One of the benefits of using natives is that they should be low-maintenance and have no need of pruning. Coonties, Zamia pumila, are the only cycad native to North America and a host plant for the Atala butterfly. I love to design with coontie for their architectural foliage, usually as specimen focus or as a natural border between properties. Coonties spread easily from seed and can make a 3' - 5' hedge border to provide a natural Florida landscape. Coonties do not need trimming.
Despite being installed in the right FFL conditions, this Channel 13 segment shows the coonties in the City of Lake Mary Municipality are planted in the wrong location. The unmaintained cycad hedge has grown too tall and blocks the view of bicyclists and pedestrians crossing the intersection. Instead of reducing the amount of coonties to regain visibility, the hedge was sheared on all sides, creating an ugly hedge that now will become high maintenance and need shearing every few months.
A better solution would have been to keep the coonties along the pathway but reduce the amount of coonties, especially closer to the road with a more suitable, low-maintenance, shorter, FFL plants, like dwarf Walter's Viburnum, African iris, Beach sunflowers, Black-eyed Susans, Gazanias, Salvias, or Dotted Horsemint, dwarf buddleia, Drift roses, or a mixture of FFL plants to create a butterfly garden.
Reminder: There is no such thing as a "no-maintenance" landscapes. FFL landscapes reduce the amount of routine maintenance needed. All plants, natives and non-native, are considered Florida-friendly.
