"Not too many, is it?"

Seriously! Our sun is so brutal.

Even the weeds by our woods on the road are wilting.

Lantana, pentas, oleander, century plants.

I second the lantana idea. They may not seem like much the first year or so but mine are blooming their little hearts out. I have had succcess with "Knockout" roses. This is their fourth year and I don't water them anymore; just deadhead every few weeks. Vinca are great too; they bloom all summer.

Are you interested in something as tall as confederate roses? Little Wisteria trees? Gladiolus, Amaryllis, Yucca, butterfly bush (Buddleia,) "regular" roses, Dahlia, snapdragons, Gardenia, Sedums.

The trick is getting stuff established. If doing a whole area, I would definitely wait until it cools off.

Once you get the bigger, taller plants going, they'll make some shade so you can go back and put some smaller plants in their shadows. Also something like an arbor or free-standing fence section can make a huge difference in what you can plant.

If interested, you could plant some trees to begin the process of adding more shade to your yard.

Lantana and oleander are definite noes. They're both toxic to horses, though oleander is toxic to everything - only a few leaves can kill a full size horse. There is a once-beautiful one that was planted here but I've been fighting it for years. I keep digging up volunteers and dragging them somewhere the leaves won't blow away while it decomposes.

We have several crepe myrtle, lots of wisteria - and I want a wisteria tree SO BADLY!!! I'm trying to train one now but my husband keeps mowing them over.

I actually do have a confederate rose plant in a large pot, had it for years. It's amazingly forgiving of the various assassination attempts over the years.

I love snapdragons and started a bunch from seed several years back but they never came back. I don't ever see them in the garden centers around here when I'm buying.

I've tried and killed a gardenia. It held on (looking more and more pathetic each year) for a while but died in its 4th summer.

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Thanks for the suggestions! I'll look into the ones I've been given.

Keep 'em coming, you can never have too many options! (until you run out of room in your one ideal-conditions garden spot that no one can see without going out of their way)

Here's a link to a University of Florida perennial list. It shows whether the plants are full sun and cold hardy. Not a lot of plants still.

I'm in central Florida, so I have no experience with what will survive the cold. Flax lily, guara, plumbago and mexican petunia have all done well in full sun for me. For some reason, agapanthas has struggled (am trying to give it some shade to help it out).

I like to drive around and look for somewhat neglected yards and see what is growing. Since I figure they aren't caring for the plants or planting new things, this helps me identify things that can take some abuse and still survive in my area.

Here is a link that might be useful: University of Florida perennial list

I see all sorts of neat plants around but I just don't have to knowledge to identify a lot of them. Though there are some that I've figured out with lucky choices of keywords for Google searches.

I just bought a plumbago (did I say that?) but the plant guy at the nursery said it would do best with afternoon shade.

Thanks, again, everyone who has posted so far!

I see all sorts of neat plants around but I just don't have to knowledge to identify a lot of them. Though there are some that I've figured out with lucky choices of keywords for Google searches.

I just bought a plumbago (did I say that?) but the plant guy at the nursery said it would do best with afternoon shade.

Thanks, again, everyone who has posted so far!

Just came back from lunch--I was looking at every yard we passed. To add to the list: crinums, African iris, hibiscus, society garlic, golden dewdrop, joe pile weed, sedums, and firebush.

If you have any kind of slope, miniature liriope is lovely and no mowing needed. Also, Indian hawthorns are good for sun and are easily trimmed. I also think you are far enough north that you can grow ornamental grasses--not just pampas, but maybe Miscanthus siensis 'Morning Light'. It is stunning!

In the second paragraph I'm recalling many of my favorite plants that grew in Marietta, GA, when I lived up there. Hot, dry and full sun. That's zone 7 so I thought that might help.

Sorry, I should have specified mini snapdragons, if that makes a difference. I've not had the tall kind in a couple decades and that was in OH. Anyway, mini's are the kind that are baking in pots on my hot south-facing concrete porch steps, back from last year.

Next time you're out and see a plant you like but don't know, snap a pic and put it here on name-that-plant forum. You'll find out the same day usually.

Confederate rose is easy to propagate by dividing your existing potted root ball, or by cuttings. Then you could have it in both the pot and the yard.

My Mom likes plants that she never waters and has cute little pink mini roses she calls fairy roses and sometimes sweetheart roses. She also moved to AL from OH not long before I did and brought some of those with her. They had been given to her decades before. I never see them in stores though. That's a shame, they're a real good "ignore it" plant, never any black spots or other trouble besides a spring trim. Maybe you might see some, a good one to look for if interested.

I know how you feel about your Wisteria being mowed. My honey has mowed a few times since I've had bricks laying on various Hydrangea branches so I didn't think I needed to remind him again last week but 2 of them got mowed. Try some kind of little flag or tie a little (yellow?) ribbon on your next try?

I think Echinacea does well in full sun. Gallardia, maybe?Gardenia does well in full sun if you keep it watered. Ditto for osteospermums. I have two planters full of portulaca/purslane that have bloomed their heads off in full sun all summer, and I have rarely watered them.

purpleinopp - Oh! I lied, sort of. I have an actual rose - probably what you were calling a tea rose. 'Around here' it is called a confederate rose.
I don't actually have the real confederate rose but I've seen them and love them. I'll have to find someone with a plant who won't mind me taking cuttings of it.

I've only started doing cuttings on purpose (see below) recently and it never fails to amaze me.

~

Many more thanks to everyone who has posted! I know what I'll be doing with my free time for the next week or so - researching these plants!

~

Re. cuttings: the 'tea roses' or whatever they are.. when we were first dating, my husband brought me home a handful of thorny sticks. I had no idea what to do with them and I'm afraid they sat in a bucket for days and days until I stuck them in a pot. Several died but a couple didn't and, to my surprise, they grew into long thorny sticks. Cue a ton of neglect (due to my lack of knowledge) and abuse (due to children, who actually put some sort of thing on top of the pot during a dormancy and the pot got forgotten because we were moving - I found them covered in late April and uncovered them).

They've been on the verge of death several times, yet every so often I'd remember my thorny sticks and give them some care.

They only bloomed for the first time three years ago and surprised me with one rose, lol. The next crops were much better.

I used to tell my husband they were a symbol of our relationship - wouldn't bloom, nearly died several times but tough as nails.

Daylilies
Peruvian Daffodil (Spider Lily)
Flax Lily (looks like aztec grass)
Pentas
Iris
Rain Lily
Shrimp Plant Fruit Cocktail
Roses
Plumbago
Indian Hawthorne (Eleanor Tabor)
Canna lilies
Crinum lilies
Datura (angel trumpet)
Plumeria
Jatropha integerrima, peregrina
Hibiscus
Sago palm
White/Red Bleeding Heart
Pink/Purple Bleeding Heart
Gloriosa Lily
Passion vine - Lady Margaret
Ponytail Palm
Pencil Cactus
Bougainvillea
Adenium (Desert Rose)
Crown of Thorns Euphorbia Milii
Periwinkle/Vinca
Chenille plant
Blue Daze

Carol in Jax

Wow, Carol, thanks for that list!

Question: blue daze can tolerate full sun? The plant guy said it (and the plumbago) should have afternoon shade. I figured I'd do cuttings and put them around various places and see how they do!

Those thorny sticks are awesome!

And oops, I usually use botanical names when aware of a discrepancy with common names and wasn't aware for "confederate rose" but that's why the botanical names, my bad. I meant Hibiscus mutabilis. A huge shrub that can make a little spot'o'shade as well as serve as a focal point. There is though the issue with naked sticks (waiting till spring to prune) or empty spot (pruned when they died back) for a few months of winter to consider if either scenario bother you in a particular spot.

Ah, I'm quite familiar with (and actually appreciate) naked stick plants. The property we bought in 2006 had some landscaping done at some point and there are a ton of crepe myrtle and mimosa trees. Terrific shade in the summer when you want it and clear to let the sun in during the winter when you don't want it. They're quite useful.

~

The first confederate rose I ever saw (or paid a lot of attention to) was a few years ago and I was amazed by the different colored flowers.

I'll get one some day - I've been saying I want a camellia for about 6 years and I finally got some this spring. ....but now I know how to do cuttings! The sky is the limit. :D

I live in South Florida, so we really get the heat. My go to plant is the croton. It comes in many beautiful colors and leaf shapes now. I have an arrangement in several of my full sun beds with crotons, epidendrum orchids and asparagus fern that is really nice.

Achmea broms too.

A lot of things will survive in full sun once they are established but they need to be watered deeply and often in the beginning for at least a few weeks, without doing this nothing is going to survive in the full sun.

I don't know about bouganvilla for 8b. I've never seen any aorund here. Blueberry lilies, echinacea, stoke's aster, beach daisies, rosemary, thyme white yarrow, we have a varigated vinca vine that gets purple flowers that love it here, daffodils, golden dewdrop (beware the berries are poisoous to dogs and children) crinum lilies (lots of cool varieties, I thought they were Amaryllis! pink, candy stripe)crepe myrtle. That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I would definitely check with the local ag center or go to EDIS or Solutions for Your Life, another Univ. of Florida site.

I am on the 8b/9a border, and a few of those suggested plants are very iffy for winter survival here: bougainvillea, ponytail palm, jatropha, and plumeria are all likely to die without significant winter protection. However, you can overwinter a potted plumeria in a dormant state in a cool, dark (but not above-freezing) location such as a garage. Potted ponytail palms can be easily overwintered in the house, since they are happy in the dry heat.

There are also many plants on that list that will reliably survive the winter, but will defoliate or even die back to the ground in the cold. Some of them are plants that are evergreen in central/south Florida (hibiscus, passion vine, etc.). You asked for perennials, so maybe you don't mind winter die-back, but I thought I'd mention it.

If you want something evergreen to add some height and structure, you can use Indian hawthorn (as Carol mentioned above) or ligustrum. For a deciduous shrub or small tree, crepe myrtles (mentioned above) are great. If you get a bigger type and let it keep most of its crown growth (no coppice pruning, a.k.a. "crepe murder") it will eventually make a nice tree and give you a partly-shaded area to plant under.

Knockout roses (mentioned above) grown in full sun will reach 5'-6' or more in a couple of years if you don't cut them back too aggressively. If you keep them cut back, you can maintain them at 3'-4'. They will defoliate briefly in the coldest part of winter, but generally don't drop their leaves until the hard freezes hit - so often they are green past Christmas.

For edible landscaping, the blueberry bush (decidious) can be attractive. It has white flowers in spring, of course followed by the tasty berries. The dwarf Sunshine Blue only gets 2'-4' tall and has pink flowers. Blueberries love sun, but you have to maintain an acid soil.

For an unusual color on a bigger shrub - IF you are willing to mulch very well and water regularly - loropetalum will do great in full sun. It has beautiful purple foliage and the brilliant pink flowers in spring are a bonus. My next door neighbor has some beautiful ones, and there are several apartment complexes and shopping centers that also have lovely ones that get all day sun. I am not kidding about the mulch and water, though - they will die or look terrible if you stick them in full sun without adequate mulch and moisture, and I'd wait until fall to plant them. They will need the cool months to get their root systems established before facing the heat next summer. Their foliage is much denser if grown in full sun, dense enough that they can be pruned into shapes - rounded top shapes are popular around here.

The native saw palmetto or the king sago (cycas revoluta, which I believe Carol mentioned above) can be an effective backdrop or centerpiece for your perennial flowers, too. They are almost bulletproof.

Ornamental sweet potatoes are a pretty ground cover to weave among your flowers. While they are not supposed to be hardy, mine have come back after the last two winters. Mine are out in the brick mailbox planter exposed to dawn to dusk sun along the street. However, the grocery store sweet potatoes I planted with them (some that had sprouted after I failed to cook them soon enough) have grown even more vigorously. I leave them in the ground all winter.

One last thought: I bought some pretty purple African Daisies from HD this spring. They have done really well, repeatedly blooming in sun and poor soil with no deadheading. They were labeled as perennials, but since I just got them this year I can't report on their actual hardiness yet.

Good luck!

Yes - you guys are right - this is the list of plants that can take full sun. The list of plants that can take full sun and are evergreen or the list of plants that can take full sun and are cold-hardy are different lists.

Carol in Jacksonville

The plants I've had most sucess in full blazing sun are tall red pentas, mexican sage, and texas sage. They never look sad in the summer.
I have agapanthus in full sun however they do get a little beat down by the sun. I also had success with blue daze in full sun but one cold snap and they'll be gone (got tired of covering plants). My knockout roses always look happy in the full sun. My Geraniums look pretty bad by August, but have always rebounded with the cooling of temps.
I have made plenty of errors because I believed that little plastic info card that comes with the plant.
Just my thoughts,
Christi

I'm pretty excited - I was just searching around for native plants and found a link to a nursery that sells only natives. And! it turns out that this is a nursery that I have driven by hundreds of times because it's about 15 miles from my house. It's also only about 2 miles from where my kids take karate on Saturdays.

The only sign they have on the road is that it's wholesale only - and you can only see trees from the road so I never wondered too much about it. But it turns out they sell more than trees and when I emailed them they said I could order plants and then pick them up in person. No need to worry about mailing plants out!

Now I have to spend even more time perusing their stock and comparing it to the lists on this thread!

That's why I switched to antique roses--for the most part, they love fill sun and they don't freeze. I got tired of covering plants every freeze.

I second loropetalum. They make beautiful small trees. Chickasaw plums also make beautiful small trees. Both grow quickly, and then you have shade to plant in.