I didn't know that - I guess I didn't think to look for maples when I
vacationed down there. I was too distracted by the hibiscus TREES dwarfing
the houses! :-)

Thanks,
Laura

"Ricky" wrote in message
...
"Laura Stanley" wrote in message
...
Yes, I think you're too far south for red maples. Sorry, I don't have
any
good suggestions for S. Florida.

Laura,
Acer rubrum (Red Maple) grows down in the Keys. They don't look as
good
or get as big as they do as you move north, but they are all over Florida.

Ricky

I didn't know that - I guess I didn't think to look for maples when I
vacationed down there. I was too distracted by the hibiscus TREES dwarfing
the houses! :-)

Thanks,
Laura

"Ricky" wrote in message
...
"Laura Stanley" wrote in message
...
Yes, I think you're too far south for red maples. Sorry, I don't have
any
good suggestions for S. Florida.

Laura,
Acer rubrum (Red Maple) grows down in the Keys. They don't look as
good
or get as big as they do as you move north, but they are all over Florida.

Ricky

On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 19:22:53 -0500, "Ricky"
wrote:

Someone else suggested Oak - nah, this tree looks like Phyllis Diller on a
bad hair day.

No, the suggestion was "live oak". This time of year your comparison
to Phyllis Diller may be justified, but a Live oak is an evergreen and
they are dropping last year's leaves to put on a new coat of greenery.
You might like to give them credit for being green since last March.
You might also find yourself admiring them for living several hundred
years.

If you plant one you will only have a fraction of it's lifetime to
admire it.
http://www.louisianagardenclubs.org/...cturepage2.htm

Regards,

Hal

"Laura Stanley" wrote in message
...
I didn't know that - I guess I didn't think to look for maples when I
vacationed down there. I was too distracted by the hibiscus TREES dwarfing
the houses! :-)

Next time you're here look at those same Hibiscus trees and notice that
almost every single one is staked. Even the big ones need to remain staked
and guyed forever. No deep root structure.

"Hal" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 19:22:53 -0500, "Ricky"
wrote:

Someone else suggested Oak - nah, this tree looks like Phyllis Diller on
a
bad hair day.

No, the suggestion was "live oak". This time of year your comparison
to Phyllis Diller may be justified, but a Live oak is an evergreen and
they are dropping last year's leaves to put on a new coat of greenery.
You might like to give them credit for being green since last March.
You might also find yourself admiring them for living several hundred
years.

If you plant one you will only have a fraction of it's lifetime to
admire it.

Hal you are 100% correct. The 50 year old and older Live Oaks that we have
in Florida are indeed stunning. How many of us have that kind of time? The
Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) is not an evergreen. It is a deciduous tree.
It does get new leaves immediately after the old ones fall, but it is a real
messy tree and home to every bug in Florida. The builders love 'em cause
they are cheap, bulletproof, and they fulfill the county requirement for
native trees. I think they suck. But hey, that's just one man's opinion.

Thank you all so very much. You are a great group.

Bill



On Fri, 19 Mar 2004 20:56:19 GMT, Bill
wrote:

I'm looking for a fastgrowing shade tree for my front yard. I live in
Florida. Any ideas.

Thanks,
Bill