This was the original Seminole Heights blog with commentary about life in and around the urban neighborhood of Seminole Heights in Tampa, Florida. Musings about other topics as my mood permits. The blog is essentially inactive since I moved to Lutz. Go to The Official Unofficial Seminole Heights Blog - www.seminoleheightsblog.com for active content.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Pretty stuff
Here are some photos of some flowering trees near my house to give people pretty thoughts
This is a Golden Rain Tree. They are an aggressive non-native species that was planted here for its obvious asthetic value. It produces millions of seed pods and reproduces faster than rabbits. It also attracts these wonderful little insects that eat the seeds. There are millions of these little tyrants crawling all over my yard and my house right now. After this year that tree is OUT OF HERE!!!
The bugs aren't destructive or harmful in any way that I know of. We talked to the agriculture people about them when we first discovered them. They are very shy, but in the winter, they congregate in warm spots en massse. They can cover a good portion of fence or wall in black and red.
Non-native isn't necessarily bad. But plants that can "go native" easily, such as these, Camphors, and Brazilian Pepper should be discouraged because they eventually enter wild areas and crowd out important native species.
I find the Golden Raintree beautiful, but would never plant one.
Thankfully, there are other trees out there that are just as wonderful and covered in flowers.
Redbuds are beautiful, especially if you like early bloomers. They bloom on bare stems in Spring. They are also *native* to the US including Northern Florida. We're on the edge of their range here in Tampa so your mileage may vary depending variety. Here's a link to a great resource Floridata. (And now you know one of my secret sources of information.)
Loblolly Bay trees are related to the Sweetbay (Magnolia) and are, yes, native.
I'm particularly fond of the non-native but breathtaking tree called the Jacaranda. I've seen them growing in the area but this is the Northern-most boundary of their range. They also bloom on bare stems. I personally like to see them planted over lawns as the violet flowers carpet the lawn in late Spring.
And finally, here's a tree you can see growing in Myron Griffin's yard on Clifton called a Pink Tabebuia (Pink Trumpet) that, while a bit difficult to grow here, really delights passers-by.
These are all big trees. There are some pretty nice small trees that do well here too. And don't forget fruit trees! My small lychee tree has beautiful bark and new leaves start out bronzy before mellowing to a dark, rippled green. The flowers are supposed to be noteworthy and smell nice and the fruit are some of my favorite.
The jacaranda are more common in St Pete as they are a few degrees warmer in the winter that Tampa is. Also around Lake Roberta are the yellow tabebuia.
Dogwoods are also at the bottom of their range here in Tampa but our neighborhood has a few old timers.
I almost planted a jacaranda until speaking with several tree companies and the Hillsborough extension office who told me of several problems. They said they have to remove them frequently due to the roots lifting pavers, concrete, etc. on small lots. They also said they get about 50 feet high and wide and that alone can cause problems on smaller lots. I went instead with a pink tab. You can get these from USF botanical gardens, they are started as seedlings from the trees they own- take a look on their website at the home page to see what they look like fully grown.
There were so many Jacaranda trees here in Tampa at one time that the city was called the "Blue City". I series of strong freezes during the 70s and 80s left most of them struggling. Most owners didn't know how to properly trim them back for proper growth and they have gone by the wayside. Too bad!!
There's a Jacaranda in Seminole Heights that I see each spring on the West side of the freeway. It's somewhere South of Hillsborough near the high school. I see its canopy blooming as we get on the freeway. So they can grow here.
Root issues, wind issues, insects, and dropping matter are all things you should consider before planting a large tree. Never put a plant in the ground because it looks good there _now_, plant based on how it will look in 10, 20, 30 years.
If I can reconcile the Jacaranda with keep my pool free of debris, I'm considering placing one in my back yard. :-)
I had a jacaranda approx. 10 feet tall that unfortunately was killed when temperatures were in the 20s this past Feb.. I did have it well covered and even had a heat lamp under the covering. I was told they will survive freezes only when older and much more mature of a tree. There are loads of flowering trees that do well here in Tampa, it just takes some research and planning to find the ones that will do well. My neighbor has one thats about 30 years old and quite large but does not flower, she says it is because it must have full sun not filtered and there are too many larger oaks in the area to receive enough sun. I do know that if you are experienced at root pruning you can keep one in a large container for quite a few years and have it bloom, it just needs root pruning every year. A poster on gardenweb did this after taking a bonsai class to learn how to root prune well.
This is a Golden Rain Tree. They are an aggressive non-native species that was planted here for its obvious asthetic value. It produces millions of seed pods and reproduces faster than rabbits. It also attracts these wonderful little insects that eat the seeds. There are millions of these little tyrants crawling all over my yard and my house right now. After this year that tree is OUT OF HERE!!!
ReplyDeleteso often the "pretty stuff" is non-native and invasive especially along Nebraska!
ReplyDeleteThe bugs aren't destructive or harmful in any way that I know of. We talked to the agriculture people about them when we first discovered them. They are very shy, but in the winter, they congregate in warm spots en massse. They can cover a good portion of fence or wall in black and red.
ReplyDeleteNon-native isn't necessarily bad. But plants that can "go native" easily, such as these, Camphors, and Brazilian Pepper should be discouraged because they eventually enter wild areas and crowd out important native species.
ReplyDeleteI find the Golden Raintree beautiful, but would never plant one.
Thankfully, there are other trees out there that are just as wonderful and covered in flowers.
We had a Redbud that was just lovely when it was in bloom. We transplanted it to the back yard, but not sure if it's going to make it or not.
ReplyDeleteRedbuds are beautiful, especially if you like early bloomers. They bloom on bare stems in Spring. They are also *native* to the US including Northern Florida. We're on the edge of their range here in Tampa so your mileage may vary depending variety. Here's a link to a great resource Floridata. (And now you know one of my secret sources of information.)
ReplyDeleteLoblolly Bay trees are related to the Sweetbay (Magnolia) and are, yes, native.
I'm particularly fond of the non-native but breathtaking tree called the Jacaranda. I've seen them growing in the area but this is the Northern-most boundary of their range. They also bloom on bare stems. I personally like to see them planted over lawns as the violet flowers carpet the lawn in late Spring.
And finally, here's a tree you can see growing in Myron Griffin's yard on Clifton called a Pink Tabebuia (Pink Trumpet) that, while a bit difficult to grow here, really delights passers-by.
These are all big trees. There are some pretty nice small trees that do well here too. And don't forget fruit trees! My small lychee tree has beautiful bark and new leaves start out bronzy before mellowing to a dark, rippled green. The flowers are supposed to be noteworthy and smell nice and the fruit are some of my favorite.
The jacaranda are more common in St Pete as they are a few degrees warmer in the winter that Tampa is. Also around Lake Roberta are the yellow tabebuia.
ReplyDeleteDogwoods are also at the bottom of their range here in Tampa but our neighborhood has a few old timers.
I almost planted a jacaranda until speaking with several tree companies and the Hillsborough extension office who told me of several problems. They said they have to remove them frequently due to the roots lifting pavers, concrete, etc. on small lots. They also said they get about 50 feet high and wide and that alone can cause problems on smaller lots. I went instead with a pink tab. You can get these from USF botanical gardens, they are started as seedlings from the trees they own- take a look on their website at the home page to see what they look like fully grown.
ReplyDeleteThere were so many Jacaranda trees here in Tampa at one time that the city was called the "Blue City". I series of strong freezes during the 70s and 80s left most of them struggling. Most owners didn't know how to properly trim them back for proper growth and they have gone by the wayside. Too bad!!
ReplyDeleteThere's a Jacaranda in Seminole Heights that I see each spring on the West side of the freeway. It's somewhere South of Hillsborough near the high school. I see its canopy blooming as we get on the freeway. So they can grow here.
ReplyDeleteRoot issues, wind issues, insects, and dropping matter are all things you should consider before planting a large tree. Never put a plant in the ground because it looks good there _now_, plant based on how it will look in 10, 20, 30 years.
If I can reconcile the Jacaranda with keep my pool free of debris, I'm considering placing one in my back yard. :-)
I had a jacaranda approx. 10 feet tall that unfortunately was killed when temperatures were in the 20s this past Feb.. I did have it well covered and even had a heat lamp under the covering. I was told they will survive freezes only when older and much more mature of a tree. There are loads of flowering trees that do well here in Tampa, it just takes some research and planning to find the ones that will do well. My neighbor has one thats about 30 years old and quite large but does not flower, she says it is because it must have full sun not filtered and there are too many larger oaks in the area to receive enough sun. I do know that if you are experienced at root pruning you can keep one in a large container for quite a few years and have it bloom, it just needs root pruning every year. A poster on gardenweb did this after taking a bonsai class to learn how to root prune well.
ReplyDeleteHi! Hope this is helpful! http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/flgard/msg1119275530367.html?30
ReplyDeleteWendy