Palm trees are both beautiful and affordable, making your home and yard a masterpiece adding to the curb appeal and value. But only if you treat them the correct way. The deal on having a nice yet inexpensively landscaped yard with lots of palm trees is to purchase your trees low cost and maintain high. In the Tampa region there are several places to obtain rather inexpensive trees. And if you’re willing to travel to areas where palm trees are grown on site, you can buy them for even less.
Some great locations and shopping tips for palm trees include some of the following as presented by the expert:
- Outdoor Markets, Festivals, Plant Sale – multi day events are great if you go on the last day as vendors would rather get rid of inventory instead of transporting that product back to their place of business. These are great if you are not looking for a certain type of palm tree or plant.
- Online Classified Websites – Craigslist, Backpage, Tampabay.com/marketplace are a few websites. Concentrate of wholesale lots that are being sold to the general public. If you know how to properly excavate a tree and replant it (and of course if you have the muscle, appropriate equipment and transportation) you might be able to snag some deals on ready made “mature landscaping.”
- Clearance Racks – Most chain stores have clearance racks. Although some plants and trees might look “ratty,” with a little love and care, most plants will perk right back up. Make sure that the plant is worth the discount.
- Online Auction Sites – Ebay, but make sure that you check out the sellar’s reputation and reviews before making a decision to purchase
How to Care for Palm Trees in Florida
Here are some palm tree care tips that I found today in the local paper written by Patti Ewald (Tampa Bay Times May 28, 2012, pgs 1B and 5B). She ask some of the local Florida palm tree care experts
Biggest tip for palm tree care is to water. Self sufficient palms need lots of water and care to get established.
Beside proper watering, the next biggest tip for palm tree care is proper fertilization. USF professor and palm expert Tim Broschat spent 20 years perfecting the right fertilizer for Florida soils. A mixture of 8-2-12 (nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium) is recommended, however it can be difficult to find if you are not a commercial grower. The formula is reportedly available at John Deere outlets as well as being available at smaller nursery centers. Mr Broschat also has created a formula that has no nitrogen and no phosphorus in order to keep the chemicals out of the Florida aquifer.
Another point in how to care for palm trees in Florida is to not prune too much. According to Pinellas county extension agent Jane Morse, those yellow palm fronds that you find ugly and wind up cutting off? Don’t do it as these provides nutrients to additional palm tree growth. However, too many yellow fronds may be indicative of a nutrient deficiency.
Good luck and read a simple checklist article about how to trim palm trees.
