Orange County, FL Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Section 24-6 was adopted, per its own purpose clause, because water restrictions have become a common occurrence in Central Florida, and it builds water-efficient design directly into the commercial landscape plans required under § 24-3. Under § 24-6(b)(1), required plant material must be grouped into water-use zones on the approved landscape plan: a higher water-use zone for plants with low drought tolerance and wet soils, a moderate zone for medium drought tolerance, and a low water-use zone for high-drought-tolerant species in well-drained soil. The 40/40/20 formula referenced from § 24-3(l) caps high water-use plant material at 20 percent of the landscape plan and requires at least 40 percent to be low water-use.

Beyond the zoning requirements for commercial sites, § 24-6(b)(6) carries a standalone protection that applies more broadly: nothing in the ordinance may be construed or enforced to stop a property owner from installing county-approved low impact development techniques for stormwater management and capture, or Florida-friendly landscaping, on their own land. That clause means the water-efficient landscaping chapter can't be used to block a homeowner or developer who wants to go beyond code minimums and convert lawn to native, drought-tolerant plantings. Section 24-6(b)(5) separately requires any irrigation system to be designed around those same water-use zones and certified by a licensed contractor as compliant with the chapter 37 irrigation requirements before the landscape plan is approved.