More than three-quarters of Florida’s population lives in coastal counties. Landscaping in these areas requires a little extra planning when choosing what plants to use for homes that occupy beachfront property. Some important things to consider when choosing plants for beachfront homes is to pick plants that can handle the coastal breeze, high levels of salt, and sandy high-pH soils.

If you have a beachfront home in Palm Beach, Jupiter, Manalapan, and the surrounding areas, here are some of the best plants to use for your coastal property.

Plants That Have a High Salt Tolerance Include Bluestem, Salt Grass, & More

One of the most important things to consider when choosing plants for your beachfront home is picking plants that have a high salt-tolerance. Salt is inescapable along the coast, therefore it’s important that your property’s plants can handle the high levels of salt, both in the air and on the ground. This is especially important for homes that live within an eighth of a mile of the coast and have seawater occasionally wash over their property. Salt-tolerant plants can have varying degrees of tolerance, but the higher the level of tolerance, the better.

Some common plants that have a high salt-tolerance include:

• Saltgrass 
• Seashore paspalum
• Coastal bluestem
• Dune sunflowers
• And more!

In addition to high salt-tolerance, beachfront plants and flowers must be hardy and able to handle salt spray, coastal breezes, high winds, and sandy soils with high pH levels. The soil along the coast tends to be neutral to alkaline and is composed of coarse sand and shell fragments. Sandy or loamy soil has little organic matter and low fertility, high levels of salt and is exceedingly well-drained. Plants that do best in this type of soil are adapted to hot, dry, sunny, and windy conditions, and are very salt-tolerant. Many native plants to our area already have a high tolerance for these conditions.

Perennials and Annuals that Thrive Along Florida’s Southeast Coast

Many homeowners choose to balance the greenery of their landscape with colorful perennials and annuals. While these flowers typically tend to be less tolerant of coastal weather, there are quite a few that can thrive well in our area.

Some perennials that thrive well in our climate and have high salt-tolerance include beach elder, gazania (African daisy), Indian blanket, beach sunflower, firecracker plant, and rain lily. While most annuals tend to be ill-suited for the heat and humidity, some drought-tolerant annuals thrive well along Florida’s southeast coast. Some annuals that are very tolerant of our area and weather conditions are Mexican sunflower, purple-top verbena, zinnia, and dusty miller.

When choosing perennials or annuals for your beachfront home, choose plants that thrive well in loamy alkaline soils, have higher salt tolerance, are drought-tolerant, and can handle the heat and humidity along the coast.

Trees and Shrubs for Your Beachfront Home

Some of the best trees for beachfront properties are palms. Palm trees are predominantly tropical and subtropical evergreens and typically require very little maintenance. Native palms, cycads, and palm-like plants are very tolerant to salt, coastal winds, and sandy soils. Trees with high salt and drought tolerance include the seashore palm, Canary date palm, and coconut palm.

Shrubs offer great accenting for your beachfront property and add privacy to your home. Common shrubs used for coastal homes include Yellow Trinettes, multi-colored Crotons, Firebrush, Gallberry, and Spanish Bayonet. These shrubs are hardy, salt and drought-tolerant, and thrive well in hot, humid weather.

Wanting to add some plants to your beachfront home?

For over 30 years, Greenscape Design has been a leading landscape company providing high-quality landscaping services for beachfront homes in Palm Beach, Jupiter, Manalapan, and the surrounding areas. We provide several native coastal plants and offer a one-year warranty on all our plants. Call us today at (561) 968-3243 to learn more about adding some plants to your beachfront home.