Native Tree Talk

April is Native plant month and on this episode, we are talking about native trees. 

Join Joe - The Yard Stops tree expert and as he shares his knowledge and experience with us on this topic. 

https://youtu.be/bQCObBXCRW4https://yardstopgardencenter.com/

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome back to the Yard Stop Garden Center Podcast. I'm Emily and today we're going to be talking about native trees. Our guest speaker today is Joe. Joe is one of our tree experts here at the Yard Stop and he's going to be answering all of our questions on this topic. Welcome to the podcast, Emily.

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Thank you for having me. Absolutely. Happy to be here.

SPEAKER_01 0:18

Can I start off by asking you what makes a tree native?

SPEAKER_00 0:22

Usually it comes down to like maybe hundreds of years or thousands of years of this tree being in the state of Florida, if it's a if it's a native to Florida, and it's adapted to the habitat, it's adapted to the to the soil content, to the to the weather, the climate, and not only the weather in Florida, but as hurricanes or or whatever we get come in. It's adapted to that. It's adapted to the soil that it's in. And so that's basically what makes it a native tree.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

So a tree adapting to its climate makes it native?

SPEAKER_00 1:00

Well pretty much. Pretty much. Pretty much. It's there and it's been, it's a hi there's a history of it being here. And so that's what it makes it a native tree. Now there are some trees that are native to Florida that could also be native to like Texas or South Carolina because their climate can be similar to where they are. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

Wow. That's why okay. Um I know we have a lot of native trees here at the Yard Stop, but I wanted to ask about the palm trees. Um and then we can also touch on the other varieties of trees a little bit as well. But according to research, only twelve palm trees are native to Florida.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

Mm-hmm. Yeah, the the research that I've looked at on a couple of different uh sites have said twelve. And um, so basically what we have are like Everglades palms is one of them. Um and obviously that would they would be in a swampier area down in the Everglades, and uh then we have um the needle palm and the cabbage palm. Now the cabbage palm is also the sable palm, same tree. Oh yeah, it's a just they just some people come in to the yard stop and they'll ask for a sable. Some people come in and they'll say, Do you have any cabbage palms? And so there's no difference, it's the same thing. And noted that the uh the sable palm is the state tree of Florida. And uh so in 1953, uh Congress designated the sable palm as the state palm or the state tree of Florida. And then it replaced the uh coconut palm in 1970 on the on the seal that you see. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:38

And palm trees technically are not trees, right?

SPEAKER_00 2:41

No, no, no. That's a really interesting it is. It's it's kind of weird to think that you have grass growing in your yard that could be a hundred feet tall. And it's kind of an herb or grassial thing, it's a monocot. It's it's uh it's uh classified as a monocot tree or a monocot species. And it's more fibrous, and so it's it's more uh uh it comes from more herbs and more grasses, because as you as you look at it, you know, and also the uh another differing thing between a tree uh which is a diocot tree and uh and a palm tree is that obviously trees grow branches. Okay, if you notice palm trees, they don't have branches. They have no palms, they have palms up on the top sides, which are technically leaves.

SPEAKER_01 3:25

Yeah, basically. They're not a branch.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

No, they're not branches. They're they're they're palm fronds or palm leaves, and they're and they're and they're fibrous. Um now there are some trees, uh some palm trees that you would think that uh uh that may be uh like more of a woody type, and there are some that that uh actually make tiki huts out of is what they do, but for the most part they're considered grasses and herbs, not actual trees. And another reason is because a tree, a woody, and an actual tree will grow uh in diameter rings every year. Okay, a um a palm tree will not, so it won't get any any larger in diameter, it'll just continue to go straight up.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 4:09

So there's a little bit of a difference there.

SPEAKER_01 4:11

How many of the 12 native trees that are native to Florida do we sell here at the yardstop?

SPEAKER_00 4:15

Well, we have the sable palm or the cabbage palm, that's one of them. Um we also have the saw palmetto, which is uh the green palmetto, the green saw palmetto, and the silver saw palmetto. Now those are only the well, those won't get very big. They'll get you know a little uh smaller in size, and most of the time those palmettoes, the root system and the trunk is actually ground level or below. So it's more of a it's more of a five or six, maybe seven, eight foot type. So we have those. Um we have a thatch palm also that we feature right out here on the road, so we have those as well. Um not too many others as far as the native palms that we that that we actually carry, although they're quite available throughout the state.

SPEAKER_01 4:57

How long can palm trees live for?

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Oh, hundreds of years.

SPEAKER_01 5:01

Wow. Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

There's um and and actually there's a tree uh, and forgive me for not remembering what the name of it is, uh, that's that's uh actually recorded at 500 years old. So they do still living, yeah, and they they can they can live uh many, many years.

SPEAKER_01 5:18

You know what state?

SPEAKER_00 5:19

So no. Uh well California has the sequoias and things like that. Now, palm trees, uh I know we were I know we jumped to the sequoia tree, but uh because they're there for for many, many, many years. But palm trees can uh easily last you know a hundred years and so again recorded at 500 years.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

Right. What are some of your more rare um exotic, if you will, palm trees that are probably more expensive in value, like more expensive in price?

SPEAKER_00 5:46

Um well I would say the the first one would be um would be the sylvestors that we have. And we have two types of silvestres, we have the phoenix and then we have the robusto. And so depending on on uh what you want, the the the the phoenix um is a little bit of a smaller type uh palm, and uh the robusto is a little bit larger in in the the root ball and the kind of the thickness of it. But they're a little bit on the rare side, not not rare as you can't find them, but rare because they're the the cultivation of them and uh and also quite frankly the popularity, you know. So um, but that's one of them. Um the other ones we just we just received some uh some Queen Cocoa Cross palms.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

That sounds fancy.

SPEAKER_00 6:38

And they it's they're very nice. And um although that is not a uh a native um to Florida, uh it's a very nice tree, uh very aesthetic looking, you know, and uh and so that's another one that's that's all of a sudden become very popular. A hurricane palm is also one that we got in, and uh we've had uh a real good reception with that, and people are really liking those as well.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

What is our most commonly sold native palm tree here? Oh stop?

SPEAKER_00 7:08

Well, as far as the native palm trees go, it would be the uh the sable palm. Um and then we do sell salt palmettoes. Again, those are the smaller ones that are on the on the left-hand side um there of the of the palm field. But we do sell quite a few of those. Um thatch palm is another one that people look at and they they sometimes desire, but that's one of them also. And a thatch key, a key thatch palm, is another is another palmetto that we don't carry right now, but it's uh it's another variety of of thatch palm. And that's more towards the keys where they uh where they were um uh cultivated, grown, and things like that.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

What pests are palm trees prone to?

SPEAKER_00 7:50

Well, you've got lethal bronzing, which is one What is lethal bronzing? It's uh it's a disease that's it's actually um spread by a little bug, basically. And it looks like a leaf it looks like a leaf or something like that. It's got a little white tift on it, if you will, and uh and it and it sucks the sap out of the trees, and it continues to go you know from tree to tree, and and and it's more more common in uh silvesters, lethal bronzing. And um how long does it take? Unfortunately.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

Okay, sorry.

SPEAKER_00 8:25

I was gonna say, unfortunately, once your tree has the lethal bronzing, you're pretty much um unfortunately out of luck because it will kill it and it will kill it quick and in like three to seven months it could be gone. And also it's it's if you will using this contagious, it will spread. So um once you have it, um you pretty much it there's no cure for it. No no no known cure for it. Oh wow but you can um you can give your trees injections of a certain formula, if you will. Um I honestly don't know exactly what that would be, but uh, but there is an injection that you can do that that uh that helps the tree um not to uh not to get it.

SPEAKER_01 9:09

Right.

SPEAKER_00 9:09

To kind of immunize it, if you will.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

Right. Yeah for other diseases um or pests that palm trees are prone to, what do you suggest for treating those those other kinds of things?

SPEAKER_00 9:22

It kind of depends on what it is, if it's like uh a white fly or or others, you could there's there's different things that you can uh that you can purchase and we that we have here um that uh that you can purchase. You just need to identify what your tree has basically and um and then you can get the right uh the right formula or the right treatment for it. And we have we have quite a lot, uh quite a good selection of um of fungicides and and things like that for trees as well. So yeah, and we also we carry a uh Espoma palm treatment and we also carry for fungicides and things like that for it as well.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

Yeah, besides palm trees, what other varieties do we sell here at the yard stop?

SPEAKER_00 10:04

Other trees, okay. Um oh well we sell um uh sweet bay magnolia, which is uh a native. A new one that we have is a powder puff tree. We also sell the native, the native trees that we have here are the ball cypress. We carry those. We carry a slash pine, uh, oak trees, several different varieties of oak trees. Cypress red maple is very popular, and we do sell that. We also sell the eastern red bud.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

So what's your favorite tree?

SPEAKER_00 10:35

Or is that oh my goodness. Um there's it's kind of it's kind of hard to it's kind of hard to say. Um and then you're gonna have people coming in and exactly. They're gonna be like, I'm the favorite because Joe said it's his favorite. No, I like um I like the red buds, and I also like the um the powder puff tree, if you if you it sounds kind of funny, but yeah, I like that because it's just it's different. And and the powder puff tree is actually uh uh an attractor for pollinator. Um we opened one up just for for the display of because people wanted to see them. We haven't had them in in quite a long time, and um we got four of them in or so, and and they've they've got a great reception. We've sold a few. Um but immediately after we opened it within five or ten minutes, I was looking at it and there was hummingbirds all throughout. They were really cool. Yeah, so powder puffs are neat. Yeah. Um so uh you know, weeping bottle brush is a pollinator, um, and it does real well. And I kind of like those because they're kind of a year-round bloom. Yeah, and so they're uh aesthetically they're very nice.

SPEAKER_01 11:44

So I want to go get one now.

SPEAKER_00 11:47

Um Florida maple, red maple, as I I think I said already, um, and then the Easter red bud. Now, some of these trees are deciduous, meaning that they're gonna lose their leaves, but then all of a sudden it's it's it's kind of fun to watch because uh I was doing this actually uh this spring coming in, and the tree remains dormant and dormant, and then all of a sudden, within like a day or two, bang, the whole thing is like exploded, and it's it's really cool to watch.

SPEAKER_01 12:12

Like it's more of an instant process. It is, it is.

SPEAKER_00 12:14

It does some of them you can see a little bit of growth, and then all of a sudden, just bam, the whole thing is there. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

Do some trees act, you know how some plants like marigolds, they act as a almost like a bug repellent. Um, are trees like that?

SPEAKER_00 12:27

I don't know of any trees that that actually uh repel bugs and things like that, but there are a lot of trees that uh that people will purchase because they they do well if they have like undergrowth and things like that. If you plant uh plants and things around them or under them, and they act as kind of a protectant type thing. So I'm sorry, I don't know of any that uh that actually repel things. You know, like a like lemongrass repels mosquitoes. Um I'm not uh I'm not too familiar with what trees would would actually repel.

SPEAKER_01 13:00

That's okay. I mean, at least we know that the Powerpuff tree attracts something. Everyone's gonna go buy one now.

SPEAKER_00 13:07

Yeah, well they were that's it's funny because you keep watching and that's one of the things that I actually ask uh when we're when we're taking people through and and talking about trees. Um are you okay with bees? You know, are you allergic to bees? Are you um because some folks are, you know.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

And so that's true.

SPEAKER_00 13:25

So uh, and some folks will say, no, this is what we want. We want the pollinators, we want the hummingbirds, we want the butterflies, we want the the um the the bees and things like that, and then some folks say, Well, thank you for telling me because I'm highly allergic to a bee sting. Right. Or or something like that. So that's what we do ask. Um another thing that we ask is irrigation, you know, if we're getting into that type thing, because because you have to have proper irrigation. A lot of folks will think, well, after the tree is established, you know, does it still need water? It could it obviously things that you know that grow needs need water from time to time. So it would be better if they're irrigated, if not, then you know, make sure that they get some kind of water sometime.

SPEAKER_01 14:07

Yeah. I was gonna ask you about the irrigation for palm trees and other varieties of trees. What's the what's the irrigation process like?

SPEAKER_00 14:17

We usually ask two to three weeks after we plot a palm tree in the ground. And uh you don't have to just kind of stand there with it. You can let your water hose, if you have it, just uh trickle in for for probably 20-30 minutes a day for about two to three weeks. And that lets the tree kind of get established. And you know, trees can be shocked. You know, when you pull them out of the ground, um, and I'm not saying that we do it roughly or anything, we you know, we pull them out, but but they still, you know, it's all of a sudden like it's a new climate, a new a new uh habitat. So um the trees that we have, and so putting them in the ground, making sure that they're they're properly planted, and then and then watering them kind of calms them down, lets the roots get established, and uh, and then they go from there. And normally after that, if if the ideal situation would be a bubbler or some kind of irrigation that even goes off just just um you know a couple times a week, like your normal irrigation would. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

And what about fertilizer for palms?

SPEAKER_00 15:16

We have um we have a yard stop fertilizer that um that we use on everything in here, and it's it's uh perils makes it for us. And um I would recommend that. It's uh it's time release, it's a granule. And um after you see the last of the granules, which are green, go away, then it's time to to uh um to refertilize. That's usually two to three months, something like that, and it works out real well. If you want to get very specific, then we do have a palm fertilizer that's specifically made for that. And um, and depending on you know what your needs are, you can use that as well. If you want something that's specific to um to palm trees and not just and not just uh a generic uh everyday uh type thing.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

Can palm trees grow in the shade? Some people actually do plant them in more shaded areas of their home.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

Some can, sure. There's there's some trees. Um I would honestly have to kind of look it up to see which ones, but some some are are shade tolerant. For example, a lady palm. Um we carry lady palms in our um shade house, and they thrive more in the shade than they do in the sun. Actually, the sun, if it's direct sun, can really kind of burn them up and and they don't look real well at all.

SPEAKER_01 16:35

That's interesting. I always assumed that all palm trees were full sun because that's mostly where I see trees plant like palm trees planted is in the sun. But you can definitely plant them in the shade then. If you buy one that is that is more than more shade tolerant, yes.

SPEAKER_00 16:50

Uh huh. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:52

Well, Joe, I think we've covered almost everything I can think of to ask you about trees. Although I'm sure I'm missing something.

SPEAKER_00 16:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 16:58

But I really appreciate you coming on the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

Well, I appreciate you having me. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_01 17:03

Thanks for sharing your tree knowledge with us. Should we close this thing out?

SPEAKER_00 17:06

I guess we can.

SPEAKER_01 17:07

All right.

SPEAKER_00 17:08

Uh folks come on out to the yard stop because we have uh we have stuff that'll make you smile.

SPEAKER_01 17:13

And um, and definitely recommend trying the PowerPuff tree. If you like hummingbirds and butterflies, we recommend for sure.

SPEAKER_00 17:20

There you go.

SPEAKER_01 17:21

Thanks for joining our podcast, guys. We'll see you in the next episode. Bye.

SPEAKER_00 17:25

Take care.