Plant name: Florida privet
Botanical name:Forestiera segregata
Virtues: Attracts pollinators with its small flowers and birds with its purplish black berries.
Flowers: Small and greenish yellow, appearing in early spring. Rather nondescript but attractive to pollinators. Followed by purplish black berries that birds enjoy.
Foliage: Long and narrow. Shiny dark green on top and dull green on the underside.
Habit: Large semi-evergreen shrub or small tree to 10 feet tall, with a dense crown.
Origin: Pinelands and coastal habitats of Georgia and Florida, through the Caribbean, and in Bermuda.
Cultivation: Grow in part shade to full sun. Tolerates a wide range of soil pH and soil types (sand, loam, clay). Requires good drainage. Tolerates drought and wind. Works well as a hedge or screen, taking shearing and clipping well. Can be trained into a specimen tree with early clipping. USDA Zones 8b through 11.
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