Native Hedges
Why Plant Native Hedges?
Think of the plants in your landscape as if they were bird feeders, because of the fruit they can produce and the caterpillars they can support. Your lawn, and those exotic hedges everyone is planting, are empty bird feeders that are literally starving the birds off of your property. The native wildlife did not evolve to eat exotic plants. Unless you’re trying to create a food desert it’s important to use native hedge species to support the ecosystem.
Clusia is Tacky
The Clusia Flava that everyone is planting is from South America. Landscapers love it because it grows fast and you’ll have to paying them to keep cutting it. Why would you want a cookie cutter hedge that looks like everyone else’s?
Podocarpus = Carbon
Podocarpus is an 85’ tree from Japan that landscapers plant where people want a hedge. That instant gratification comes with a huge maintenance burden. You’ve just planted a carbon producer! The hedge trimmers will be here to stay and the leaf blowers will scare off your nesting birds.
Areca Palms are a Pain
You can do better than this. Areca is from Madagascar and will forever litter your yard with palm fronds. The trunks are so thick you can’t cut them back with hedge trimmers so make sure to keep the chainsaw handy.
Natives Make Great Hedges
What makes a great hedge?
It requires minimal trimming - use the right plant in right place, unlike the carbon producing hedges everyone else is installing
It feeds the wildlife - bring birds and butterflies to your yard
It should have variety - use different species that bloom at different times will keep it interesting
It should be dense - to do its job as a privacy screen
Native hedges are more beautiful than the fake stuff everyone else is using because they are alive. And it doesn’t hurt that they are also low maintenance and save you money, as they require no pesticides or fertilizer, and little trimming if you use the right plants
Crabwood
A dense olow maintenance hedge that is the larval host for the Florida purplewing butterfly.
Marlberry
Marlberry is a super wildlife supporter provides food and nectar for a wide variety of birds and butterflies. It has sweet and fruity-smelling flowers and beautiful berries
Jamaica Caper
Great for birds, showy flowers and interesting orange seed pods. Hurricane tolerant and the larval host for the Florida white butterfly.
Congrats on Your New Native Hedge!
Enjoy the wildlife and not having to stare at your neighbor’s clusia anymore. Learn about our prototype home forest to get ideas on what you can do at a larger scale