Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The only color change we got in south Florida was lethal yellowing back in the 70s. Here in Tampa where I'm relocating, I've got about 8 oak trees (of the non-live oak variety, though I've them too) so I thought maybe I'd enjoy a bit of autumn here this year. I believe the variety is known as "pin oak" aka quercus palustris, common to wetlands. There is a huge wilderness area very near this property and the river is nearby, so likely the trees grew here naturally.
As seen here, Wiki shows the tree can be quite colorful in autumn
But mine don't display as well. I didn't think they'd get colorful at all as earlier on in autumn the leaves were only turning from green to brown. But I was just outside and noticed a few very colorful leaves on the ground. When I looked up, I notice a bit more color to the trees. Not a leaf peeping drive through the blue ridge mountains by any stretch of the imagination, but it makes me wonder if there is some way to encourage better color in future years.
Does anyone know if I watered more, or fertilized differently? Maybe our recent cold snap helped? I'm reading that the trees like acid and I've plenty of pines to provide that. Also, are there other trees which would both thrive in Tampa and provide good autumn display? I've seen a few red maples up here which put out some good color. Any others I should consider planting?
Here are some pics I took of the limited autumn colors I found on the ground as compared to the usual plain ol' brown leaves that mostly fall.
This is the first one I noticed:
http://i774.photobucket.com/albums/yy30/housingcrashsurvivor/IMG_0705_1.jpg (broken link)
So now that I know these trees can put out some vivid colors, how do I encourage more?
Moderator note: please excuse the double post as I've listed this also in the Tampa section. Listing there to get local knowledge. Listing here to get responses from gardeners. Feel free to leave both or delete one as I did not know which was most appropriate forum to get the best responses. (If you delete one please first incorporate those responses to the other, thank you.)
As I understand it, autumn color displays in these sorts of temperate trees only happen in our area when it is cold for a sufficient amount of time. So this year the trees should color up really nicely, but normal years not so much.
What you probably have is Turkey Oak (Quercus laevis) which is native to nearly all of Florida, and they do have great fall color. Pin Oak is native to more northern areas and doesn't perform very well in Florida.
Other trees to consider for your area would be Mockernut Hickory, Pignut Hickory, Florida Maple, native Persimmon, Blackgum, and Sugarberry. Even some crape myrtles can have decent color.
Thank you southernnaturelover. When I google Turkey leaf I'm finding two pictures, one similar to mine but another seems less jagged, more roundy, so I'll study this further. Hoping you are correct as I'm enjoying having autumn colors in Florida (even if it took until January to see them).
I have crape myrtle (the original owner planted two colors which grew as one tree coming up from a complex trunk) and will be planting more and will look into your other suggestions as well. Also my neighbor has a gorgeous dogwood and the leaves turned nicely. It has many buds and I'm looking forward to seeing it bloom.
The are two oaks known as "Turkey Oak", one is Quercus laevis which is native to the American southeast, and the other is Quercus cerris which is native to Europe (you have the first one). The American one is named that because the leaves are shaped like a turkey's foot, and the European one is named after the country of Turkey.
Thank you for the clarification. You just saved me a bunch of googling. In doing some googling already (didn't we used to call that research or is it now only research when I leave my house?), I found that turkeys actually eat the acorns from turkey oaks. Happens that very near here is a huge wilderness area where I go mountain biking and came across a bunch of wild turkeys on one of my recent rides.
Just found this good site Turkey oak which shows my leaf. You certainly nailed that one. Nicely done.
Deciduous trees normally need a frost to get good color. I lived in Orange County, CA for years and probably 10-20% of trees were deciduous. Most never turned colors at all, some would get a little color while pushing out new leaves in late December. I would assume you're seeing some color this year due to the recent cold weather in Tampa. About the only tree I can think of that had good Fall color in OC was the Sweetgum tree. Not sure why, but they would turn in early November and hold the color for a fairly long time. But they have horrible root systems that can mess up your yard, so not sure why people planted them. Maples did horrible in that climate, with the leaves shriveling up and clinging to the trees all winter, then not leafing back out until at least June. And even then, the leaves were smaller than normal. Not sure why people plant deciduous trees in a climate where it never frosts or freezes.
Don't think these were planted, but rather, as southernnaturelover notes that these are turkey oaks, they are likely natural to the area, maybe planted by wild turkeys which we also have in the area and which eat acorns. Just north of me a lot with a retention pond has some red maples planted which turned real nice color. I was wondering if the abundance of water had anything to do with the color. Could have been just that cold snap, though, which killed off a lot of stuff. I've been walking around the neighborhood seeing what died so I know which plants to avoid.
Meanwhile, all the color is already gone from my trees. Just more to rake (who am I kidding; I took out the tractor and simply mulched it all today.)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
