|
Why
Do I Want Live-Oaks For Landscaping?
An amazingly durable American native
the Live Oak can measure its lifetime in centuries if properly
located and cared for in the landscape. It makes an excellent
street tree in the South.
The traditional or classic Live-Oaks
grow to be a large, sprawling, picturesque tree, usually
graced with Spanish moss and strongly reminiscent of the Old
South, Live Oak is one of the broadest spreading of the Oaks,
providing large areas of deep, inviting shade. Reaching 40 to
60 feet in height with a 60 to 100 foot spread and usually
possessing many sinuously curved trunks and branches. Live Oak
is an impressive sight for any large-scale landscape; Give it
plenty of room since the trunk can grow to more than six feet
in diameter. top
What Does B&B Mean and Why
Should I Prefer Field Grown Trees?
A field-grown tree is planted into
native soils, grown to a harvestable size, harvested prior
to sale, and transported to the job site. Field-grown trees
are referred to as balled and burlapped (B&B) because
the root system is harvested and wrapped in burlap. Trees
are placed in wire baskets to support the root
system and to make it possible to lift the tree by the root
ball rather than the trunk.
Many studies have been done to compare
B&B trees with Container Grown trees after planting. One such
study from the
University of Florida Horticulture Department (1996)
shows how B&B take to a new environment as long as certain root
pruning and irrigation procedures are done in the nursery. Trees in
our field-grown nursery are
maintained with drip irrigation, fertilizer, selective
shoot pruning, and root pruning. Root pruning, drip
irrigation and fertilizer help build a strong, dense root
system, while selective pruning is used to guide the tree
into the desired form.
Our field-grown trees are
hardened-off or cured after harvesting. This
hardening-off process lasts three to four weeks and it simply
involves providing
the tree with optimum irrigation during the few weeks after
harvesting. This step, as simple as it may seem, is crucial
to the health and survivability
of the tree.
After the tree is hardened-off it
is ready to ship (see our
shipping
process page) to the landscape site. New roots
that have begun to develop are ready to grow immediately
into the landscape. These new roots growing outside of the
burlap are a sign of quality. Our Quality Root System
Guarantee reminds you of the care taken to assure the survival
of our trees in your landscape. Look
for roots outside
of the burlap, our
QRS Guarantee assures that you are planting a
quality hardened-off
tree.
top
Q:
How are Your Trees Grown?
A: Our trees grown in-ground, or the technical term "field grown",
from about 2-3 feet tall until we sell them to our customers. We
only sell trees we grow in our nursery.
Top
In
What Zone Will Live Oak Trees Grow ?
We
really get this question a lot. Live Oaks (quercus
virginiana's) are sometimes called the Southern Oak on
purpose. They like warm southern air but can tolerate a little
cold. Here's a list of compatible zones using the
American
Horticulture Society USDA Hardiness Zone Map:
USDA Zone 8a: to -12.2° C (10° F)
USDA Zone 8b: to -9.4° C (15° F)
USDA Zone 9a: to -6.6° C (20° F)
USDA Zone 9b: to -3.8° C (25° F)
USDA Zone 10a: to -1.1°C (30° F)
USDA Zone 10b: to 1.7° C (35° F)
USDA Zone 11: above 4.5° C (40° F)
Where Do They Grow?
CLICK on Pix.
top
Q:
What Does 'Caliper' Mean?
A: Caliper is a nursery standard measurement for the diameter
of the trunk.
top
What Does Your Quality Root Systems
Guarantee™
Mean?
Southern Pride Tree Farm guarantee's our customers are buying the best quality hardened-off tree
available. All of our trees are held until new roots develop
from the top of the root ball to the bottom and all the way
around. Then and only then are the trees ready to be
moved and start growing into your landscape. We are committed to increasing
the awareness and quality that field-grown trees offer a
landscape.
Hardening-off means the tree has been
held in our nursery under optimum irrigation until new roots
have begun to regenerate. (4-6 weeks minimum). These roots are
ready to start growing into your landscape. Look for our
Quality Root System™" tag in your next shipment of
trees to guarantee you are buying quality hardened-off
field-grown trees. top
What
Are Tree Grades and Standards for Florida Trees?
Grades and Standards were developed
by The University of Florida and The Florida Department of
Agriculture to provide city and county landscapers with a
preferred tree structure and a method of grading the different
trees grown and placed in Florida Landscapes. Here you learn
the difference in a Florida #1, Florida Fancy or others.
Click
Here to view the .pdf Tree's Grades and Standards
document. top
Where Can I Find More Information on
Live Oak Trees?
CLICK on Pix.
top
Q:
When is
the best time to plant these trees?
A: Anytime, though in more northern regions that get colder
we recommend the earlier the better so the tree establishes before
dealing with the cold. We dig the inventory we will sell for the
year in late January and harden off (allow new roots to be visible
from the top of the rootball to the bottom and all the way around)
and go through any shock from being dug in the nursery - the trees
are healthy and happy before we ship and will establish nicely any
time of year. (Click here - To see how
we prepare trees for shipping)
top |
