarf poinciana (I don’t know how they did with that much cold), papaya, sorrel, blanket flower and Dombeya (Florida hydrangea) that froze to the ground but is coming back already.

Cover photo credit: Fairchild Gardens in a column about their favorite hedge.