While National Arbor Day is always in April, many Floridians do not know that Florida’s Arbor Day is the third Friday in January. In 2025 that date is Friday, January 1. This early date is perfect for planting trees in our area. The trees have time to start establishing themselves before the typical dry spring months of March, April, and May.
If you are interested in planting a tree in honor of Arbor Day, you may want to stop by the Great Greenscape Tree Giveaway on Saturday, January 18. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Lot E near EverBank Stadium. Greenscape plans to give away thousands of trees to attendees on a first-come, first-served basis. The trees available will be Elderberry, native Persimmon, Shumard Oak, Crape Myrtle ‘Tonto’, Eastern Red Cedar, Bald Cypress, Dahoon Holly, Sweetbay Magnolia, Red Maple and Chaste Tree. In addition to the tree giveaway, you can drop off two bags of paper documents for offsite shredding.
Picking out the right tree (read ahead later) is the easy part. To ensure that your tree gets established and grows well, it needs to be planted properly. It used to be when planting a tree, it was planted so that the level of the soil in the pot was level with the natural soil surface. Well, things have changed. It has been found that even when using the old rule of thumb, many trees are still planted too deep. A tree that is planted too deep has problems right from the start. When trees are planted deeper than they need to be, the root systems lack the oxygen levels that they need to thrive. Also, with trees planted too deep, the trunks are covered with soil, promoting decay situations.
Proper planting depth is very important. This tree was planted too deep with the root flare buried. Notice the girdling root that will be a future problem for this tree.
The latest recommendations from the University of Florida suggest that before planting the tree, the purchaser should remove any soil that has been placed over the root flare. Also, the rootball should be inspected for circling or girdling roots. Girdling roots should be removed, and circling roots should be corrected by shaving off the outer edge of the root ball at planting. The tree should then be placed so that the root flare is placed slightly above the natural soil level. A good rule of thumb is to have about 10% of the root ball above the soil surface. No soil should be placed on top of the root ball when backfilling the hole. The soil removed when digging the hole is the best soil to put back in the hole when backfilling. No amendments like fertilizer or manure should be added to the hole.
The final step is encouraging the tree to become well-established. The best way to ensure this is to provide adequate water for your tree. The water provided by most sprinkler systems is not enough for establishing trees.
Newly planted trees should be irrigated every day for 1 month; every other day for 3 months; and then weekly until established. Apply 2-3 gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter of the tree (measured at one foot above the soil) to the root ball at each watering. For instance, a two-inch diameter tree should receive between 4 and 6 gallons of water at each watering session. A five-gallon bucket with a tiny hole drilled into it will slowly empty; assuring that the water you apply will go directly to the root ball. Do not water if the root ball is wet/saturated on the irrigation day. Mulching the area around the tree after planting provides a place for the new tree roots to grow without having to compete with turf roots. Mulch also adds organic material to the soil as it decomposes. A three-inch-deep layer of mulch placed in a 6-foot diameter circle around the tree, but no closer than 6 inches to the trunk of the tree, will help the tree establish quicker. For a fact sheet on the correct way to plant a tree go to: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/EP/EP31400.pdf.
If you plan on getting trees at the Arbor Day Festival and Greenscape Tree Giveaway, the following information can help you decide on what tree to select to match the right tree to the right place:
Shumard Oaks are fast growing large maturing deciduous trees that need a lot of room. They are trees that can have crown spreads of 40-50 feet when mature. When the weather is cool and sunny in the fall, they may display some fall color. They need full sun and moist, well-drained soil. They are very drought tolerant after they are established.
Chaste Trees are typically grown as a large multi-stemmed deciduous shrub. The non-native 10–15-foot maturing shrubs are favored for their showy lavender flowers that are on display late spring through mid-summer. They are very attractive to butterflies, all sorts of bees, and hummingbirds. Chaste trees prefer a well-drained drier soil that does not hold water.
The common or native Persimmon should not be confused with the cultivated oriental persimmon. The common persimmon grows into an excellent small- to medium-sized deciduous tree. It can grow to a height of 60 feet, but 30-40 feet are more typical. The trees are distinct male and female trees with only the female trees producing small persimmon fruits that must be soft and ripe before eating.
Dahoon Holly is a native evergreen holly that will grow to a height of 30 feet. Hollies grown from seed may be male or female trees. Only the female trees produce the red berries. If having red berries is important for you, make sure the tree you receive has berries on it. They need full sun but can tolerate a little shade. They are drought-tolerant and can tolerate wet soils for short periods. Attractive when tightly clipped into a tall screen or allowed to grow naturally into its single-trunked, small tree form, Dahoon Holly is ideal for a variety of landscape settings.
Sweetbay Magnolia is a smaller cousin to the more familiar southern magnolia. This Florida native produces green leaves with silvery undersides along with summer blooming, creamy white flowers that have a lemony smell. Sweetbay Magnolias grow best on moist, well-drained, acidic soils. It’s a good tree to plant when you don’t have the planting space for a large tree.
Red Maple is a large deciduous fast-growing native tree. It can achieve a height of 60-70 feet in full sun to partial shade. It will grow in wet soil and needs supplemental irrigation during dry spells if grown on very well-drained soils. The trees can produce a spectacular fall display in years when the weather conditions are right.
Crape Myrtles are one of the most well-known flowering trees in our area. Crape myrtle does best when grown in full sun on moist, well-drained soils. Crape Myrtles are drought tolerant but may need supplemental irrigation during extreme droughts. It is important to pick a variety of crape myrtle that will grow to your desired height so you will not have to over-prune them. The variety that should be available at the tree sale is ‘Tonto’ (12 feet at maturity with fuchsia red flowers).
Elderberries are typically grown as a large shrub. They are prized for beautiful white blooms that soon turn into clusters of fruit in the late summer. Wait until the fruits are black before they are picked. Typically, the fruits are baked into pies, or prepared into jams and jellies. A little bit of caution is advised: some folks are sensitive to the trace amounts of cyanide contained in the elderberry fruits. Usually straining out the seeds, and heating the fruit removes most of it.
The Bald Cypress is a misunderstood tree. Even though it is found naturally in low swampy conditions, it grows very well in moist, well-drained soils. The tree needs plenty of room as it can grow to mature heights of over 80 feet. It needs little maintenance and pruning and is very drought-tolerant once it is established. When the needles fall in the winter, they can easily be mulched into the lawn. The only drawback to Bald Cypress in the landscape is it will occasionally send up cypress “knees.” This occurs more frequently in wetter landscapes.
Finally, Eastern Red Cedar is a nice native evergreen to use where a screen or windbreak is needed. It is also a salt-tolerant tree suitable to be used near the coast. Make sure you put this tree where it has a sunny spot to grow. It can get to heights of 40-50 feet and a spread of 15-20 feet.
If you go to the Greenscape Tree Giveaway and you need help choosing the right tree, the University of Florida Environmental Horticulture Department has an online tree database that has hundreds of fact sheets on trees. It can be found at https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/trees-and-shrubs/trees/.
Larry Figart is an urban forestry extension agent with the University of Florida/IFAS.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Florida Arbor Day is Jan. 17. A guide to picking the right tree