Florida's Plants of the Year

In a continuous effort to encourage the further production, sale and use of Florida-grown plants, the Florida Nurserymen & Growers Association has announced its 2003 selections of the Florida Plants of the Year. The award program, launched in 1998, promotes proven, yet under-utilized, Florida plant material. For the past six years, this effort has increased retail and wholesale demand for selected plants.

"The development of this type of program is beneficial to FNGA's members and retail growers," explains FNGA Marketing Committee Chairman Steve Brown. "Consumers benefit by learning about superior plants they might not have considered purchasing before."

The 2003 Florida Plants of the Year are:

Stokesia laevis/Stokes' Aster
Petrea volubilis/Sandpaper Vine
Paspalum quadrifarium/Evergreen Paspalum
Brunfelsia grandiflora/Yesterday-today-and-tomorrow

These proven ornamentals are selected yearly by a group of landscape professionals, retailers, growers, horticulturists and University of Florida faculty members. To be considered a Florida Plant of the Year, a plant must meet set criteria. For instance, selected plants have good pest resistance, require reasonable care and are fairly easy to propagate and grow. The award-winning plants must also exhibit some superior quality, improved performance or unique characteristic that sets it apart from others in its class.

The author is Assistant Editor - Internet for Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at aanderson@lawnandlandscape.com.