S & J Nursery’s
Yellow Florida Anise
( illicum parviflorum Anise)
Yellow Florida Anise Origins:
– Yellow Florida Anise / illicum parviflorum is a Florida native and makes an excellent privacy screen or large hedge in the North Florida landscape.
Yellow Florida Anise Preferred Exposure:
– Anise will tolerate full sun to shade situations in the North Florida |
Jacksonville | St. Augustine areas gardens.
Yellow Florida Anise Foliage:
– Large light yellow to olive green colored foliage has a thick almost leathery
feel to the leaves.
– Evergreen foliage has a strong licorice scent when crushed or cut.
Yellow Florida Anise Soil Preference / Salt 
tolerance:
– Yellow Florida Anise is remarkable adaptive to a wide range of soil components and moisture levels, from wet to dry and sandy to clay. These Florida native plants are found growing
naturally in moist areas and make an ideal plant solution for rain flooded gardens.
– Recommended for use in poorly drained areas that will stay wet during our heavy rain season, as well as drier landscape areas.
– Yellow Florida Anise has a low salt tolerance and should be avoided on
coastal properties.
Yellow Florida Anise Size Variance:
– Classified in gardening books as both a shrub and a small tree Yellow Florida Anise can reach sizes of 15-20+ feet High and 10 – 15 feet wide depending on how many trunks are allowed to develop.
– Yellow Florida Anise can be maintained to as little as 4-6 ft high and
3 ft wide with annual prunings.
Yellow Florida Anise Growth Habit:
– Yellow Florida Anise shrubs will need clipped and shaped to keep it as a
squared hedge for privacy screens and foundation planting, but when lower branches are removed and it is allowed to grow as a tree a nice rounded head will develop.
Yellow Florida Anise Growth Rate:
– Fast growing shrub quickly establishes itself into the landscape.
Yellow Florida Anise Bloom:
-Small yellow summer flowers of the illicum parviflorum are small and yellow colored, not really very showy blossoms.
Yellow Florida Anise Water Requirements:
– Yellow Florida Anise is moderately drought tolerant once established into the landscape but native to the wetter areas of Florida.
– Perfect plant selection for areas that tend to hold water after extended
rains.
Best Uses For Yellow Florida Anise:
– Yellow Florida Anise is a great choice for a fast growing shrub or small
tree. Use them as the backdrop to the perennial border or as a hedge screen that is just perfect for a quick privacy fence.
– Excellent choice for a small landscape specimen tree.
– Also a good choice for a shade tree where overhead power lines restrict the use of larger growing selections.
– Yellow Florida Anise may not be the best choice for hedges that need to be
kept under 4 ft unless you just love pruning your hedges. These fast growing plants flush new growth almost immediately after a pruning so if attempting to keep them as a foundation plant remember to prune down 6 inches beneath where you would like to see their growth be to give yourself some time before the next pruning is needed.
Care of S & J Nursery’s North Florida | Jacksonville | St. Augustine Shrubs:
– Shrubs can be planted in the North Florida | Jacksonville | St. Augustine area at any time during the year. In normal and well draining soils dig the hole as deep as the root ball and two to three times as wide. Plant the top of the root ball level or slightly higher than the surrounding soils. When planting in poorly drained soils make sure to plant your shrubs a minimum of 3 inches ABOVE the surrounding soil level.
– Water every day during the establishment period. For most 3 gallon size shrubs in the North Florida landscape in average soil, that is neither heavy clay that holds water or really sandy that will take 2-3 weeks of daily watering to ensure that your newly planted shrub will begin to put out new roots and grow into its new home happily. After the first few weeks begin tapering back your watering to every other day then every third day and so on until your newly planted items are flourishing without your assistance.
– If planting larger shrubs you may need to extend the initial care a bit longer to protect your investment and get your shrubs off to the best start possible.
– IMPORTANT: If planting shrubs in heavy clay soils that hold allot of water after a rain or irrigating, remember to check the soil for moisture by sticking your fingers into the soil near the root ball of the newly planted shrub down to 2-3 inches. If it remains wet from the previous watering wait for the top 2-3 inches to dry out before watering again.
– IMPORTANT: When planting shrubs into poor sandy soils be sure to amend the planting hole by mixing compost or cow manure etc. with the native soil that will go back in the hole around the new plants root ball when installing your shrub material, this will not only give your new shrubs good soil to grow its new roots into but help it hold water.
– When planting shrubs from containers be sure to loosen the roots as much as possible pulling loose roots away from the root ball before installing your new plants, if the roots are to tight to easily loosen with your hands use a knife to cut a few slits into the root ball being careful to go all the way from the top to the bottom and making the cut at least an inch deep. This will ensure that your plant will immediately begin to form new roots into its new surrounding soil.
– Mulch newly planted shrubs whenever possible.
– Fertilize each spring with a mixture of Milorganite and a slow release poly coated plant food such as Osmocote or Stay Green general purpose plant food, sprinkling the fertilizer around the mulch circle underneath the foliage of the tree
– Prune as needed to shape each spring and or summer.