Trees and Shrubs for Zone 9a/9b FL + Poor Sandy Soil

[Matthew92]

I'm going to create a separate post in reference to the one I just made about what palms could grow in Spring Hill, FL (it turns out I might be moving there) https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/93025-what-palms-could-you-grow-in-spring-hill-fl/ This will help keep the discussion centered on palms in the other thread.

This is what I have so far for trees I'd like to try if I were in such a 9a/9b borderline area (gets temps in the mid 20's every few years and low 20's (deg F) on rare occasion depending on microclimate)

 

Acacia: probably many species would do well, but I know farnesiana (now in the genus Vachellia) thrives in sandy conditions, has sufficient cold hardiness, and tolerates FL's rainy season, other potential ones are baileyana, melanoxylon, stenophylla

Arbutus unedo, also cultivar/hybrid 'Marina' (not sure of performance in FL for the latter)

Brachychiton: discolor and rupestris (these are both native to areas of Australia that go through a prominent dry season as well as being documented to survive temps in the low 20's just fine). I'd especially be eager to try B. discolor

Ceiba insignis: white floss silk tree (cold hardy enough?)

xChitalpa (hybrids between Chilopsis and Catalpa)

Chilopsis lineararis?

Eriobotrya deflexa

Geijera parviflora - Australian Willow (cold and drought tolerant but able to tolerate FL summer conditions?)

Leucaena pulverulenta

Osmanthus americanus

Neolitsea sericea

Pittosporum undulatum, angustifolium? (these seem to be used more in the southwest so I'm not sure how they would do in FL, but for cold hardiness and drought tolerance I'm interested)

Quillaja saponaria (another one used more in the southwest so not sure of performance in FL)

Xylosma congestum

 

@Silas_Sancona would you happen to have any idea on whether some of the trees above which are seen more in the Southwest US might grow in FL?

 

[kinzyjr]

For shrubs here, it's hard to beat Podocarpus.  @flplantguy likes to use Myrcianthes fragrans (Simpson Stopper) .  @HudsonBill might have a few favorites, too.

[Matthew92]

Several more trees I'd be interested to try

Albizia chinensis- cold hardiness? there's very little data on cold hardiness for this species. @Eric in Orlando mentioned to me previously he thinks it could tolerate down to 25-26 deg F before severe damage, but I'll be eager to hear how the ones at Leu Gardens survived this recent hard freeze in February. Its range is quite widespread so I wonder if there is variation in cold hardiness throughout the different populations. It should thrive in poor, sandy soil.

Chiranthodendron pentadactylon: devil's hand tree- according to San Marcos growers website, this may be hardy even to zone 8b

Cordia boissieri

Drimys winteri

Elaeocarpus sylvestris

Michelia x alba (cold hardy enough? also may not be as tolerant of poor, dry, sandy soil)

Photinia serrulata (possibly serratifolia?)- I got a 3 of these from seed several yrs ago and planted them in the dry, sandy median of my neighborhood. They have endured extreme drought amazingly well and continue to grow. 

Phytolacca dioica (I think this species would do very well in such conditions)

Schima superba

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Matthew92 said:

I'm going to create a separate post in reference to the one I just made about what palms could grow in Spring Hill, FL (it turns out I might be moving there) https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/93025-what-palms-could-you-grow-in-spring-hill-fl/ This will help keep the discussion centered on palms in the other thread.

This is what I have so far for trees I'd like to try if I were in such a 9a/9b borderline area (gets temps in the mid 20's every few years and low 20's (deg F) on rare occasion depending on microclimate)

 

Acacia: probably many species would do well, but I know farnesiana (now in the genus Vachellia) thrives in sandy conditions, has sufficient cold hardiness, and tolerates FL's rainy season, other potential ones are baileyana, melanoxylon, stenophylla

Arbutus unedo, also cultivar/hybrid 'Marina' (not sure of performance in FL for the latter)

Brachychiton: discolor and rupestris (these are both native to areas of Australia that go through a prominent dry season as well as being documented to survive temps in the low 20's just fine). I'd especially be eager to try B. discolor

Ceiba insignis: white floss silk tree (cold hardy enough?)

xChitalpa (hybrids between Chilopsis and Catalpa)

Chilopsis lineararis?

Eriobotrya deflexa

Geijera parviflora - Australian Willow (cold and drought tolerant but able to tolerate FL summer conditions?)

Leucaena pulverulenta

Osmanthus americanus

Neolitsea sericea

Pittosporum undulatum, angustifolium? (these seem to be used more in the southwest so I'm not sure how they would do in FL, but for cold hardiness and drought tolerance I'm interested)

Quillaja saponaria (another one used more in the southwest so not sure of performance in FL)

Xylosma congestum

 

@Silas_Sancona would you happen to have any idea on whether some of the trees above which are seen more in the Southwest US might grow in FL?

 

For starts,  Stay FAR  ..and i mean FAR away from these...   All three are messy,  short lived,  ..and HIGHLY invasive.  A stenophylla  ( ..and  A. salicina ) are weak wooded as well..  Our landlord has an A sal.  in front of his office and i've advised him  ..it has to go.. 

Seeds like mad  ..and about half sprout, even under our minimal rainfall conditions..   W/out fail, limbs are sheared off of it almost every year during our ..fairly mild  < compared to hurricanes there >  summer storms.  

..If it weren't as tall as it is, i'd have cut it down already,  lol..


..As far as " Southwestern region " trees??  ..Since humidity and rainfall is typically a bit higher there, your best bet would be trialing stuff from central / south TX vs. some of the trees that grow here.

With that said,  you have lots of options.. Like:

TX Ebony,  Anacacho Orchid Tree ( more of a smaller, " Patio "  tree  than something that could get big..  ) ..and Bauhinia macranthera

You mention Corida boissieri,   Anacua, Ehretia anacua,  would probably be worth trialing..  Same with Arroyo Sweetwood.  Both will handle some cold. 

Think both AZ and TX Kidneywood would be interesting trial subjects there.. 

Mexican Buckeye, Ungnadia speciosa  would be pretty unique, depending on how well it can tolerate the humidity there..

Desert Willow and the " X Chitalpa " cross are definitely worth a try.. 

Don't think any of the Arbutus would tolerate the heat + humidity there ..but i could be wrong..  Talk to Eric about that one / that Genus in general.. 

Leucanea retusa could work.   Might actually do better there than they do here ( due to our dry heat ) . 

Believe Bauhinia galpinii  can handle / would return from the roots, if severely whacked down by temps into the lower 20s.   Same with some of the Fairy Dusters..  like Calliandra haematocephala and surinamensis.

Ceiba insignis ..and speciosa  seem to handle the occasional low 20s seen in Tucson every so often  but,  ..That is under our general " dry " cold spell conditions.  Both also tolerate similar temps in moderate 9B areas of N. Cal.  that are more humid than here ( Thus more frost chances during their winter cold spells )  so,  ..I'd give it a try if i were in your situation.. 

Common Handroanthus  species that are grown in Orlando should be a sinch in Spring Hill, esp. if Peltophorum dubium reaches the pictured proportions there.. 

That area might be about as far south as you could get away with both Big Leaved native Magnolias ..ashei and macrophylla..

Never seen this species anywhere here,  ...or in California..  



 

[flplantguy]

Anything you do get will need to be decent sized before planting, and we have a hard time sourcing any of those trees at all here.  I'm betting online orders for them would be necessary, even native diversity in nurseries is lacking.  This discussion has me rethinking some ideas for the front too, I had two Texas ebony seedlings I planted too soon that I think are dead now, so those need to be a decent sized pot first and not 2 inches tall 🙄.

[Jdash]

i'd say stick with your natives an try some further south natives to see how they handle your weather. you wont have an empty hedge if you mix and match your areas natives. Florida Native Plant Society | Conserve, Preserve & Restore Florida's Native Plants good starting point. i like to layer and tier my hedge line. been finding out what i can push from s.FL and what i can't, stoppers have performed, along with jamaican caper, pineland strongbark, wild cinnamon, wild lime, necklacepod, lyonia, marlberry. For you, perhaps pushing central florida natives may be an option to see what they can bare. looks like some native to your area are allspice, buttonbush, gallberry, anise, saw palmetto, and some others.  i believe we have a better chance at growing exotics or zone pushers if we have a solid native base to start with, may or may not be the case, i'll stick with it until proven otherwise

[flplantguy]

My plan for layers for my windbreak is a row of stoppers (yay free plants!) then a row of native sabals (literally seedlings from the yard from my beefiest one) and then oaks and hollies and other evergreen trees after. I have to avoid the drain field so it will have two separate green walls, with the second being more sabals and some low shrubs that like shade, then giant bird of paradise/clumping hardy palms, THEN my sensitive stuff under the oak canopy. Multiple native layers first to shelter what's not, and heavy canopy plus denser planting of the tropical stuff.  The density seems to be the most important part I have found, so I'll leave it all to get thick and trim only what I have to since it's strategic for what I love more. Much of the stuff there is also die back zone 10 perrennials also outside of the palms, like sanchezia, passion vine, and monstera. They are all growing again now too.

[Silas_Sancona]

2 hours ago, Jdash said:

i'd say stick with your natives an try some further south natives to see how they handle your weather. you wont have an empty hedge if you mix and match your areas natives. Florida Native Plant Society | Conserve, Preserve & Restore Florida's Native Plants good starting point. i like to layer and tier my hedge line. been finding out what i can push from s.FL and what i can't, stoppers have performed, along with jamaican caper, pineland strongbark, wild cinnamon, wild lime, necklacepod, lyonia, marlberry. For you, perhaps pushing central florida natives may be an option to see what they can bare. looks like some native to your area are allspice, buttonbush, gallberry, anise, saw palmetto, and some others.  i believe we have a better chance at growing exotics or zone pushers if we have a solid native base to start with, may or may not be the case, i'll stick with it until proven otherwise

..While i didn't mention it,  agree 100% w/ Jdash..  ..esp. since there are some fantastic, tropical looking natives there to choose from ...Besides Sea Grape (  ..Which are nice too, lol )

Jamaican Caper,  Fiddlewood,  Necklacepod and Marlberry are great..  Good enough that while i did loose these  ..more so to my own mishaps rather than any heat or cold related issues,  they all did well after bringing them here to trial. Marlberry / Fiddlewood continue to do well.   

Myrsine cubana is another Tropical looking, FL native that always caught my eye and seemed quite tough.   Appears it's range extends up to about the Spring Hill area also..

Allspice ( Calycanthes sp. ) is definitely unique.. and smells fantastically distinct. I've heard they can be touchy when planting though. I'd also think about both Pimenta sps ..True Allspice and Bay Rum, ...even if you grew either in large pots rather than in the ground.. 

From what everyone i'd talked to had told me ..and what i'd experienced trying one in Bradenton,   Anise sps are touchy .. but,  ..if you can get it to grow there,  it's worth it,  esp the red flowered sp.. 

Never got to grow one but Wild Cinnamon / Cinnamon Bark, Canela winteriana  itself is quite attractive.  IMO, you might be teetering on the edge of it's extended hardiness limit but, one of those neat natives that is push - worthy once you've got some hardier canopy up for sure.   

Would love to trial it and Bahama Strongbark here. 

[Eric in Orlando]

From my experiences...

 

Acacia stenophylla- only lives 1-3 years here then croaks, COOL TREE

 

Brachychiton rupestris - seems hardy, our mature specimen defoliated at24F but branch tips seem ok, no leafing out yet

Ceiba insignis- seems similar to C. speciosa

Chilopsis lineararis- never made it through a summer here

Eriobotrya deflexa- GREAT TREE but very susceptible to fireblight

Leucaena pulverulenta- ours has grown great, planted in 2013 and is over 30ft, defoliated at 24F this year but already leafed out

Osmanthus americanus- now Cartrema americana, though its native I have tried over a dozen specimens and never got one to establish

Neolitsea sericea- SUPERB TREE for central FL

Pittosporum undulatum- tried several times, no luck

Xylosma congestum- AWESOME as a tree!

 

Albizia chinensis-24F defoliated it this year, waiting for it to leaf out to see if any damage

Cordia boissieri- good tree here, probably has damage below 18-20F

Elaeocarpus sylvestris- had a small one growing well for a couple years then lost it under falling trees in a hurricane a few years ago. But E. decipiens is an awesome tree

Michelia x alba - now Magnolia x alba, it and M. champaca get damaged below 28F and need evenly moist soil

Photinia serrulata (possibly serratifolia?)- grown ok here but more of a shrub

Phytolacca dioica - specimen here planted a few years ago, about 10ft tall, defoliated at 24F this year, looks to be resprout at tips or near

 

[Eric in Orlando]

Other smaller trees to conside for Spring Hill...

 

3 smaller native Oaks, very drought tolerant;

Quercus geminata- Sand Live Oak

Quercus incana- Bluejack Oak

Quercus myrtifolia- Myrtle Oak

 

a couple other natives;

Ilex vomitoria- great small tree, not grown as much as the weeping form, 'Pendula'

Pinus densa- South Florida Slash Pine (30-50ft)

 

Some Asian evergreen Maples and Oaks;

Acer coriaceifolium

Acer fabri

Acer oblongum

Quercus acuta

Quercus glauca

Quercus myrsinifolia

 

And the others;

Acer buergerianum- does well here if irrigated

Araucaria angustifolia

Bauhinia forficata

Ebenopsis ebano

Ehretia anacua

Erythrostemon mexicanus (Caesalpinia)- not sure how low it goes but at 24F only light burn but quickly releafed and flowering again

Feijoa sellowiana (Acca)

Lagerstroemia fauriei- almost never seen in central FL, superb tree

Melaleuca viminalis 'Boyette' (Callistemon)- awesome strongly weeping cultivar

Nageia nagi

Olea europaea

Pachygone laurifolia (Cocculus)- makes an incredible picturesque small tree with character

Parrotia subaequalis- Chinese Ironwood, small hardy tree, several specimens thriving here, deciduous, foliage drops in Dec. with good red/orange/yellow coloring

Podocarpus macrophylla (30-40ft)

Podocarpus macrophylla 'Maki' (10-15ft)

Viburnum awabuki- makes an AWESOME TREE 15-20ft

Viburnum odoratissimum

[Jdash]

@Silas_Sancona bahama strongbark usually defoliates every winter due to prolonged 40s, and this year it took a beating for me at 25, a lot of dead wood(barely saw any last year), i caught a new bud popping out of the trunk 2.5ft up, so it is alive, little more cold sensitive than a mango. myrsine did very well for me this winter as well.  i assumed you were in okaloosa county, didn't realize spring hill was much further south. with that being said, i think you can definitely try south florida tropical looking natives. my lignum vitae was unbothered this winter, dropped 25% leaves and just reflushed with many new leaves. joewood was another excellent performer.