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Featured Post

Native Florida Trees

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

Trees In Florida

By Kurt On October 13, 2011 Add Your Comment

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Raised Bed Garden

By Kurt On August 18, 2011 Add Your Comment

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