Florida bully
Sideroxylon reclinatum · Sapotaceae
Florida bully (Sideroxylon reclinatum) is a perennial shrub in the Sapotaceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 6 and warmer, down to about -3°F.
At a glance
| Type | shrub USDA |
|---|---|
| Lifecycle | perennial USDA |
| Native status | native USDA |
| Mature height | 2 ft USDA |
| Soil pH | 4.5–7.3 USDA |
| Bloom | May–June USDA |
| Flower color | White USDA |
| Hardiness zones | 6 and warmer USDA |
| Guild layer | shrub Derived |
USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database · Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.
Growing conditions
Its drought tolerance is rated none — it needs reliable moisture. It is recorded on soils from pH 4.5 to 7.3 — a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 6.
Size and growth
At maturity it reaches about 2 ft, making it about knee height.
Bloom period
USDA records a bloom period of May through June. Flowers are white.
A flowering date, not a pollinator rating.
Foliage, flower and season
Summer foliage is green. Its flowers are not conspicuous — a plant for form and foliage.
What the site needs to provide
USDA records it across sites receiving 40 to 68 inches of annual precipitation. It needs at least 207 frost-free days to finish its season.
Propagating it
Container stock is the only propagation method USDA lists.
Role in a guild
Shrub layer. In a layered planting this is woody mid-level structure between the understory and the ground. The layer is derived by a fixed rule from growth habit and mature height.
Tags
Related plants
Others in Sideroxylon
- buckthorn bully Sideroxylon lycioides
Similar role and hardiness
- eastern baccharis Baccharis halimifolia
- mule-fat Baccharis salicifolia
- wintergreen barberry Berberis julianae
- stiff dogwood Cornus foemina
- autumn olive Elaeagnus umbellata
Where this data comes from
Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol SIRER2, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.
- Quoted from USDA PLANTS: Bloom, Bloom end, cold stratification, Drought tolerance, fall conspicuous, Flower color, flower conspicuous, foliage color, foliage porosity winter, frost free days min, fruit conspicuous, Hardiness zones, Lifecycle, Mature height, Minimum temperature, Native status, Nitrogen fixation, precipitation max in, precipitation min in, propagation, resprout ability, Soil pH, Soil pH (upper), Tolerance of wet soil, Type.
- Derived by a fixed rule from those columns: Guild layer.
Read our full data sources and methodology.
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