Learn to Grow

Get started growing wildflowers

Bring best practices home. Discover the best methods for establishing wildflowers in your garden with resources that will help you select and find the right plant for the right place.

What is native?

A Florida native wildflower is a flowering herbaceous species that grew wild within the state’s natural ecosystems in the 1560s, when Florida’s first botanical records were created.

Read the Foundation’s full definition of Florida native plants, including cultivars.

Bee on Beggarticks (*Bidens alba*) by Bob Peterson (CC BY 2.0)

Getting Started

Start with 20 Easy Wildflowers

With interest mounting in using wildflowers in urban landscapes, there is a huge demand for information for those new to Florida’s native plants. Enter “20 Easy-to-Grow Wildflowers.”

The 24-page magazine features a selection of 20 “tried and true” wildflowers that are easy to grow and maintain. And, with interest in supporting our beleaguered bees, butterflies and wildlife at an all-time high, readers will find that the selected plants excel at providing nectar, pollen and habitat.

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Your Florida garden plan

Choose plants correct for your site’s conditions and climate zone.
For sunny gardens, choose a site that gets four or more hours of sun.
For shade gardens, select a site with light daily or afternoon shade.
Use native grasses or groundcovers to fill space and add interest.
Select plants that provide resources for birds, bees and butterflies.
Let seeds dry and set naturally to produce new plants.

Get the facts on growing native wildflowers

Adding wildflowers to your landscape is easy — just select the right plant for the right place. On this page, you’ll find information that will help you be a blooming success. Reduce shipping costs and carbon footprint by downloading and printing these educational handouts.

Order copies of our brochures and handouts for a school, meeting or event. Or print them yourself and reduce shipping costs and carbon footprint. Just click on the handout(s) below and download them as printable PDFs.

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20 Easy-to-Grow Wildflowers

This 24-page magazine features 20 “tried and true” wildflowers that are easy to grow and maintain in home and urban landscapes.

Aquatic wildflowers

Wondering what native wildflowers and plants to use along your pond or wetland edge? Our guide will help you select the appropriate species for any aquatic environment. Versión en español disponible.

Attracting Bees

You can help provide food and habitat for Florida’s native bees and other beneficial insects by landscaping with native wildflowers. Versión en español disponible.

Attracting Birds

Bring birds into your landscape by planting Florida native wildflowers, grasses and shrubs that provide food and habitat. Learn more now. Versión en español disponible.

Attracting Butterflies

You can help provide food and habitat for Florida’s butterflies by landscaping with native wildflowers. Learn more now. Versión en español disponible.

Collecting Seed

One of the easiest methods of supplying new wildflowers for your yard is by growing your own from seed. Collecting seed from your plants is fun, and growing wildflowers from seed is easier than you think. Versión en español disponible.

Create a Pollinator Pot

The insects that pollinate our food crops and natural areas are in steep decline. Our suburban landscapes are more important than ever in supporting them. No place for a garden? No problem! Our new video and handout can help you create a small pollinator oasis in a pot! Versión en español disponible.

Dry Landscapes

Wondering what native wildflowers and plants to use in a dry landscape? Use our new handout to evaluate your landscape’s soil moisture and choose diverse species that will thrive and give your landscape a “real Florida” feel. Versión en español disponible.

Monarchs and Milkweed

Learn about Monarch butterflies and the Florida native milkweed they require as host plants for their caterpillars. The publication features cautions about the use of non-native Tropical milkweed. Versión en español disponible.

Plant selection guide

This guide includes over 120 Florida native wildflowers, shrubs, vines and grasses that work well in home landscapes. It will help you choose plants based on your location, soil and light conditions, color and season of bloom, and pollinator use. Versión en español disponible.

Seeding Dates

Sowing seed at the appropriate time of year is one of the factors critical to successfully establishing a native wildflower/grass planting. Seed must be sown when germination, emergence and subsequent growth will occur quickly enough for wildflowers to fend off competing weed seedlings and for seedlings to tolerate adverse weather conditions. Versión en español disponible.

Shady landscapes

Wondering what native wildflowers and plants to use in a shady landscape? Use our new handout to evaluate your landscape’s light conditions and choose diverse species that will thrive and give your landscape a “real Florida” feel. Versión en español disponible.

Starting from seed

Follow these 12 steps to establish a small landscape planting of native wildflowers. Versión en español disponible.

find everything you need

Plants and seeds

Plant Real Florida
Find plants, native nurseries and landscape professionals

Florida Wildflower Seed Co-op
Purchase native wildflower seeds

Other resources

Florida Native Plant Society
Build a list of appropriate native plants for your landscape

Natives for Your Neighborhood
See what native plants occur in your Zip code

Tools and tips for homeowners and professionals
More resources for sustainable landscaping