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Highlands Today

This Shrub Is A Must For Florida Yards

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Dee Dee Jacobson

Published: February 23, 2009

Florida Friendly Plant of the Week
Simpson's Stopper or Myrcianthes fragrans

This evergreen shrub is great for natural areas; it attracts pollinators, and birds due to the white aromatic blooms that appear regularly throughout the year. The edible fruits have a sweet, citrus-like flavor. Mockingbirds and other fruit eating birds relish these berries.

The growth habit on Simpson's stopper is vase shaped with multiple trunks, will reach a height of 20-30 feet tall, and approximately 15 feet wide if left to grow naturally. I love the fact that this evergreen shrub not only has aromatic blooms, attracts wildlife, but also has a wonderful textured bark that is reddish-brown and peels. This will give your landscape even more interest and color, especially in the winter months.

It would make a wonderful understory shrub for your yard or specimen planting and is very tolerant to light conditions. This shrub can be grown in full sun, partial shade, or full shade. Just keep in mind that this particular evergreen shrub needs to be in a low laying area or planted with other shrubs that need moisture. This of course depends on how much sun it gets to how much water it needs. Just know that this particular plant needs moist conditions in order to do well.

Why is it called Simpson's stopper? Traditionally the bark and berries were used as an anti-diarrheal fix. I am not sure how this was discovered, but it made someone very happy. I would say this evergreen shrub, Simpson's stopper, is a must have for any "Florida Friendly" landscape.

I NEED TO KNOW
When is a good time to fertilize my landscape?

Typically, it is not a good idea to fertilize any of your landscape until the danger of frost is over.

In Highlands County, our records show us that the end of February or the beginning of March is a safe time to consider fertilizing. If you do fertilize sooner then this, one of two things could happen. You could get lucky with the weather or not so lucky with the weather.

You see, when you fertilize your turf or plant material you are encouraging the plants to grow. Combine this with our days getting longer and our temperatures getting warmer and you have a nice mix for "forced" new growth. If we have a freeze, you loose the tender, new growth and possibly damage buds. You have actually fooled your plants into thinking spring is in full swing.

I know this time of the year is a wonderful time to be in your garden, working to clean it up, fertilize, prune etc. especially before it gets too hot; but please don't be tempted or lulled into attempting it. You may soon regret doing so. Especially if we have another hard freeze like we had several weeks ago. When the danger of all frost is over, it is a good time to fertilize your lawn with a weed and feed. This ensures weed suppression and a boost of nitrogen for your turf blades to grow rapidly and crowd out any existing weeds.

Your landscape plant material can be fertilized in the spring as well if it really needs it. What I mean by this is often we think if we fertilize then we can avoid any nutrient deficiencies from occurring and there for healthy plant material. This unfortunately is an approach that has been used for a long time but is not true. It would be a better practice for you to check your pH of your soil to find out if your plants can "take up" the slow release fertilizer first before applying any slow release fertilizer. If your pH is correct and your shrubs are not exhibiting any deficiencies, you may not need any fertilizer in the first place.

This is true with citrus as well but if you do need to fertilize your citrus trees please use a complete fertilizer with minor elements. There are several good citrus fertilizers for homeowners on the market.

General Information
Scientific name: Myrcianthes fragrans
Pronunciation: meer-see-ANTH-us FRAY-granz
Common Name(s): Simpson's Stopper, Twinberry
Family: Myrtaceae (mir-TAY-see-ee)
Plant type: evergreen perennial
USDA Hardiness zones: 8b-11
Planting month for zone 9: early spring and early fall
Origin: native to the Caribbean, southern Florida, and the Keys
Uses: Understory plantings, accent plantings, naturalized areas
Availability: Check Hickory Hills, Robbins Nursery, Sunshine Nursery, and The Lord's Nursery.
Height: 15-30 feet
Spread: 15-20 feet
Plant habit: mature plantings vase shaped
Plant density: moderate
Growth rate: slow
Texture: medium
pH: 5.5-6.0

Dee Dee Jacobson is the environmental horticulturist for the Highlands County Extension Service.

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