Some of our native shrubs are adapted to fire in the natural habitats that they occur in.\u00a0 They are burnt to the ground every three years and become rangy when not.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beautyberry and necklacepod are prime examples.\u00a0 Our county\u2019s natural areas are often managed with fire, yet I wouldn\u2019t suggest this at home.\u00a0 Instead, you will need a good pair of loppers, a bow saw, and clippers.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shrubs that benefit from severe pruning include: beautyberry, firebush, wild coffee, necklacepod, fiddlewood and native wild plumbago.\u00a0\u00a0 If you don\u2019t want to prune to the ground then leave a foot or two.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This can be done every three to five years.\u00a0 Prune Jamaica caper, crabwood, marlberry, myrsine and the stoppers only to shape them if necessary the first few years and then leave them to grow tall and full thereafter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you decide to make a hedge out of your shrubs, please don\u2019t square them.\u00a0 This removes most of the flowers and fruit and looks unsightly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I personally like a mixed hedge with different heights, leaf shapes, and color of foliage and best of all, a progression of fruit to keep the full time birds and migratory birds well fed.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just go to one of our natural areas and notice which plants grow together.\u00a0 Along the coast you will find Spanish stopper, wild coffee, Jamaica caper, marlberry, saw palmetto, myrsine, wildlime, and beach cocoplum all growing in a beautiful mix.\u00a0 Throw in some firebush and you will have year-round fruit and flowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the middle of August you may see the first migrating warblers, followed in September by hummingbirds, and painted buntings in October. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Plants that fruit \u00a0in late summer and early fall \u00a0include Jamaica caper, beach cocoplum, elderberry, saw palmetto, spicewood, Bahama strongbark, Simpson’s stopper, and Walter\u2019s viburnum. Their berries will greet the new arrivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A healthy, naturally shaped shrub will produce more fruit and cover for wildlife and look much better than when squared.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kill grass underneath and mulch over it, (no need to pull it up), and you won\u2019t have to worry about the bark of your shrubs and trees being torn off by the gardener\u2019s weed- eater.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Plant in front of your mixed hedge with low wildflowers including: sunshine mimosa, dune sunflower, pineland petunia, coontie, beach creeper or love grass.\u00a0 Even corky passionvine makes a nice ground cover and is a larval food for three butterflies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If your native plants look their best, your neighbors will want them also.\u00a0 Imagine a neighborhood full of birds and butterflies and so little lawn that water use is no longer an issue.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t forget the quiet that idle lawnmowers and blowers will bring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Trim For Wildlife Some of our native shrubs are adapted to fire in the natural habitats that they occur in.\u00a0 They are burnt to the ground every three years and become rangy when not.\u00a0 Beautyberry and necklacepod are prime examples.\u00a0 Our county\u2019s natural areas are often managed with fire, yet I wouldn\u2019t suggest this at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-native-landscapes"],"yoast_head":"\n