Flowering tree for central Florida
ellusionz
8 years ago
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SweetMonkeyCheese Z9 Tampa
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Central Florida Trees Dying
Comments (44)Please forgive my recent absence. Due to recent personal issues I've been been unable to participate and am now slowly trying to catch up on things. I still reject all ideas about chemicals, herbicides, salt water intrusion, etc. The distribution pattern does not correlate. To recap slightly, what I'm seeing (though I've not been out much lately) is vast normal areas of seemingly healthy trees in which one comes across single dead trees widely spaced--mostly oaks, but other species, too--and most alarmingly, groups (4-7) of dead trees. As anyone who lives around here knows, Oaks are the vast majority of existing trees in central Florida so it's no surprise that even if multiple species are uniformly affected, it would be Oaks that bear the brunt of the effect and suffer in greater numbers. (As soon as I get a chance I will try to make and post a video and will put a notice about it here.) Sometimes, the group will have other nearby individual dead trees very close around it... such as 4 adjacent dead trees, and within 500' of them, 4 or 5 more. Recently, of a group of a dozen or so palms, I noticed 3 adjacent ones, fresh dead. Another symptom that may or may not be related... I'm seeing many trees that from a distance look healthy, but have tip sections (approx. 3'-6') of branches that are flat dead. Some of these trees may have 3 such dead branches (as viewed from one side). Some may have a dozen. I'm in eastern Hillsborough County. Yesterday, I went to Brandon (a more urban/suburban area) and over there I did not see as many dead trees and dead branch tips. But there were some. Also, recently, I happened upon a land owner who was affected by dead trees so inquired as to what he knew. He was adamant that the death was caused by beetles. He claimed to obtain this information from someone who would know about such things, but our conversation was hectic as he was in the middle of work activity requiring his focus. And I had little time then, too, so was not able to get more information. However, I can believe that such a theory is far more likely than any chemical-based theory. I could imagine how beetles could move into an area and quickly distribute themselves on an adjacent group of trees. And on some other nearby trees. And then fly off to trees one-quarter mile away and do it all again. I can imagine, too, that they could do this in concert with some weather/climate phenomenon and seemingly "burst" upon the scene as a sudden catastrophe... such as the periodic "herds of locusts." They could do damage directly or be the carrier of disease a la the well known Dutch Elm Disease. However, I'm not in a position to research this information first-hand and there seems to be a lack of it coming through official channels. When I fist reported it here it was extremely new (to this area) so stood a good chance of not yet being noticed or having anyone ascertain its degree of impact. The overall distribution of this condition... what may or may not exist beyond my area, is unknown to me. Maybe we are the "epicenter." Or maybe this is just old stuff finally working its way through this area from other parts of Florida. I'm surprised that it is does not yet seem to be a major local news story or that definitive information is not coming forth via official channels. Then again, I've been out of commission for more than two weeks....See MoreShade Tree For Small Central Florida Yard
Comments (12)Just a thought, have they considered an arbor with a vine? I have not done this myself, but many of my books and a few magazines suggest that for 'near instant shade', try putting in an arbor with an aromatic or attractive blooming vine." Sometimes the arbor they suggest is merely a single post with 'branches' at the top so the vines will form an umbrella-like shape and cascade down. The arbor should be "10-12 ft" tall. It's also suggested to not skimp on the posts but to use 6x6" or thucker treated lumber, especially taking our humid summers into account. Suggested vines are Confederate Jasmine, Carolina Jessamine, Coral Honeysuckle, Crossvine, American Wisteria and Trumpet Vine. There are others to choose from, but they tend to have 'seasons' where your friends would end up having a giant, wooden golf tee in their front yard. It may even be possible to mix up some vines. From my observation, my Confederate Jasmine and my Carolina Jessamine seem to grow at about the same rate. So there could be early spring fragrant yellow flowers followed by late spring/early summer white, SUPER fragrant flowers. Just a thought....See MoreCentral florida flower and plant show list??
Comments (5)11th Annual Master Gardener Plant Faire Saturday , April 4th - 8:30 to noon Volusia County Ag Center 3100 East New York Av DeLand 386-822-5778 for more info credit cards accepted bring your own wagon...See MoreMemorial Tree for Landscape / Central Florida
Comments (6)The issue might be the watering bit. From everything I've read, almost any tree will need to be 'babied' for its first year in-ground until it becomes established. Especially for the first few weeks. Planting one 'now', you might be able to get away without providing extra irrigation as it is our wet season. So you can cross your fingers and hope mother nature keeps it adequately watered. But if we get a dry spell... As overused as they are, Crape Myrtle is what springs to mind for me. But when you go to a nursery looking for one, make sure you are getting a tree form and not one of the clumping shrub forms. And yes, they are actual 'tree' Myrtles and not shrub Myrles that can be trained into trees. The following article has a table of the different varieties of Crape Myrtles and what kind of forms they grow in. Some might argue that Crape Myrtles are not low-maintenance since you 'have to clip off all the spent flower pods', but I would argue that you don't HAVE to. Many people don't trim these off and their trees still look perfectly fine. Here is a link that might be useful: Crape Myrtles...See MoreSweetMonkeyCheese Z9 Tampa
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SweetMonkeyCheese Z9 Tampa