Richard Lyons Nursery, Inc.

Rare & Unusual Tropical Trees & Plants, Flowering, Fruit, Native, Palm, Bamboo, Heliconia, Hummingbird, Butterfly

Bad Outlook for Florida Citrus Gets Even Worse

On January 16 of this year we published the State of Florida’s updated, discouraging outlook for citrus production. Unfortunately, that pessimism has only deepened since then. State agriculture commissioner Adam Putnam, in a message distributed this week and reprinted below, reports that Florida’s orange harvest will be its lowest in 50 years. The cause is citrus greening, a disease for which…
Read more


June 19, 2015 0

Aristolochia (Dutchman’s Pipe or Pipe Vines)

Aristolochia, is a genus of woody vines commonly called, Dutchman’s Pipe or Pipe Vines.  This is due to the shape of the flower resembling a pipe in many species.  It is also called Calico Flower, because the pattern on the flower resembles calico fabric. Many butterfly enthusiasts in South Florida grow this vine for the larval…
Read more


June 14, 2015 0

Talk About Hedges!

If you’re at all like me, you value your privacy. Around your property, one way to help ensure privacy is to install a good hedge. Contrary to what some growers will tell you, not every hedge plant is capable of fulfilling homeowners’ needs for a dense, long-lasting screening material. It may sound like heresy for me to…
Read more


June 5, 2015 0

The Versatile Crotons

While Richard Lyons’ Nursery is known for its tremendous variety of flowering trees and shrubs, blossoms aren’t the only way to color up a landscape. Leaves can also be used to great advantage, and tropical plants ‘leave’ temperate species in the dust when it comes to colorful foliage. Among the most successful and popular plants…
Read more


May 29, 2015 0

Bauhinia divaricata (Butterfly Orchid Tree)

The genus Bauhinia, is named after 16th century Swiss-French identical twin brothers who were botanists, Johann and Caspar Bauhin.  Appropriately named, because the leaves of Bauhinia, are two-lobed and perfectly symmetrical. This particular species blooms year round with pink and white whispy flowers, and is an excellent nectar source for butterflies, especially, the Giant Swallowtail.  As a…
Read more


May 24, 2015 0