In Lakewood Ranch, Palmer Ranch, Lakewood National, Esplanade and most of the newer Sarasota and Manatee communities, you do not just plant a bed. You submit a modification request, wait for the architectural review committee, and then plant what was approved. The good news is that the plants reviewers approve without a second look are also the plants that thrive in a 9b to 10a yard. Here is the list, and how to get your request through the first time.
What reviewers are actually looking for
Every community writes its own guidelines, so read yours, but the pattern across Sarasota and Manatee County HOAs is consistent. Committees want evergreen plants that look tidy year-round, mature sizes that fit the space so nothing has to be hacked back, no plants on the state's invasive lists, clean edges and mulch, and a front yard that reads as consistent with the street. Many restrict tall hedges in front of the house, require sod rather than gravel in the front lawn, and limit what can go in the strip between the sidewalk and the curb.
Florida law protects Florida-Friendly Landscaping, meaning an association cannot flatly prohibit drought-tolerant, low-fertilizer plantings, but it can still require approval and enforce reasonable design standards. Work with the process instead of against it and approvals come quickly.
Foundation and hedge plants that get approved
- ✓Podocarpus. The default HOA hedge: evergreen, clips clean, cold hardy, no flowers to drop, no thorns. Use it along side property lines and as a backdrop.
- ✓Sweet viburnum and Walter's viburnum. Fast, hardy, inexpensive screens. Walter's is a Florida native.
- ✓Dwarf schefflera (arboricola). Glossy, dense and tidy for foundation beds. Cold damage in the upper 20s inland, so use it in sheltered beds east of I-75.
- ✓Indian hawthorn. Low, mounding, spring flowers, very hardy. Reviewers love it under windows.
- ✓Loropetalum. Burgundy foliage and pink spring flowers in dwarf and standard sizes, hardy and low maintenance.
- ✓Dwarf yaupon holly. Neat, native, evergreen, and shearable.
- ✓Coontie. A native cycad that looks like a small sago, stays low, needs almost nothing, and is on nearly every Florida-Friendly list.
- ✓Silver saw palmetto. Native, silver-blue, and a reliable pick when a community asks for natives.
Color that stays inside the lines
- ✓Dwarf ixora and dwarf bougainvillea for warm, sunny beds on the coastal side of Sarasota.
- ✓Blue daze, sterile lantana and society garlic for low color along walks.
- ✓Muhly grass and Fakahatchee grass for movement and pink fall plumes. Both native, both widely approved.
- ✓Crotons and bird of paradise for a tropical accent near the entry, with the caveat that a cold winter in Lakewood Ranch will singe both.
- ✓Perennial peanut and Asiatic jasmine as approved groundcovers where turf will not grow.
Palms and trees that pass review
Reviewers rarely object to Sylvester palms, sabal palms, pindo palms and queen palms, which are the backbone of Lakewood Ranch streetscapes. Foxtail palms are common and approved in most communities but are a cold risk inland, so we suggest a mule palm where the look matters. For canopy, live oak and 'Little Gem' magnolia are on nearly every approved street tree list, and crape myrtle is the standard small flowering tree, as long as it goes in the right spot and is not topped every winter.
A sample front-yard list that gets approved
For a typical Lakewood Ranch front yard, a plant list that clears review without a follow-up question looks like this: one Sylvester palm or a group of three sabals at the front corner, a row of 7-gallon podocarpus along the side property line, Indian hawthorn or dwarf yaupon holly in 3-gallon size under the windows, a drift of muhly grass beside the driveway, coontie or silver saw palmetto at the walk, and Asiatic jasmine or perennial peanut in the strip where turf struggles, all with a listed container size and a quantity, and the beds edged and mulched. Every plant on that list is evergreen, sized for its spot, on Florida-Friendly lists and hardy in a 9b winter.
What gets rejected
- ✓Anything on the Florida invasive plant lists. Mexican petunia is the one homeowners are most surprised by.
- ✓Fruit trees and vegetable beds in the front yard.
- ✓Tall hedges that block the view of the house from the street.
- ✓Plants that will outgrow the bed. A 30-foot ficus in a four-foot foundation bed is a no every time.
- ✓Artificial turf, gravel lawns and painted mulch in most communities.
How to get approved the first time
Most modification forms ask for the same four things: a simple plan or a marked-up survey showing where each bed and plant goes, a plant list with common and botanical names, quantities and container sizes, and the mulch and edging you plan to use. We can produce that plant list and the sizes from a site visit, which is usually what pushes an application through without a follow-up question. Submit before you buy anything, and expect a few weeks for the committee to meet.
What HOA-friendly plantings cost
Shrubs and groundcovers are delivered and planted at about $25 per 3-gallon, $50 per 7-gallon and $110 per 15-gallon, with volume breaks at 50 and 100 plants, which a full front-yard refresh often reaches. Palms and trees are quoted by size. Every order has a $500 minimum, and Manatee and Sarasota County addresses carry a trip charge that we quote by county. Prices may differ, so request a quote for your exact number. For hedge options and spacing, see our privacy hedge guide.
Work with the Tampa Bay team
Our Tampa Bay crew plants in Lakewood Ranch, Sarasota, Bradenton, Parrish and Venice, and we are used to producing the plant list your committee wants to see. Call or text (239) 799-5594 with your community name and a photo of the front of the house, and we will send a plant list and a delivered-and-planted quote.