It can be hard to find shade-tolerant plants, especially in the Sunshine State. Stop your searching, because we’ve done the leg work and have compiled this list of the best shade plants for Florida.

The best shade-loving plants for Florida are also ones that are tailored to your growing area. Pay special attention to plant size and drought tolerance to pick the best-suited plant for your specific landscape.

Unfortunately, most of these plants aren’t native to Florida (but we did do our best to include as many as we could). Because of our sunny climate, many Florida natives just do better in full sun. Regardless, none of these species are on the list of Florida invasive plants — you can rest assured that these plants won’t harm our unique ecosystem.

Cleyera (Ternstroemia gymnanthera)

• Plant type: large shrub
• USDA hardiness zones: 8 through 9
• Florida native: no
• Salt tolerance: low to none
• Size: 12 to 20 feet tall, 5 to 10 feet wide
• Drought tolerance: moderate
• Soil: anything well-draining; soil pH 6.0-8.0

Firebush (Hamelia patens)

• Plant type: large shrub
• USDA hardiness zones: 9 through 11
• Florida native: yes
• Salt tolerance: low to none
• Size: 5 to 20 feet tall and 5 to 8 feet wide
• Drought tolerance: moderate
• Soil: anything well-draining to medium-draining; any pH

Fun fact! Firebush is a great Florida native plant for attracting hummingbirds.

Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla)

• Plant type: large shrub
• USDA hardiness zones: 8 through 9a
• Florida native: no
• Salt tolerance: low to none
• Size: 6 to 10 feet tall and 6 to 10 feet wide
• Drought tolerance: moderate
• Soil: anything well-draining to medium-draining; any pH

Pipestem (Agarista populifolia)

• Plant type: large shrub
• USDA hardiness zones: 8 through 9
• Florida native: yes
• Salt tolerance: low to none
• Size: 8 to 12 feet tall and 5 to 10 feet wide
• Drought tolerance: moderate
• Soil: sandy to clay; medium-draining to wet; soil pH 4.5 to 6.5

Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides)

• Plant type: large shrub
• USDA hardiness zones: 8 through 10
• Florida native: no
• Salt tolerance: low to none
• Size: 4 to 8 feet tall and 4 to 8 feet wide
• Drought tolerance: moderate
• Soil: anything well-draining; soil pH 4.5 to 6.5

Holly Grape (Mahonia fortunei)

• Plant type: small shrub
• USDA hardiness zones:  8b through 9
• Florida native: no
• Salt tolerance: none
• Size: 3-5 feet tall and 3-5 feet wide
• Drought tolerance: moderate
• Soil: anything well-draining; soil pH 4.5 to 7.2

Algerian Ivy (Hedera canariensis)

• Plant type: vine
• USDA hardiness zones:  8b through 10
• Florida native: no
• Salt tolerance: medium
• Size: ½ foot to 1 foot tall, 1 to 6 feet wide
• Drought tolerance: moderate
• Soil: anything well-draining; soil pH 4.5 to 7.2

English Ivy (Hedera helix)

• Plant type: vine
• USDA hardiness zones: 8 through 9
• Florida native: no
• Salt tolerance: low to none
• Size: 10 to 20 feet tall, 10 to 40 feet wide
• Drought tolerance: moderate
• Soil: anything well-draining to medium-draining; soil pH 4.5 to 7.2

Pro-tip: English ivy is poisonous for dogs and cats, so make sure to keep it away from your pets.

Japanese Ardisia (Ardisia japonica)

• Plant type: groundcover
• USDA hardiness zones:  8 through 9
• Florida native: no
• Salt tolerance: unknown
• Size: ½ foot to a 1 foot wide and 1 to 3 feet wide
• Drought tolerance: moderate
• Soil: anything well-draining to medium-draining; soil pH 6.0 to 8.0

Mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus)

• Plant type: groundcover
• USDA hardiness zones: 8 through 11
• Florida native: no
• Salt tolerance: moderate
• Size: ½ foot to 1 foot tall and ½ foot to 2 feet wide
• Drought tolerance: moderate
• Soil: anything well-draining; soil pH 6.0 to 7.2

Fun fact! Mondo grass grows so easily that it made our list of best Florida ground cover plants.

Giant Sword Fern (Nephrolepis biserrata)

• Plant type: fern
• USDA hardiness zones: 9 through 11
• Florida native: yes
• Salt tolerance: low to none
• Size: 1 to 4 feet tall, 1 to 4 feet wide
• Drought tolerance: moderate
• Soil: clay to loamy; medium-draining; soil pH 6.0 to 6.8

Leather Fern (Acrostichum danaeifolium)

• Plant type: fern
• USDA hardiness zones: 9 through 11
• Florida native: yes
• Salt tolerance: moderate
• Size: 8 to 10 feet tall and 8 to 10 feet wide
• Drought tolerance: low
• Soil: anything medium-draining to wet; soil pH 4.5 to 7.2

Leatherleaf Fern (Rumohra adiantiformis)

• Plant type: fern
• USDA hardiness zones: 9b through 11
• Florida native: no
• Salt tolerance: low to none
• Size: 1 to 3 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide
• Drought tolerance: moderate
• Soil: anything medium-draining; soil pH 6.0 to 7.2

Voodoo Lily (Amorphophallus spp.)

• Plant type: perennial
• USDA hardiness zones: 9 though 11
• Florida native: no
• Salt tolerance: low to none
• Size: 6+ feet tall
• Drought tolerance: moderate
• Soil: anything well-draining; soil pH 6.0 to 7.2

Fun fact! Along with the starfish cactus, voodoo lilies are considered one of the world’s stinkiest flowers.

Caladium (Caladium xhortulanum)

• Plant type: perennial
• USDA hardiness zones: 8 through 11
• Florida native: no
• Salt tolerance: low to none
• Size: 1 to 2 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide
• Drought tolerance: moderate
• Soil: anything well-draining; soil pH 6.0 to 7.2

Tasmanian Tree Fern (Dicksonia antarctica)

• Plant type: perennial
• USDA hardiness zones: 9 through 11
• Florida native: no
• Salt tolerance: low to none
• Size: up to 50 feet tall and 6 to 20 feet wide
• Drought tolerance: low
• Soil: sandy to loamy; well-draining; soil pH to 4.5 to 6.5

Philodenron (Philodendron spp.)

• Plant type: perennial
• Florida native: no
• USDA hardiness zones: 8b through 11
• Salt tolerance: low to none
• Size: 1 to 12 feet tall and 2 to 15 feet wide
• Drought tolerance: moderate
• Soil: anything medium-draining to wet; soil pH 6.0 to 8.0

Flamingo Plant (Justicia carnea)

• Plant type: annual
• USDA hardiness zones: 8b through 11
• Florida native: no
• Salt tolerance: low to none
• Size: 2 to 6 feet tall and 2 to 4 feet wide
• Drought tolerance: low
• Soil: anything wet; soil pH 4.4 to 7.2

Featured image photo credit: Tatters