Bay Cedar
A dune plant through and through. Fine silvery-green texture and total salt indifference. Beachside yards, this is your friend.
Suriana maritima
The dune survivor that laughs at salt, sun, and drought.
Why it works here
Note: a true dune plant, great for erosion control
When a spot is brutal, hot, sandy, salty, windy, this is the plant. Bay cedar grows right on the dunes, so it takes salt spray and beach wind that would fry almost anything else. It has soft, crowded, gray-green needle-like leaves and cheerful little yellow flowers nearly year-round, and it hosts martial and mallow scrub hairstreak butterflies. For an oceanfront or hard coastal Treasure Coast site, it's one of the very best native choices, and it holds sand against erosion.
Care
This is a plant you can almost ignore once it's established. Water it in the first month or two, then let it go, since it's built for lean, dry, salty sand. Don't overwater it and don't plant it in a wet, poorly drained spot, that's the one thing it won't take. Skip the rich feeding, a light compost is plenty. It's slow-growing, so buy a good size, and prune lightly to shape.
Common problems
Trouble-free in the harsh coastal conditions it's made for. The real caveat is drainage: it cannot sit in wet feet or standing water, salty or fresh, so keep it in fast-draining sand. It's also slow, so patience helps. Away from the coast it still grows fine, you just don't need its superpower there.
Common questions
Will it really handle salt spray right by the beach?
Yes, that's its whole thing. It's a dune native with high salt tolerance, so it's one of the few shrubs that thrives in direct oceanfront exposure. Just keep it out of standing salt water.
Why is mine growing so slowly?
It's naturally slow, which is normal for such a tough plant. Start with a larger specimen if you want size faster, and don't try to push it with heavy water or feeding.
Can I plant it inland too?
Sure. It grows fine inland in dry, sunny, well-drained spots. You just won't be leaning on its salt tolerance there.
Interested in a bay cedar in your landscape?
We plan, install, and care for it. Start with a paid consultation.