Tips for Selecting The Best Hedging Plants In Florida
With more than 25,000 species, are among the most cultivated tree species in the world, they are mostly restricted to the subtropical, tropical and warm temperate climates. Palm trees make great hedging plants around various properties in Florida.
As a result, there are various hedging plants for sale in Florida. At A quality Plant, we provide high-quality hedging plants and here isour guide to picking the best palm tree for your hedges. Palm trees can be divided into various types based on their leaf structure, trunk shape and size, growth rates, and cold tolerance.
Cold tolerance of heding plants
Palm trees fall into two categories depending on their tolerance to cold: southern and northern palm tree types. The Southern variety thrives in warm tropical weather with temperatures higher that 30 degrees and are highly susceptible to cold temperatures The Northern varieties, also known as the cold hardy palms, tolerate temperatures as low as 10 degrees. A different type, known as very cold hardy palms such as the Saw Palmetto can tolerate even lower temperatures.
Palm Hediging size and growth rate
Palm trees vary in their growth rates as well as their overall sizes. Small palm trees such as the Lady Palm and Pygmy Date Palm have a slow growth and typically grow to a height of 10 feet and spread about 5 foot wide. Also known as Dwarf Palm trees, they make the best hedging plants around homesteads as they require relatively less growing space.
Fast growing varieties such as Queen Palm and King Palm attain heights of up to 50 feet tall while the royal palms can grow up to 100 feet and spread over 50 feet. The rate of growth, however, is determined by the prevailing weather conditions. Such varieties will mature faster in tropical climates of Florida, compared to the cooler climate of South Carolina. The large palm varieties are especially useful in creating hedges around larges wathes of land.
Selecting the right trunk
Typically, palm trees have two types of trunks, the solitary trunks and multi-trunk. The multi-trunk Palms consist of trees that share the same root systems but comprises of several stems growing from the ground. There are two types of solitary palm trees, the ones with a smooth trunk but bear old leaf scars and trunks with crisscross patterns of old leaf bases. Solitary palm trees boast a beautiful crown shaft compared to the multi-trunked. The overlapping fronds to create a leaf base formation is referred to as crown shaft. They are usually green but can be a variety of colors such as orange in lipstick palm and purple in Mount Lewis King palm.
All these palms make excellent hedges, but the level of privacy required is often of greater consideration to determine the type of palm trees to plant.
Palm tree fronds
The palm tree’s leaves have two primary structures, palmate and pinnate. The pinnate fronds resemble the feathers of a bird and include pygmy date palm and bottle palm.
Palmate trees have fan-shaped fronds that are supported by long stems and include Bismarck, Mexican fan palm, and Chinese fan palm
Consider these factors while browsing various hedging plants for sale in Florida and you can have healthy and beautiful hedges around your property.