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By Kurt On October 21, 2011make a Comment
Native Florida Trees are being planted more and more today in residential landscapes. This is not only for their natural beauty, but because their low maintenance makes them practical to use in landscaping. Since popularity and demand for native trees has increased, homeowners will find more selections available from nurseries than ever before.
In recent years native trees in Florida have been torn down from massive development. Unfortunately, since this began thousands of Native Florida Trees have been lost. This is one of the reasons why the State Of Florida now encourages homeowners to use native trees when planting new trees in their landscape.
Planting Native Florida Trees
Planting Native Florida Trees is not any different than planting other types of trees. The guidelines and requirements to be followed are the same. However, it may be necessary to reduce some of the top growth by “thinning” (removing one or more branches at the point of origin). This will preserve it’s natural shape. Do Not cut back all the top growth to the same level, which will ruin it’s shape.
When planting Native Florida Trees the top of the “root ball” needs to be placed in the ground at the same depth or level as it is grown in the field or container. If there is any circling of roots (root bound) in the “root ball” cut them vertically before planting, so the root system can grow laterally for good growth and establishment.
Plant large growing trees (over 40ft. in height) at least 30 ft. away from a home or building to avoid roof damage from falling limbs during bad storms, and damage done to the foundation from the spreading of roots. Plant small trees (up to 25ft.) and medium size trees (25-40ft.) at a distance of 10-20ft. from a home.
Care Of Newly Planted Native Trees
After Native Florida Trees have been planted proper care is needed for them to grow successfully. Newly planted trees should be watered weekly or several times a week during the first 3 months. Regular watering is done according to the amount of rainfall that occurs , and the drainage of the soil (water holding capacity).
After planting, a top dressing of a “complete” (contains essential and micro nutrients) slow-release granular tree fertilizer can be applied within the drop line around the tree. Do Not place it up against the trunk of the tree. Amount of fertilizer to be used is determined by the size of the tree planted. This information should be listed in the fertilizer label on the product. Fertilize again after 6 months of planting. No more than 2 times during the first year of establishment is needed.
Adding mulch of organic material at a depth of 2-4 inches is also recommended, leaving a space around the trunk for air circulation. Do Not pile mulch up against the trunk.
Newly planted large growing Native Florida Trees may take up to a year to become fully established. Production of new growth during the first year is an indication that the tree is being well established. This also applies to any size tree that is new.
Listed Are Names And Information On Native Florida Trees
Native Trees For North Florida
Deciduous (shed leaves in fall, bare in winter)
Name Form (shape) Size (height ft.)
Box Elder spreading over 40
Red Maple spreading 25-40
Florida Maple oval 25-40
River Birch oval over 40
Hackberry round over 40
Redbud round 25-40
Fringe Tree round up to 25
Hawthorn vase-shaped up to 25
Silver- Bell round up to 25
Sweet Gum round over 40
Crab Apple vase-shaped up to 25
Red Mulberry spreading 25-40
Sour Gum oval over 40
Sycamore round over 40
Southern Red Oak round over 40
Bald Cypress pyramidal over 40
Native Trees For North Florida
Evergreen (maintains leaves year round)
Name Form (shape) Size (height ft.)
Live Oak spreading over 40
Loblolly Bay oval 25-40
Dahoon Holly oval 25-40
American Holly pyramidal 25-40
Southern Magnolia oval over 40
Wax Myrtle round up to 25
Slash Pine round over 40
Spruce Pine oval 25-40
Leylend Cypress pyramidal 25-40
Laurel Oak oval over 40
Florida Sugar Maple round 25-40
Sparkle Berry round up to 25
Eastern Red Cedar oval 25-40
Youpon Holly oval up to 25
Cherry Laurel oval 25-40
Southern Juniper pyramidal 25-40
Native Trees For Central Florida
Deciduous (shed leaves in fall, bare in winter)
Name Form (shape) Size (height ft.)
Pignut Hickory oval over 40
Sugar Berry round over 40
Redbud round 25-40
Fringe Tree round up to 25
Dogwood round up to 25
Green Ash round over 40
Sweet Gum round over 40
Red Mulberry spreading 25-40
Sour Gum oval over 40
Sycamore round over 40
Flatwoods Plum round up to 25
Shumard Oak round over 40
Soapberry round 25-40
Bald Cypress pyramidal over 40
Winged Elm round 25-40
Red Maple oval 25-40
Buckthorn round 25-40
Native Trees For Central Florida
Evergreen (maintains leaves year round)
Name Form (shape) Size (height ft.)
Loblloy Bay oval 25-40
Dahoon Holly oval 25-40
American Holly pyramidal 25- 40
Southern Red Cedar pyramidal 25-40
Southern Magnolia oval over 40
Sweetbay spreading 25-40
Wax Myrtle round up to 25
Sand Pine oval 25-40
Spruce Pine oval 25-40
Longleaf Pine round over 40
Loblolly Pine round over 40
Laurel Oak oval over 40
Live Oak spreading over 40
Simpson’s Stopper round 25-40
Youpon Holly oval up to 25
Native Trees For South Florida
Deciduous (shed leaves in fall, bare in winter)
Name Form (shape) Size (height ft.)
Pond Apple round 25-40
Gumbo Limbo round 25-40
Jamaican Dogwood spreading 25-40
Soapberry round 25-40
Bald Cypress pyramidal over 40
Native Trees For South Florida
Evergreen (maintains leaves year round)
Name Form (shape) Size (height ft.)
Satin Leaf round 25-40
Fiddlewood oval up to 25
Pigeon Plum oval up to 25
Sea Grape spreading up to 25
Silver Buttonwood round up to 25
Geiger Tree round up to 25
Strangler Fig vase- shaped over 40
Dahoon Holly oval up to 25
Wild Tamarid round 25-40
Mastic Tree round over 40
Sand Pine oval 25-40
Slash Pine oval over 40
Laurel Oak oval over 40
Live Oak spreading over 40
Paradise Tree round 25-40
Yellow Elder round up to 25
Tawnberry Holly oval 25-40
Yaupon Holly oval up to 25
Simpson’s Stopper round 25-40
Twinberry round 25-40
Planting native trees improves the natural setting around a home, and preserves the environment by restoring the land. Using native trees in landscaping helps retain our natural resources. We can all benefit and enjoy having attractive beautiful Native Florida Trees in our landscapes.
Kurt Kmetz
Recent Posts
By Kurt On October 13, 2011
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Trees in Florida are a valuable part of a landscape not only for their natural beauty, but also in helping with energy conservation. Florida homeowners can receive a substantial amount of energy savings from the usage of trees. Trees placed in the right location in a landscape will provide homes with shade from the hot sun during the summer, and protection from cold winds in the winter. This will help reduce cooling and heating costs.
How a certain tree species will perform these functions depends upon, the size (height) of the tree, if the foliage remains on the tree year round (leaf persistence), the shape (form) of the tree, and shade density of the tree canopy.
Knowing what trees to use and where to locate them in a landscape is the key. The following information shows how to use Trees In Florida Landscaping For Energy Conservation.
Types Of Florida Trees
Trees in Florida have different types of forms, density, leaf persistence, and size. Tree forms are considered to be Oval, Round, Pyramidal, Spreading, Columnar, and Vase- Shaped. Tree shade density is any where from Light, Medium, to Heavy. The three factors that determine leaf persistence is whether the species is Deciduous (shed leaves in fall, bare in winter), Evergreen (maintains leaves year round), or Semi-Evergreen.
Tree sizes vary from Small (up to 25ft.), Medium (25-40ft.), to Large (over 40ft.). The growth rate of trees in Florida are considered to be either Slow, Moderate, or Fast. Both size and growth rate depends on the tree species. Newly planted large trees can take many years to reach their full size.
Using Trees In Florida For Shade In Summer
Large trees of 40 ft. or more offer shade by casting shadows over the roof of a typical single family home, protecting it from the high sun from beating down on it. Note: Large trees need to be located at least 30 ft. away from a home to avoid damage from falling limbs during bad storms, and to avoid any possible damage to the foundation from the spreading of their roots.
Trees in Florida can provide shade from the hot sun for sidewalls and windows of homes. Small or medium sized trees will perform this function well, while not growing out of bounds. Place them at a distance of 7-20ft. away from the home. These size trees will grow faster than large trees, offering shade a lot sooner.
The east and west walls of a home accumulates the most heat from exposure during the long hot days of summer. Tree shading should be maximized on these sides of the home. Walls facing south will also benefit from tree shade during summer.
Windows on all east, west, and south sides of the home are the most direct route for the hot sunlight to enter inside. Trees shade windows throughout the day preventing heat from the sun entering the home.
Small trees can also be used to shade the outdoor compressor/condenser unit of an air conditioner system from direct overhead hot sun during the summer. The system will use less energy to cool a home, making it work more efficiently.
Using Trees In Florida During Winter
In the winter the sun is low in the southern sky. Homes in the north and central regions of Florida can benefit by heat from the sun, with Deciduous trees placed along the southern exposure. These type of trees will be bare of leaves in the winter from shedding, allowing the sun to warm up the home.
However, in south Florida where the winter is short and mild, Deciduous trees do not need to be along the southern exposure. It is better to have broad leaf Evergreen trees placed along the south sides of homes, because it is more important to use trees to cool them with shade during the long hot summer. The lowering of cooling costs offsets the cost of heating during the short winter.
The winter winds in Florida prevail from the north. Northerly winds often sweep cold arctic air into the state. They are felt most strongly in the panhandle area and the north central counties. Small Evergreen trees with dense canopies will provide the best protection from cold wind. The height of the tree and the density of the canopy can be effective as wind barriers. Trees in Florida used as windbreaks can significantly reduce wind velocity for a distance equal to 10 times the height of the tree. The greatest amount of protection occurs within a distance of 5 times the height of the windbreak.
Florida trees used correctly as part of a landscape will help improve the value of a home, by making it more energy efficient. Healthy beautiful trees are naturally attractive and practical. Trees in Florida have become the biggest part of landscaping playing a role in today’s demand for energy conservation.
Kurt Kmetz
By Kurt On August 18, 2011
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Since good soil is important for having a successful garden, a raised bed garden can give an advantage over a regular garden. When filling a raised garden bed with soil, you can fill it with a blend of soil that is loose and rich with nutrients. This is most likely far better than the native soil in your yard.
Loose soil that has a good combination of proper nutrients and organic matter will allow your plants to grow a healthier root system. The roots will grow more freely in a raised bed garden. This will insure that they will have total access to water and nutrients.
Before building your raised bed garden in it’s permanent location consider the amount of sunlight the area will be receiving. This will determine what type of plants you can plant there. Remember for a raised bed vegetable garden it is going to need plenty of sunlight, most vegetable plants require at least 6 hours of sun.
Site Preparation For A Raised Bed Garden
First find a location that is level before preparing the area and beginning construction. To prepare the site for a raised bed garden you will have to remove all grass and weeds in the area and loosen the soil. This will help improve drainage and moisture retention in the raised bed. Dig up the area with a shovel and remove all grass and weeds with a garden rake. Using a shovel or a garden fork loosen the soil to a depth of 6-10 inches. By doing this the plants will think they are in a bed, that is twice as deep than it really is. This will give plenty of room for vegetable plants such as carrots, potatoes, full-sized tomato plants or any other large plants you want to grow.
Soil Preparation For Raised Bed Gardening
Fill a Newly Built raised bed garden with the right amount and combination of material for a good soil foundation. The Best Combination Mix is a blend of using 60% Top Soil, plus 30% Compost or Organic Peat, plus 10% Soil-Less Growing Mix that contains Peat Moss, Perilite, or Vermiculite. You can add an All Purpose Fertilizer to your soil mix to help jump start growing your plants.
An Example on how much to use - is to fill a 3 x 6 foot raised garden bed with 10 inch sides, you will need 15 cubic ft. of blended soil. Blend 9 cubic ft. of top soil (9 – 20 quart bags), 4.5 cubic ft. of compost or organic peat (4.5 – 20 quart bags), 1.5 cubic ft. of soil-less growing mix, and add 1.5 cups of all purpose fertilizer. Thoroughly mix all material evenly in your raised garden bed with a shovel.
To rejuvenate an Existing raised bed garden, first pull out all dead plants and weeds growing. Clean out any debris such as leaves or sticks, fallen from trees blown in by the wind. Loosen the soil because rain can compact it. If the soil has settled top it off with two inches of new fresh top soil, and mix it in with old soil. This will help replenish the soil in the raised bed.
Listed Are Calculations For Amount Of Soil Combination Mix Needed, According To Raised Bed Garden Size
( Bed Size ) ( Amount Of Soil Mix )
4 ft. x 3 ft. x 8 in. 8 cubic ft. / 0.296 cubic yards
6 ft. x 3 ft. x 8 in. 12 cubic ft. / 0.44 cubic yards
8 ft. x 3 ft. x 8 in. 16 cubic ft. / 0.592 cubic yards
4 ft. x 4 ft. x 8 in. 11 cubic ft. / 0.395 cubic yards
6 ft. x 4 ft. x 8 in. 16 cubic ft. / 0.592 cubic yards
8 ft. x 4 ft. x 8 in. 22 cubic ft. / 0.790 cubic yards
4 ft. x 3 ft. x 10 in. 10 cubic ft. / 0.370 cubic yards
6 ft. x 3 ft. x 10 in. 15 cubic ft. / 0.555 cubic yards
8 ft. x 3 ft. x 10 in. 20 cubic ft. / 0.740 cubic yards
4 ft. x 4 ft. x 10 in. 14 cubic ft. / 0.493 cubic yards
6 ft. x 4 ft. x 10 in. 20 cubic ft. / 0.740 cubic yards
8 ft. x 4 ft. x 10 in. 27 cubic ft. / 0. 987 cubic yards
Growing vegetables or flowering plants in a raised bed garden is an excellent way to have a garden. Raised bed gardening makes it easy to maintain a garden and assures a good foundation of soil, full of nutrients needed for plants to grow healthy and vigorous. It is great for just about any location, with the size that fits for you.
Kurt Kmetz
