I am the Lorax and I speak for the trees

Arbor Day and Kids

My 4-H club celebrated Arbor Day Tuesday night. One of our parents owns a tree farm and had donated a tree for us to plant. Unfortunately, it was raining and very cold, so that will have to wait till next time. I did, however, use my new Project Learning Tree curriculum. We read Dr. Suess' The Lorax and watched a short cartoon on planting trees. My 5-7 year old members soaked up both activities. And, during question and answer time they were able to give the important points back - roots need air, trees shouldn't be pruned to have "lion's tails", and trees should only have one trunk. After reading The Lorax, they also told me that no trees means no air. Good points all around. I made sure to remind them that no trees means no tree climbing either. So, remember, when you cut a tree down, plant another in its place!


PS - Just found a great site to go along with The Lorax! I'll be sending it to my 4-H kids today.

Arbor Day and a few of my favorite trees

Florida celebrates Arbor Day the third Friday of January. In celebration of it, I've got a few posts planned about trees.

Arbor Day is a great way to recognize the importance of trees and the benefits they provide. Planting a tree doesn't just make your landscape more attractive, it also helps reduce air pollution and conserves energy. If you do plant a tree, consider a native, such as the State tree of Florida, the sabal palm.

My Favorite Trees

Eastern Redbud - Eastern Redbuds grow well in some shade in Florida. Best growth occurs in a light, rich, moist soil but Eastern Redbud adapts well to a variety of soil including sandy or alkaline.

Trees look better when they receive some irrigation in summer dry spells. Its native habitat ranges from stream bank to dry ridge, demonstrating its adaptability.

Trees are sold as single or multistemmed. Young trees are easiest to transplant and survive best when planted in the spring or fall. Containerized trees can be planted anytime.

The beans provide food for some birds. Trees are short-lived but provide a wonderful show in the spring and fall.



Oak Trees (specifically Live Oaks) - Oaks are large trees that provide shade in the summer and fuel for fires in the winter. The nineteen species of oaks native to Florida include many of our most common and attractive trees, like Shumard and live oaks.

These trees provide valuable wildlife habitat and food, and some offer showy autumn foliage. Oaks are typically strong and durable and have a long lifespan.

When pruned properly, many of the different varieties of oaks are fairly hurricane-resistant. Oaks grow relatively quickly and can provide shade for your home.

Many oaks are deciduous, meaning that they drop their leaves during the winter. Live oak is evergreen, as it gets its new leaves about the same time that it drops its old leaves.



Magnolia - Magnolias come in all shapes and sizes, but perhaps the most well-known magnolia in Florida is the Southern magnolia, Magnolia grandiflora.

These stately trees can grow up to 90 feet tall, depending on the cultivar, and have lustrous, evergreen foliage that makes a great backdrop for other garden plants. In the spring and summer, Southern magnolias produce creamy white flowers that have a lemony smell and can be as large across as dinner plates.

Southern magnolias are often planted as specimen trees, but a row of magnolias can also make a great screen for blocking unsightly views or establishing a boundary between adjoining properties. Some Southern magnolias can even be trained as an espalier plant if you’re willing to invest the time!

This is a great picture of a Saucer Magnolia flower instead of a Southern Magnolia. But, I think it's really pretty and has great color.



Don’t wait another day--plant a tree today!

Native Maples

Maples are a common sight around the farm. They grow very easily here in north central Florida and make great trees. My mother-in-law digs them up when they're small trees and pots them. This way, we can use them in our yards. Last year, she "rescued" probably 8 or 10 of them. They've been in the pots way too long and have rooted into the ground. We finally got around to planting a few. Joh dug up four of them - three for me and one for his mom. We got ours planted on the porch side of the house. They're all about 6 feet tall. I put two on the inside of the fence and one on the outside. I'm hoping to create a garden on both sides of the fence. The one on the far right isn't doing so well now. The leaves have all turned brown and Tebow has stripped some of the bark off. Imagine that. The others are doing okay. They're suffering a little shock from the transplant, but not too much.


This is the one on the outside of the fence away from Tebow. We're propping it up a little bit right now, but it's doing well. I sprayed a big area around it this weekend, so we can start turning it into a flower bed.

Is that a monkey in the tree?

I love working in the Environmental Horticulture department. I never know what I'm going to see. Yesterday, as I was going to a meeting in the main building across the street, there was Dr. Gilman with a hard hat on. Dr. Gilman is universally known as "the tree guy" so it's not unusual to see him under the canopies. Yesterday, though, I hear him yelling at the trees as I'm walking past! This is a little unusual. I took the time to stop and look and there's a student up in a tree - probably 30 feet up! Dr. Gilman is coaching him for a student arboriculture contest on tree climbing and using the opportunity to get some of the trees pruned around the building. The student was following Dr. Gilman's yelled directions on which branches to cut. There is apparently quite a bit of research that Dr. Gilman has done on tree pruning to help with tree health and hurricane preparation. It's pretty interesting stuff. I've seen Dr. Gilman blowing trees over with two airboat engines to simulate what different pruning techniques do to trees in hurricanes. That was cool. So, now I pay more attention to my trees at home and how we prune them. Remember, if you want to be more prepared for hurricane season, don't forget about your trees!