In the sunny Florida weather, we love living outside. If you’re reading this blog, chances are you do too.
When you go outside, you want it to be beautiful and inviting, whether you’re reading a book on the patio by yourself or having friends over for a night of backyard fun.
One of the best ways to achieve that is to grow a selection of potted plants.
Gardening in Florida poses some unique challenges due to the sunny, humid climate. While in-ground gardens flourish in many parts of the state, container gardening is extremely popular for those with smaller yards or living on patios and balconies. With some strategic plant selections, pots can overflow with beautiful tropical flowers, lush greenery, hardy succulents and more.
As an avid gardener living in Orlando, I’ve experimented with countless plant varieties over the years to determine which ones thrive best in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. Here are some of my top recommendations for stunning plants that perform wonderfully in pots all around Florida.
Vibrant Tropical Flowers
No Florida container garden is complete without some flashy tropical blooms These flowering plants add gorgeous pops of color while tolerating both blazing sun and heavy rainfall
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Hibiscus – Few flowers represent the tropics better than hibiscus, These flashy blooms come in every color and look beautiful contrasted against dark glossy leaves Keep soil moist,
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Bougainvillea – Available in shades like hot pink, purple, red and more, bougainvillea cascades beautifully down pot edges with its bracts and tiny white blooms. Prefers well-drained soil.
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Mandevilla – Climbing mandevilla vines produce abundant pink, red or white flowers that last through summer and fall. Use trellises to showcase them.
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Pentas – Available in red, pink, white and lavender, these compact perennials flower nonstop in heat and don’t mind dry soil. Excellent for small pots.
Lush Tropical Foliage
Tropical foliage plants add lush, vibrant greenery that transforms any outdoor space into a tropical oasis. Their leaves come in array of colors, shapes, textures and patterns.
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Crotons – Crotons show off stunning leaf colors like red, orange, yellow, pink and purple. Place in filtered sun to maintain their vibrant foliage.
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Bromeliads – With fascinating shapes and patterns, bromeliads are low maintenance and thrive in bright shade. Select pups to replant.
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Philodendrons – From climbing varieties to shrub-like philodendrons, their fleshy leaves come in diverse shapes like Heartleaf and Fiddle Leaf.
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Elephant ears – For giant statement leaves, you can’t beat elephant ears. Their leaves span 2 feet across in shades of black, green and burgundy.
Hardy Succulents and More
Succulents are the perfect choice for Florida’s intense sun and periods of drought. Their fleshy leaves and stems retain moisture even in dry conditions.
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Agave – Agaves lend a tropical tone with their spiky blue-green leaves. Use larger varieties as bold accents in pots.
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Aloe – With medicinal qualities and bright flowers, aloe thrives in sun and needs very little care. Choose dwarf cultivars for containers.
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Bromeliads – Bromeliads like the urn plant have drought-tolerant, architectural foliage patterns that work wonderfully in low maintenance containers.
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Ponytail palm – A favorite Florida container plant, these small “palms” actually have a bulbous base with long, strappy leaves up top.
Fragrant Flowering Favorites
Some flowering plants are prized just as much for their heavenly scents as their good looks. Fragrant blooms are best appreciated up close, making them perfect for pots on porches, patios and balconies.
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Gardenia – Prized for their intoxicating floral fragrance, gardenia blooms pair beautifully with shiny, deep green leaves. Provide acid fertilizer.
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Jasmine – Both jasmine vines and shrubs flower in spring and summer with an unbeatable sweet scent. Grow them up trellises or arbors.
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Plumeria – Their sweet frangipani fragrance is matched only by their vibrant colors like pink, yellow, coral and white. Needs excellent drainage.
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Citrus Trees – Grow patio-sized Meyer lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, and kumquat trees for fragrant flowers and edible fruit.
Edible Herbs, Fruits and Vegetables
Container gardening opens up opportunities to grow fresh herbs, fruits, and vegetables in small outdoor spaces. Match edible plants appropriately to container size.
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Herbs – Herbs like basil, thyme, oregano, cilantro and rosemary are very productive in pots. Use them to cook with!
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Chili peppers – Grow ornamental hot peppers in containers for both looks and harvests. Place by sunny entries or patios.
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Strawberries – Even berries can grow well in hanging planters and pots. Select compact, container-friendly cultivars.
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Tomatoes – Go for dwarf tomato cultivars that stay manageable for containers like ‘Red Robin’ or ‘Tiny Tim’.
With strategic plant selections, Florida gardeners can create stunning container gardens overflowing with flowers, foliage, succulents and edibles. Utilize trellises and layer heights for added visual interest. Maintain your potted plants with regular watering, fertilizing and grooming. Your lush container garden will soon be the envy of the neighborhood!
Why grow potted plants?
There are lots of advantages to growing plants in pots and containers. For new gardeners, it can be a great way to get started. You can enjoy the benefits of plants even if you don’t have the time or space to keep up a big garden. Potted plants look great on any deck, patio, balcony, or even windowsill.
Lantana is a small evergreen shrub that comes in a beautiful range of colors. It’s a classic low-maintenance plant—all it needs is a sunny spot and regular watering if it’s in a pot. Lantanas clusters of gorgeous flowers will add a pop of color to any deck or patio.
Make sure to plant your lantana in a container with drainage holes. You can also improve drainage by adding some sand to the bottom of your container.
Marigolds, with their bronzed-orange blooms, are a favorite container plant to brighten up your outdoor spaces. They’re easy to take care of and are said to keep bugs away, which makes them a great choice for your patio garden.
These drought-tolerant plants need plenty of direct sunlight. They do best in well-drained soil, so make sure to include drainage holes in your plant pot. Marigolds should not be crowded, so if you’re using a pot, only plant one. If you’re planting more than one seed in a pot, give each one a few inches of space.
Bamboo is a popular choice for a deck or patio as it makes an ideal privacy plant. You could plant it in the ground next to the edge of your yard so that the thick leaves will protect you from the sun.
If planting in the ground is not an option, bamboo can also be grown in a container. Youll need to make sure you choose something suitable: it has to be large enough for the bamboo to take root, and you want a stable shape so it wont blow over in the wind. Wilson Bros has some great tips for growing bamboo in a container.
Bird of Paradise is a beautiful plant for a deck garden, patio, or balcony. Its flowers look like cute birds from far away. In Central and Southern Florida, bird of paradise is suited to the climate and can be grown outdoors.
In cooler places, it needs to be kept out of the cold because the distinctive blooms can be damaged by temperatures below freezing. Some people grow these pretty plants in pots, which makes it easy to bring them inside for a short time when it gets cold.
If you want to add bird of paradise to your balcony or patio, decide where it will get shade because direct sunlight can hurt the leaves.
Agave can handle a lot of dry conditions and grows well in Zones 9–11, which makes it a great choice for your Florida patio or deck. Agaves come in more than 200 different species. The century plant is one of the most well-known.
Spineless century plant is a small variety of agave that works well as a patio plant. As the name suggests, it doesn’t have the sharp spines that some other cultivars do. It grows to be three to six feet wide. Its pretty white or yellow flowers bloom periodically for about ten years after planting.
Agave requires at least six hours per day of direct sunlight. Well-drained soil is another important requirement – otherwise root rot could become a problem. Taking these needs into account, though, this type of agave should do well in a pot for many years.
Like agave, string of pearls is a succulent that thrives on plenty of direct sunlight. This beautiful plant has a very distinctive appearance, with trailing stems of spherical, bead-like leaves. It looks beautiful all year long hanging from a basket or going over the side of a tall container. When it blooms, its white flowers make it even more striking.
String of pearls should be planted in well-draining soil. Although it likes sun, it can also tolerate partial shade. This tropical plant is very easy to propagate from cuttings – Succulents Box has some tips here. Although an individual plant will only live for around five years, if you keep propagating, string of pearls will last indefinitely.
Although many cacti prefer dry climates, there are several species which can thrive in Floridas more humid conditions. Prickly pear, with its bright blooms, is a popular variety.
Christmas cactus grows best in containers. It also has beautiful flowers, but they need to be brought inside when it gets cooler.
Cacti require plenty of full sun and minimal watering with long breaks in between. They make an excellent choice for low maintenance deck plants.
Cherry tomatoes make great patio plants as long as they are planted at the right time of year, after the frost has passed but before it gets too hot in the summer.
Its easy to grow these plants that you can eat, and once they’re established, you can enjoy their tasty fruits all through Florida’s hot summer. This plant is great for the patio because it has green leaves, bright red fruits, and a nice smell.
Cherry tomatoes require plenty of sun for four to six hours each day and need frequent watering.
The vast majority of culinary herbs can be grown successfully in planters or containers. Their unique leaf shapes and smells will make your deck or patio a pleasant place to be.
Herbs often grow quickly, which makes them great for growing with kids because they give a quick return. Their beautiful leaves are another draw for little ones, who can enjoy smelling and even tasting the herbs.
Some varieties to start with include rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil and mint. Go for whatever you think youll use in the kitchen!.
How to care for your patio plants
Learn as much as you can about how to take care of patio plants and keep them healthy. Make sure you know about the type of plant you want to grow so you can decide whether it needs full sun or shade.
Remember to pay attention to the weather, too. If you put your plants outside as soon as the weather gets warmer, you might need to keep an eye out for frost. Alternatively, you could bring the plant pot inside at night until the weather stays the same.
As with all plants, water as required: either too much or too little can cause problems. When you put plants in containers, it’s especially important to make sure the soil drains well so the roots don’t get stuck in water. Pick a plant pot with holes in the bottom for drainage, and if you need to, add sand to help it drain better.
We hope that this article has helped you choose the right plants for your sunny patio garden, whether you want to start with just one or two plants or fill your deck or balcony with lots of different kinds of bright leaves and fragrant flowers.
Best Container Plants For South Florida
FAQ
What are the easiest outdoor plants to take care of in Florida?
What plants grow well in pots full sun?
What kind of flowers bloom year-round in Florida?
What are the best flowers for pots in Florida?
Because easy to grow in any media include in the pot, making marigolds one of the best flowers for pots in Florida. 4. Geranium This is a heat loving plant that tends to do well once it gets going. Consider starting it from a plant at a nursery or a transplant if you are new to gardening.
What plants grow well in Florida?
Trees are the perfect plants for adding texture and dimension to your container garden, and luckily there are a few species that grow well in Florida. One of them is the Lady Palm, which will thrive in a shady spot in your garden where it can grow from six to ten feet tall.
What vegetables can you grow in a container garden in Florida?
You can make a salad with them later! Other vegetables that grow well in Florida container gardens include tomatoes, acorn squash, eggplant, radishes, and parsley. Pole beans and cucumbers are also good plants for such gardens, but these plants will need a bit more room as their long vines will quickly fill a small container.
Can you grow plants in pots in Florida?
Many of the same plants grown outdoors in the landscape will survive and flourish quite well growing inside of pots. This allows Florida gardeners with limited space a chance to fill their porches and patios with an abundance of foliage. Even novice gardeners will find trees, shrubs, fruit-bearing species and flowers to fill their containers.