Native Swamp Rose

swamproseNative swamp rose can be grown in most moist soils and will tolerate a good deal of drought.  It will sucker and form a thicket which needs to be located away from walkways yet close enough that the fragrant pink flowers can be smelled.  Birds like the fruit and the protection of the thorny stems while children and the inner child of adults love the fragrance.  This will bring back memories of your childhood so beware of an emotional response.

 

Winged Sumac

WingedsumacThe winged sumac is a tall suckering plant with insect attracting flowers in the spring and red foliage in the fall.  It will grow to 15 feet tall and may need to have extra root suckers pulled up when they grow away from the parent plant.  I like to make tea out of the berries in the fall.  These are coated with malic acid which is what you find in unripe apples.  Tastes like pink lemonade.   Use this to create a thicket to block out unwanted views.

Winged sumac Dec.
Winged sumac Dec.

Street trees need not be a problem for pedestrians

DonnaNewOrl0415 (2) (698x1280)In New Orleans and many other cities of the world trees are allowed to exist with humans, even if the humans have to adapt to the trees.  A one hundred year old oak tree may have a three foot diameter trunk and roots that take up  several feet of sidewalk and even some of the street.  These trees provide shade and also a home and food supply for many birds.

So what do people do?  Well, they look down so as not to trip on the roots and they walk around the tree.  You may even have to give up parking next to one of these trees in order to stay out of traffic.

Hear in South Florida, we have a cure.  Just cut the tree down and replace it with a palm.  Need I say more?  But there are ways to avoid future problems with oak and other large trees and they include putting in proper retaining areas from the start.  The point is to install a cement or metal edge that the roots won’t lift up in the future and crack.  TreenclosureNewOr (720x1280)So is that really so hard to do?  It doesn’t look so here in this picture from New Orleans.  The worst case scenario is that a piece of land may need to be purchased from the landowner on the other side of the sidewalk so that the sidewalk can be widened.  But that is a hundred years from now for this tree.

 

Native Strangler Fig

Our native strangler fig,  Ficus aureus, is one of the best trees to attract birds  in South Florida.  In April, when the migrating birds

 

Redbellfig

pass through, it will have up to dozens of birds including warblers, catbirds, hummingbirds, vireos, and flocks of cedar waxwings as well as the local bluejays, mockingbirds, cardinals and even squirrels feeding on the ripening figs.  It will fruit on and off all year.

The roots tend to go down and secure the tree in high winds.  Non native ficus trees have shallow roots that allow the tree to tip over during storms.  Also, the non native Indian Laurel Fig and several others are invasive and although still available for sale, should not be planted.

The Native Strangler Fig will start life as a seedling in the canopy of another tree, usually a cabbage palm.  The roots grow down and upon touching the ground will take root and thicken.  Eventually the host is shaded to death or its trunk is prevented from expanding so that it is strangled.

Do not plant closer than fifty feet from your house or pool because the roots will venture out that far from the tree and may crack the cement that they grow under.  Keep an eye out for the roots which are often on the ground surface and cut them way back if they are headed for trouble.

Although the berries are great for birds, it is the insects that this tree attracts that are just as beneficial.  Young birds need insects to grow and adults need them too.  You may notice some damage to the leaves yet it is minimal.  The ruddy daggerwing butterfly caterpillar feeds on the young leaves and turns into an interesting orange butterfly with wings that look like a leaf with veins and a petiole.

For South Florida there is also the native short leaf fig, Ficus citrifolia,  found naturally in the Florida Keys and South Miami.  This is smaller than the strangler fig and doesn’t put out as many aerial roots from its branches.

Both of these are available at meadowbeautynursery.com