Fort Myers, FL – Avoiding the Pitfalls of Poor Lanai Landscaping Design

Your yard just doesn’t feel Floridian if it doesn’t have a few palm trees. For around the lanai, we at Peer Landscaping of Fort Myers recommend pygmy date palms. One of the most popular palms used in landscaping here in Southwest Florida, planting them outside the pool cage is a great idea because people rarely congregate there (they have some nasty thorns). Their short stature provides just enough privacy, while still allowing a view. 

If you are someone who has a house that’s right on the water, whether it’s a canal or a lake, you know sometimes the wind can really come whistling through your lanai. During our stormy season, that can be a real drag, as you run out to batten down the hatches on anything that may be loose out there. If you’re looking for some plantings that can provide a nice windbreak and some shade, the umbrella tree may be just the ticket. With large leaves that sit at the top of their stems, the plant really does resemble an umbrella. Best of all their shiny green palm-like leaves provide a great windbreak, with a tropical feel. 

Sometimes you want some beautiful color around your pool cage, but you still want to be able to see out over the plants to your view of a canal or lake. When this is the case, Peer Landscaping of Fort Myers can recommend some smaller low-lying bromeliads or lovely succulents. Succulents are popular ground covers that work well with other foundation plants because they look so sculptural, and they tend to be hardy. 

Does your pool have a hot tub on one side of it that you use often? Do you tend to heat your pool in the winter? Believe it or not, these two factors can create a microclimate in the area closest to the hot tub and pool, and this can affect your plant’s growth in that area. These factors both heat up the entire area, and that requires that plants installed in that area need to be able to tolerate hotter, more humid conditions. 

When your pool filter is on, or when it’s windy out, or even when your hot tub is bubbling, chlorine is being thrown into the air around your pool. Because of this, you want to make sure the plants you choose to install there can tolerate chlorine. So, look for plants that have leathery tough leaves as this usually indicates they will be able to tolerate chlorine. At Peer Landscaping we know just the right kinds of plants and the right amount of space they need to be safely installed around your lanai. Call us at 239.645.6455.