Difficult Plants Don't Have to Be

Pine lily - Lilium catesbaei

Flyr's nemesis - Brickellia cordifolia

My landscape continues to develop here in Holiday. Each day brings something new and I believe that this is what landscaping with native plants gives to us - a never ending progression of flowers, pollinators and change. The mostly "tropical" plants used so commonly in my part of the world are static. They often provide nothing in terms of ecological value, but they are static things that bring no sense of changing seasons and nothing new to look forward to. When folks tell me that Florida has "no seasons", I know that they have not surrounded themselves with native plants. I mark the seasons with my plants and they never fail to tell me what time of year it is.
Today, my time of year is punctuated with two of my favorites - the amazingly beautiful pine lily (Lilium catesbaei) and the equally beautiful Flyr's nemesis (Brickellia cordifolia). Both of these are listed species and both might be considered difficult to keep in a developed landscape such as mine. These, and species like my Alabama azaleas (Rhododendron alabamensis), are doing quite well here, however. The trick is to understand their growing requirements and then to provide them. Plants are no different than animals in that regard. Before we can add one to our care, we need to take the time to know what they will need from us. Why do so many of the gardeners I know simply purchase a plant and stick it in the ground without knowing anything about it except that they want it?
I have had the luxury, perhaps, of gardening with native plants here in central Florida for nearly 33 years now. Over those years, I've wandered extensively throughout the state and seen a great many of our natives in their natural habitat. I've taken mental notes of where they were growing and what they were growing with. The first step should always be that: understand a plant in its natural setting. Some are very adaptable and will do fine in a wide variety of settings, but these above are not those kind of plants. They are particular about their growing conditions. That doesn't make them difficult, it only makes them fussy...
My pine lily has stuck by me now for almost a decade. When I first acquired it, I planted it directly into my landscape at my former home. The site was droughty and semi-shaded. For several years in this location, it would put up a couple of basal leaves in the spring and then decline. What I came to understand is that it needed more moisture and sun than I was giving it. If you notice where pine lilies occur naturally, they reside in flatwoods and prairies where the soils are saturated during the wettest times of the year - and they are in full sun. The year I woke up to that fact, I dug the small bulb out of the site I had planted it in and moved it to the large wetland pot that I was growing my wetland Eryngiums in. 

My wetland pot

In here, the soil stays completely saturated for up to three months each summer and in this setting my lily has thrived. When I moved this pot from my former home to my present one, it made the journey easily and I located the pot in one of the sunniest places in my landscape.
I first saw Flyr's nemesis (Brickellia cordifolia) growing proudly in an open sandhill area of San Felasco Hammock in Gainesville. At the time, I had no idea what it was as I had never seen this wildflower before. What drew my attention to it was the huge activity of pollinators surrounding it. When I was able much later to acquire a few from a native nursery, I understood that it needed sun and well-drained soils. I've added it to my wildflower garden in the front and so far, it is doing well - much better than when I attempted it in my former yard. The soils there had too many organics and the water from the rains either didn't soak in as deeply as they would have in pure sand and they stayed too wet once they were hydrated.
Because a plant is fussy does not mean it can't be easily grown. One can change the site conditions, as I have done with my lily or one can alter the drainage or sunlight a bit by finding the right location. Over the years, I have heard far too many people bemoan the "fact" that they can't grow something because they tried it once and it died....... You can accept this, or you can take the time to learn why it died and try something different the next time. I've killed a great many plants in my life, but I've often ended up succeeding with those I truly wanted near me.