4. MULCH

Mulch can be extremely beneficial to your Florida friendly landscape by helping to improve soil fertility and preventing weed growth.

Type of Mulch: Pay attention to which kind of mulch you are buying. Try to avoid mulch made from bald cypress trees since these are beneficial trees in Florida. Melaleuca mulch provides a useful recycling of an invasive tree, and pine straw mulch is a renewable resource since it is made from shredded pine needles.

Conserve water: Mulched beds do not need to be watered as much because the mulch helps the soil to retain its moisture longer.

Matting: Old layers of mulch can become matted thereby preventing air and water from seeping through. This can be avoided by occasionally raking the mulch to break up any such layers that might have formed.

Regulations: Beware of mulch that is made from recycled timber and plywood products as these can contain harmful toxins. The Mulch and Soil Council assists regulators, retailers and consumers in determining what products conform to industry guidelines: http://www.mulchandsoilcouncil.org/

Replenishment: How often to replenish mulch beds depends on the type of mulch that is being used. Pine needles, for example, typically need to be changed every six months due to decomposition.

Right Plant, Right Place Important to the success of a Florida-friendly yard is planting the right plant, in the right place. For example, group plants that require more sunlight together.


Water Efficiency Planting Florida-friendly plants helps to conserving precious water resources. There are some other innovative ways in which we can help to conserve and reuse the water that falls in our yard!


Fertilize Appropriately Pollution from fertilizers and pesticides in storm water run off from yards, contributes to excessive levels of nitrogen and phosphates in our waterways, often resulting in harmful algal blooms.


Mulch Mulch is natural organic material that is laid down in your yard to help retain moisture in the soil and prevent weeds from growing. It’s decomposition helps to greatly enrich topsoil.


Attracting Wildlife Many of Florida’s birds and butterflies are intricately connected to the native flora. Including Florida native plants in your yard will most definitely attract them to come and visit!


Managing Pesticides Responsibly While there are some plants that are difficult to manage without pesticides and herbicides, most Florida native plants do not need applications of either.


Recycle Much of what is in our yard can be recycled and put to good use! Here is an innovative way in which to use up branches from a nuisance exotic tree.



Storm Water Runoff Tropical summer rains produce torrents of water that flow through urban neighborhoods absorbing chemicals from yards and driveways along the way. This toxic runoff pollutes all waterways, and needs to be reduced.


Protect the Waterfront Many homes in Florida are situated on a lake, canal, wetland or the ocean. Certain kinds of vegetation can help to minimize the effects of storm water runoff while providing important habitat for birds and small aquatic animals.


Benefits of a Florida-friendly Yard There are numerous benefits to planting Florida-friendly plants in your yard, from saving money to minimizing the amount of time spent on maintenance; not to mention the beauty of the birds and butterflies that come to visit!