GROUND COVERS AS LAWN SUBSTITUTES (green, fairly flat, some mow-able) Small to medium coverage -- Carex praegracilis ÂLaguna Mountain' CALIFORNIA MEADOW SEDGE Carex subfusca* RUSTY SEDGE Dampiera diversifolia KANGAROO LOBELIA Fragaria chiloensis ORNAMENTAL STRAWBERRY GROUND COVERS FOR DEGREES OF SHADE (general) Ajuga reptans* CARPET BUGLE Asparagus* ASPARAGUS FERNS Campanula portenschlagiana (muralis) DALMATIAN BELLFLOWER Campanula poscharskyana SERBIAN BELLFLOWER Cymbalaria aequitriloba* KENILWORTH IVY Fragaria chiloensis BEACH STRAWBERRY Fragaria vesca californica CALIFORNIA WOODLAND STRAWBERRY Persicaria (Polygonum) capitata PINK KNOTWEED Satureja douglasii YERBA BUENA Saxifraga stolonifera STRAWBERRY SAXIFRAGE Sutera (Bacopa) cordifolia BACOPA Trachelospermum jasminoides* STAR JASMINE Vinca major, V. minor TRAILING PERIWINKLE Viola hederacea* AUSTRALIAN VIOLET Joe

Very cool plants! I love the fuzzy blossoms on them. My advice would be to go ahead and give them a try. Plant them in well-draining soil. They're supposed to thrive in full sun, but some afternoon shade wouldn't hurt them. You could at least try this as a container plant and see what happens as the seasons change. What have you to lose? Maybe you'll discover a new easy plant for the Florida garden! I think it SHOULD grow in the Lakeland area, but may need some protection from freezes.

After stratification I keep them in damp peat moss mixed with a light potting mix. I give them some heat (top of refrigerator/ shelf above a large screen TV etc. I check the seeds every couple of days and plant the ones that show a radicle . My planters are water bottles, soda bottles (big and little), juice bottles etc (these are free "tall tree pots". I usually cut the neck off the bottle and drill 10 or so holes in the bottom few inches of the bottle. When you plant them, put them in a hole and use scissors to cut slits in the sides and neck of the bottle to cause as little disturbance as possible. The radicle poking out of the seed when you plant it will often reach the bottom of a 10 ounce bottle in 3-5 days as shown in the pic

A heavy soil would be tough with these guys, although there are some species that will tolerate heavier soils better. Most of the nursery offerings are complex hybrids. Pot culture might work better for you than amending and mounds. 'Big Red' is a good grower, but I believe it is considered more susceptible to ink spot disease. Although that is not what probably happened to your plant. Anigozanthos 'Red Cross' is supposed to be a strong growing red, with relatively good soil adaptability. I love/hate kangaroo paws. Our soil is sandy, but my experience with them is they are still hit and miss. Even if the individual adapts to where it is planted, they have a light bloom year, followed by a truly spectacular bloom year, then a good year, then they fizzle out. That is the best scenario pattern. Half of the individuals in a patch can quit during any year for no apparent reason. [Possibly a complex soil organism balancing issue is in play, but our situation is atypical.] Meeting their nutritional needs can be challenging, and like many of the Australians grown here, they are quite fickle about what they want, and don't want, nutritionally. Visually they can be like-quality individuals, planted under the same growing and care conditions, yet it is like dealing with children with differing personalities. Some individuals thrive, while others don't. My strategy runs towards stager-planting a few new plants each year and hope a few of the new or established plants will reward me by putting on a flower show this year. My best growers have generally been 'Tequila Sunrise' (orange) and no-id tall yellows. The reds I have tried were end of the season clearance items, and not much info help without tags. On whole my plants bloom from spring through fall.