Common Name: Brazilian Red Hots Alternanthera

Colors: Pink Red Variegated

Who would have guessed this plant would become one of the most popular new plants for Florida gardeners? We get more requests for this plant and more reports of how well it performed than any other plant we grow. That is saying a lot. It really stands out and is so easy to grow. It has it’s best coloration in the full sun but can grow in partially shaded areas very well. 

The information below is from our searchable database. http://floridafriendlyplants.com/plant_database.asp

Optimal Light:
Sun
Mature Height:
2ft-3ft

Light Range:
Full/Part Sun
Mature Spread:
2ft-3ft

Soil Moisture:
Well-drained to Medium
Soil Texture:
Any

Salt Tolerance:
Med

Florida Native:
No
Florida Region:
C,S

Drought Tolerance:
High
Hardiness Zone:
9-11

Season of Color:
Year-round

Brazilian Red Hots - Alternanthera dentata 'Brazilian Red Hots', a Josephs Coat - grows 20 to 28 inches tall, and up to 18 inches wide and is trouble-free in full sun or partial shade. The bright foliage of this new favorite perennial for the Florida Friendly garden has been a welcome addition to garden designers. They stand tall in containers for sunny locations and make a great THRILLER component. Once established it is fairly drought tolerant. The color is most vibrant in full sun. Ball shaped white flowers stretch out above the foliage in mid winter. Cut these back as the days become longer in early spring for a vigorous flush of color. 1 Gallon Pots are available at most Home Depot garden centers today. Brazilian Red Hots is a great tall edging plant for your garden beds and is also available in the Warm Season in our Innovative SausEdge format for easy planting and an instant manicured look.

Check out the SausEdge video. You can 'slice your SausEdge' into smaller 'links' and stretch your dollars and get the same look and performance and more value. The hot pink and rose shades make these plants adaptable to use with cool or warm colors. They can be the 'THRILLER' in stunning and long lasting perennial combination containers mixed with Lantana, Pentas and many other sun loving annuals.

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If you are planning your garden and imagining wonderful gardens you have seen you will enjoy some of the knot garden images in the slideshow below. Perhaps you just want to get a little formal and add and edge to your garden. SausEdgeTM is the perfect choice for a cost effective border that is easy and quick to install and maintain. They are available at these Florida Home Depots. 

See this Knot Garden Pruning Video. 

and the SausEdgeTM video…

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1. Hardy Perennials – Gardeners are asking what plants thrive both frost and hot summer temperatures. These plants tolerate frost quickly recover after cold weather. These popular plants are what customers will have the most success with and will remove some fear of planting. Plant success!

                           Sedum Florida Friendly Gold

                                             Blue Eyed Grass

                                 Bulbine – Jelly Burn Plant 

                                            Dianthus Firewitch

2. Drought Tolerant Grass and Accent Plants – Gardeners looking for long lived, easy care plants that will survive the typically dry spring and fall growing seasons will be successful with these plants. For the Top 20 Drought Tolerant Florida Perennials go to http://floridafriendlyplants.com/

                  Purple Showers                                       Purple Queen               

                                              Variegated Flax Lily

3. Butterfly Plants – For success in attracting butterflies to your garden you can use both the nectar host plants and the larval host plants. Plant them in a sunny site them in the landscape. Refer to the Home Depot tag information for suitable planting conditions.

                Lantana                              Pentas                               Milkweed

For the Top 20 Drought Tolerant Perennials and the Top 20 Florida Butterfly Plants go to http://floridafriendlyplants.com/

SausEdge^TM is an innovative way to save money and time and get instant results in your garden. Several popular varieties make an instant border in your garden.

http://floridafriendlyplants.com/Sausedge.asp

See the video at http://www.youtube.com/profile?edit=1#p/u/5/E1MObn0HqQc

or search Sausedge on Youtube

                              Cuban Gold Duranta from SausEdge^TM

                                          Lantana from SausEdge^TM

Classic Selections are an economical way to plant perennials and use less plastic.

Classic Creations give instant results for combinations in your own containers.

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At Riverview Flower Farm we use paper pots for starting plants for several reasons. They primary reason is that paper pots allow for the best possible root system for young transplants. The paper breathes and the soil dries out quicker than soil in a hard tray or plastic pot. Paper breathes much like a porous clay pot which has been the favorite for hundreds of years because it breathes. You get the benefits of clay without the cost and waste of resources. The root tips grow to the paper and are air pruned. The roots branch behind the air pruned tips to quickly fill the paper pot with a fibrous root system that is ready to plant up to a week earlier than plants started in plastic pots or trays. The roots are concentrated within and throughout the soil mass and are less prone to damage from drying or water molds and fungus from over-watering. The paper disintegrates and unlike peat pots the roots grow right through and you don't have to remove the bottom or tear any roots at planting. This alone will hasten growth and harvest by one week or more.

At the Farm we use a commercial paper pot making machine to make Ellepots for our starters and seedlings we plant to our gallon plastic pots. We use plastic gallon pots made from mostly recycled and recyclable plastic as the most practical way to deliver a product that can withstand hot conditions in Florida and keep the root system from drying out and dying. Check out also our Pot-in-Pot method to get the most out of your plants using and reusing these pots and 21 reasons and counting on why you should consider this method.

We also use Ellepot paper pots for our Classic Selections

and for our Classic Creations

and for our innovative very popular and time saving border making plants in the SausEdge TM

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