Top 20 Florida Flowers With Pictures

From the vibrant wildflowers along roadsides to the lush tropical blooms in gardens, Florida is graced with an incredible array of beautiful flowers. The warm, humid climate allows many wonderful annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees to thrive and produce stunning floral displays nearly year-round.

This guide will showcase the top 20 flower varieties that flourish in Florida landscapes and gardens. You’ll find pictures to help identify each one, plus tips on their ideal growing conditions. Get ready to be inspired by the amazing diversity of Florida’s floral beauty!

1. Bougainvillea

The bougainvillea puts on an eye-catching show with masses of colorful papery bracts surrounding its small white tubular flowers. These tough plants thrive in Florida’s heat and are virtually indestructible once established.

Bougainvillea blooms come in brilliant shades of purple, red, pink, orange, yellow and white. Plant them in full sun with well-draining soil and watch their vines cascade over fences, trellises, and arbors all year long.

2. Hibiscus

No Florida flower is more iconic than the tropical hibiscus. These statuesque shrubs or small trees produce enormous, showy funnel-shaped blooms up to 8 inches wide!

Hibiscus comes in a rainbow of colors like red, yellow, pink, white, and bicolors. For best bloom, plant them in full sun and amend the soil with compost or manure. Water hibiscus regularly and provide protection from strong winds. New flowers open daily.

3. Oleander

With their lush evergreen foliage and prolific blooms, oleanders are supreme flowering shrubs for Florida. Their clustered flowers resemble single roses and appear continuously in shades of pink, red, yellow, or white.

Grow oleanders in full sun and well-draining soil. Once established, they need little water and bloom heavily through the hottest summer days. Oleander shrubs can reach 8-12 feet tall but are easily pruned to tree-form.

4. Plumbago

For months of brilliant blue color, plumbago shrubs are hard to beat. Their phlox-like clusters of blue or white blooms keep coming from spring through fall with just occasional pruning.

Plumbago is very low-maintenance, only requiring full sun and well-drained soil. Let them trail along borders as an evergreen groundcover or grow them in containers for brilliant blue pops of color on patios.

5. Lantana

Lantana’s multi-colored flower clusters and easygoing nature make it a top pick for Florida gardens and landscapes. The orange, yellow, pink, red, and purple blooms continually smother this lush perennial until frost.

Lantanas prefer full sun and tolerate most any soil type as long as drainage is good. They’re excellent for edging paths, covering slopes, and attracting butterflies. Certain cultivars like Miss Huff even have purple foliage!

6. Red Powder Puff

This unusual Florida native shrub produces amazing bright red puff-like flower heads. Each powder puff is comprised of hundreds of tiny red-tipped tubular blooms clustered into a shaggy ball.

Red powder puff grows into a dense, rounded shrub around 6 feet tall and wide. Plant it in sun or partial shade with regular irrigation. The deep red fuzzy flowers are excellent for dried arrangements.

7. Canna

You can’t miss the large, showy flowers of tropical cannas adorning Florida landscapes. These towering plants shoot up thick stems of gorgeous ruffled blooms in shades of red, orange, yellow, and pink.

Grow cannas in full sun to partial shade and provide regular moisture and fertile, well-draining soil. For a dramatic pop of color, plant cannas in beds, borders, or cluster them around pools or ponds.

8. Royal Poinciana

Florida’s royal poinciana trees steal the show in late spring with their fiery orange and red flower clusters. The bright blossoms resemble silky feathers or ribbons among the delicate ferny foliage.

Royal poincianas bloom on bare branches before leaves unfurl, making the display even more striking. These deciduous trees require full sun and room to grow 30-40 feet tall and wide. Plant them as ornamental specimens in open areas.

9. Bird of Paradise

Florida’s warm, humid summers allow the showy bird of paradise to thrive. Its spectacular orange crested blooms continue appearing atop tall sturdy stalks throughout the growing season.

These attention-grabbing flowers resemble exotic birds in flight. Grow bird of paradise in full sun to light shade and provide ample moisture and well-drained soil. They reach 5-6 feet tall when mature.

10. Ginger Lily

You’ll immediately notice the incredible fragrance of ginger lilies wafting from their clusters of white and pink-blushed blooms. These head-turning perennials deliver bold, tropical floral displays in shadier spots.

Plant ginger lilies in part shade to full shade areas with fertile, well-draining soil. Their lush, evergreen foliage and unique buttercup flowers add a lush accent to gardens, patios, and containers.

11. Confederate Jasmine

With its glossy green vines smothered in pinwheel-like white blooms, Confederate jasmine is an amazing flowering vine option for warm climates. Its highly fragrant flowers perfume the air all spring and summer long.

Confederate jasmine grows vigorously once established in full sun to partial shade. Let it cascade over fences, pergolas, archways, or trail along the ground as a spreading evergreen groundcover.

12. Scorpion Tail

This easy perennial gets its name from the small, bright red tubular flowers that drape along its tall curving stems like a scorpion’s tail or antenna.

Native to Florida, scorpion tail is extremely low-maintenance and great for mass plantings in borders or naturalized areas. It blooms for months in full sun and is attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies.

13. Golden Dew Drop

Florida’s golden dewdrop is a must-have for warm, sunny gardens. It forms a large shrub or vine absolutely coated in chains of bright yellow fuzzy ball flowers. The blooms resemble beaded necklaces draping along the lengths of greenery.

This fast grower flowers most prolifically in full sun and is drought tolerant once established. Use it as a shrub, trailing plant or let it scramble up trellises for a stunning floral curtain.

14. Blue Porterweed

Blue porterweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis) certainly lives up to its name! Its spikes of vibrant blue and purple fuzzy blooms keep flowering continuously all year long.

Thankfully this low-care native is just as hardy as it is beautiful. Give it well-draining soil and full to partial sun and you’ll enjoy months of vivid blue flowers perfect for beds, borders, and containers. Porterweed also attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

15. Society Garlic

Don’t let the name fool you – society garlic has nothing to do with culinary garlic! In fact, its showy pinkish purple pom-pom flower heads are an iconic sight along Florida highways and fields.

This tough perennial bulb thrives on neglect and spreads easily when left alone. Plant society garlic in full sun and don’t overwater or overfertilize. The globular blooms add beautiful texture to gardens and are excellent for cutting.

16. Red Firespike

With its brilliant red bottlebrush spires, the firespike plant (Odontonema cuspidatum) is sure to be a showstopper! These tubular flowers are held high above the reddish foliage throughout the warm season.

Red firespike loves the heat and humidity of Florida summers. Give it well-drained soil and full to partial sun for the most plentiful blooms. Use it as an annual or bring containers inside before winter to overwinter.

17. Firecracker Bush

This compact flowering shrub lives up to its name with long clusters of tubular red and orange blooms resembling little “firecracker” bursts! The firecracker bush is tough and dependable, providing low-maintenance color all year.

Plant the firecracker bush in full to partial sun exposures with good drainage. Its tiny flowers are magnets for hummingbirds and butterflies. Lightly shear plants annually to keep them tidy and promote more blooms.

18. Pentas

Pentas lanceolata is one of the most versatile flowering plants for Florida. Its dense clusters of starry blooms come in pink, red, purple, or white and seem to never stop flowering, even in the heat of summer.

Pentas make beautiful bedding plants, container accents, or use them in mass plantings. They grow best in full to partial sun exposures and well-draining soil. Pentas are also valuable for pollinators like butterflies.

19. Alamanda

For a blast of bright, sunny color in the landscape, you can’t beat alamanda. This vigorous evergreen vine is smothered in large, rich yellow funnel-shaped blooms all year long in warm climates.

Alamanda should be planted in full sun exposures with well-draining soil. Let it scramble along fences, climb trellises, or trail along the ground as a groundcover. Regular pruning encourages more of the stunning floral displays.

20. Crossandras

For continuous crimson color, it’s hard to beat crossandra (Crossandra infundibuliformis). This tough evergreen perennial is literally covered in fuzzy red-orange flower spikes all year long in Florida’s warm climate.

Plant crossandras in full to partial sun exposures with well-draining soil. Though relatively low growing at 1-2 feet tall, their bright blooms make excellent mass plantings, edging for beds and borders, or use in containers and hanging baskets.

Crossandras are low maintenance once established, only requiring occasional trimming to remove spent flowers and tidy shape. The firecracker-like blooms are also excellent for attracting pollinators like hummingbirds and butterflies.

Those are just some of the top flower varieties that look incredible when planted in Florida gardens and landscapes! With so many gorgeous hues, forms, and plant types to choose from, you can create truly breathtaking floral displays in any sunny spot. A combination of perennials, shrubs, trees, vines, and annuals will provide unbeatable color and enjoyment throughout the year.