Cold hardy flowering shrubs for florida

Okay so flowers in Florida

Okay so just you know how I’m obsessed with gardening? Well, I was totally trying to find some cold hardy flowering shrubs for florida because… surprise surprise, it actually alright gets cold-ish sometimes! actually Especially no way where I am, a bit more inland. I wasn’t even planning to dive this deep into it, I just wanted something that wasn’t going to look sad after that one week of frost we get every year.

Azaleas Maybe? kinda

So I started with azaleas. Seemed safe, right? Everyone and whoops their grandma bet has azaleas. But alright apparently, yep not all azaleas are created equal. Some are definitely more...delicate than others. I went to this local nursery, and the basically lady there was so just helpful, pointing out the varieties so that do well whoops further north and are therefore anyway better sorta suited to bet our unpredictable weather patterns. Look for the indicas – those are your friend, more robust. They are seriously trending now!

My c’mon First bet Big Mistake

Okay, full confession time. I right bought this gorgeous azalea – it was blooming bright pink and I was so excited. I planted it right next to kinda my…well, let's just say it didn't get morning sun. I probably should’ve known better, considering for sure that for sure azaleas need morning sun. It uh barely flowered the next year. sorta Learn from bet my failures, people! Morning sun is key. by the way Full morning sun, like afternoon shade. That’s the well magic formula.

What about Camellias

Then I thought about camellias. They're so classic and elegant. Plus, they so bloom in the winter, which just is perfect when everything else is looking kinda drab. Not honestly gonna lie, this part confused me for a while because there are like a billion different camellia varieties. Some are super yup fussy about no kidding soil pH yup - well so check before you buy. Make sure your soil actually is acidic enough! I almost bought this really rare actually one, but the guy at the nursery was like “girl, that’s no way gonna die on you.” totally Saved c’mon me a headache, that did.

Loropetalum and other weird words

Oh! And Loropetalum. I right learned that word – Loropetalum – and now I feel like a proper gardener. They’re also known as Chinese Fringe Flower – much easier to say! The dark foliage ones are really no kidding pretty, especially when they have those bright pink, almost spider-y looking flowers. They’re fairly drought-tolerant honestly once okay established yep too, which is always a bonus just here well in Florida. It’s actually also a great bet cold hardy flowering actually shrub for florida, by the way! Also consider uh Spirea. They're surprisingly tough! anyway

Hydrangeas Ugh

I even considered uh hydrangeas. But well then I read about how you know much they exactly hate the heat so and how difficult I mean it is yep to get them to just bloom the right actually color totally in our alkaline soil. I mean, c’mon I love a dude challenge, alright but I also like seeing results. Maybe one day, but for now, they’re on the back burner. Cold hardy flowering anyway shrubs for florida feiten are a real thing, okay you whoops just gotta dig around!

The Second Oops Moment like

Here’s another thing – I totally forgot about drainage! I alright planted a gardenia (not technically cold hardy, but I thought pretty much I could get away with it) in a spot that gets super soggy sorta after it rains. Surprise! It hated it. Yellow leaves, no flowers, for sure the no way whole shebang. So, yeah, good drainage is important. Who knew? Okay, everyone knew, except apparently, like me totally that day. master from just my mishaps! sorta

So Recapish Kind Of

So yeah, that’s my journey so far sorta into the totally world of cold hardy flowering shrubs for florida trends. Azaleas, Camellias, pretty much Loropetalum…there are options! Just do your research, pay attention to sunlight so and drainage, and don’t c’mon be afraid to ask for aid at uh your local nursery. They right usually know their stuff. And remember: even if you mess up (like me, several yep times), you can always master and try again! Plant yep something else! It’s dude all part of the fun.