A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Plants and Flowers Forum Shade and salt tolerance

What can I plant under a large ficus tree that is salt tolerant (florida)?

You did not say how close to the beach you are, but coastal -- particularly beachfront -- landscaping can be very challenging, especially if there is salt spray involved.

Most plants do not tolerate salt accumulating on their foliage. Further complicating your landscape needs are factors such as poor soil conditions, lots of sand (even sand being blown around), high temperatures, and excessive drainage.

The further away you are from salt laden air being blown inland from the ocean, the better off your landscaping!

So one concept is to block the thrust of these salty winds. If you look at maritime forests, you will see that they are sorta shorn and stunted on the oceanward side. They do the work of blocking. But wherever the forests have been taken down for modern construction, you are wide open. That means resorting to manmade efforts to block the wind. Buildings, fences, walls,and plants which are salt tolerant can all create a safety zone for plants less tolerant of salt if they are planted on the landward side of the structure.

A house with ocean front property will actually have two micro environments. On the ocean side, it will be plants that can tolerate the salt better and the on the land side will be plants less tolerant.

Also, irrigation from above to wash the salt away is helpful. In case you are wondering why salt is so tough on plants it is because of a process known as exosmosis. What this means is that salt causes water to move out of the plants. In young plants and leaves, it can lead to burning and loss of leaves if the plant is not tolerant of salt.

A general rule of thumb is... properties within 1/8 of a mile from a beach should utilize plants that are tolerant of salt. The other area where this would be true is properties along brackish water estuaries.

Before investing anything in quality plants, you should have your soil pH tested. Your local extension office can make recommendations for amending the soil to improve your soil's ability to hold water and improve plant growth.

If you are already growing a ficus elastica, or ficus benjamina, you must have it in a zone that is safe for plants w/ moderate tolerance of salt.

Just in terms of salt tolerance, you might consider growing the following in the same area:

kalanchoe
purple queen
Mexican flame vine
blood leaf
wandering jew

Two plants which are slightly salt tolerant though not as tolerant as the above are Coleus coleus blumei and Transvaal daisy gerbera jamesonii


Merme

Welcome, nrogers.
A couple other perennials that can tolerate the salt winds and some shade are agapanthus (lily of the Nile), aloe arborescens (tree aloe), centranthus ruber (jupiter's beard), convolvulus sabatius (ground morning glory), dianthus (pinks), erigeron (fleabane), some euphorbias. I found no deep shade plants that could handle the seaside conditions.