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Sustainable Planting for Florida Landscape

Ken Micklow from Trent Culleny Landscaping Contractors talks with Bob about the native Sabal or Cabbage Palms that are being planted at the Punta Gorda home. The root ball has been trimmed as have the leaves to prevent stress during planting. Micklow says that it will have a full head and established roots within a year. Angela Polo looks at the Podocarpus being used for hedge plantings to screen the pool area. Their natural tendancy is to grow up not out, up to ten feet tall. They are easily maintined with tip pruing once or twice per year. Low maintenance, low pest and low water and feeding crotons are also being planted around the yard accroding to the landscape design plan. Gold Lantana is being planted as a nectar source for butterflies. Aztec grass is planted along the border with Bird of Paradise for ornamental accent plants. Micklow stresses that it's important not to add nutrients and fertilizers when planting or it could verly stress the plant by acclimating it to fertilized soil then taking it away. Ultimately it could make it more difficult for the plant to survice its natural conditions. Polo and Micklow have limited the turf area, but have provided functional grass area for their dogs and family with a transitional butterfly garden before the Lantana-planted area of the yard opens up.

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Clip Transcript For:

Sustainable Planting for Florida Landscape

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" OK so we're about to plant a real special on this is the Florida State palm right."

" Yes cabbage palm would be a common name for this on the train but the real name is a single mom stable comment town and ardent. Content is anywhere from Trent -- landscape yes and he's our landscape contractor and -- you put a lot of these."

" There is that a popular tree yeah gathered there is quite a bit especially in native landscapes and the plant material. Rise quite well. Does well in drought conditions it looks for all the world like some sort of stuff I mean it practically doesn't have a root ball or anything. We'll these palms have been hurricane cut and -- root pruned out of the field. This is normally the condition we receive them in occasionally we may have a larger root ball now."

" Georgie can go ahead bring it into place here yeah. And it's dry look yeah. It's hard to believe that this is gonna get a little."

" The boy had I'm Bob. And approximately one year."

" all of these off so there's no aspiration. In in the first few weeks after landing much less for. And you're saying that he won't knocked over in the window."

" Right this particular concrete plant the highest when Greenspan three."

" That the university has found from -- search right right why it's the most prevalent on anywhere in the state yes. All right so what about the soil we're talking earlier about soil conditions here it's not black gloomy soils are right on -- again this is exhibit called felt tryout."

" And this palm will adapt to this awhile what they've done is they've made a hole larger hearings and the room mom begins a brand for those. Tender here ring sitcom now it's really in and stabilize the trunk stabilize train OK and in terms of the design we've got a whole robot --"

" Four or five of them here."

" And then it's been under planted -- Kind of a green -- evening yes that now we've got here we put the coat of carbon as a hedge along here. To create privacy for me."

" I'm the cage area so bloated carcass will get pretty big very hard yeah they can achieve drive ten feet tall. Basically the homeowners can control on how tall or how wide they wish you had joined together and not seen it. Kind of cut into very rigid tension material is that."

" Can natural oil price rate of the kind of harvest you grow up this straight out. And not out that's why we wanted to use in this area we have a limited -- several -- create the privacy very easy to maintain a lot of benefit for your time here though right."

" Plant in the right place at events take a look at some of the plant materials going over here asked. All right now this which call a Croat and I remember these yes this is say had we've is quite common in the state of Florida I mean. They can get big yes yes this variety here is going to be a little slower growing and more compact. In -- growth."

" So Ken the idea then is that you can just have a crew like this dig in these little holes. You you've kind of laid this out according it is the landscape design plan absolutely absolutely. Now what are these things we have gold Lantana which is a nectar source for butterflies -- Normally fairly low maintenance is it was a -- and I thought Lantana was a lot -- year. It can be different varieties can get much larger and then create more woody situation and then this will eventually cover this whole area correct. Right and Angela what's this sub."

" Re gonna Aztec grass freezing this is the border here again this is not a native plant but it's a very good low maintenance plant low water -- The Lantana is very low water you -- so yeah. The bird of paradise was put in for accept. And does this evening while on here that is not made and again this is a nice low maintenance ornamental."

" And this will actually have that spiky orange blue and the beautiful orange with the purple throat coming out -- yes it Ken again in terms of the soil conditions here putting all this plant material and you don't have to amended you don't have dad. Manure or fertilizer something. No actually that may do more harm than good in the long run because the plant won't well get. Used to having the nutrients in the soil and then all of a sudden they're taken away and you can have a decline in the plant them in its growth. Very interest so it it goes into what it's got and it thrives in that correct. And another point to make yours that the more of this ground cover you have the less turf you put it."

" Yes we've limited the turf area here we have given the homeowner. Some turf to the right here. They have two dogs so they needed some grass for the dogs to run around like him. And need to -- gave them some grass fit right in this area had this is going to be transitional. I as a butterfly garden -- we're trying to attract wildlife in this area and so the Lantana is one of the keys to attract at least in candidate or yes a source of nectar."

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Sustainable Landscaping in Florida

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