UCF Urban Forestry

Yeah

Laurel oaks are dangerous when they age. Especially if they are not pruned properly and produce large lateral limbs that can fail without warning. Laurel oaks live to 50-70 years ..... short lived compared to live oaks that can live for hundreds of years.

Pruning your palms? Why? Palms don’t want to be pruned or ‘Hurricane Cut’!!!!

Repeated harsh pruning is a slow death sentence. This practice makes them susceptible to palm weevils, disease and causes them to grow with a tapered trunks and bottle necks. This photo is an example of poor palm tree maintenance. These palms now have weak trunks and can fail at those points during tropical storm events.

The second photo is a naturally grown sabal that has never been pruned. It is a pillar of concrete with a thick trunk and can easily handle a Cat IV HC.

Sabal palms are also the state tree and can live to be 200 Years old! Don’t you want one?

Contact an ISA Certified Arborist for proper tree care.

Death by palm Weevil.

We lost two premium palms on campus this year due to the Palmetto Weevil. This critter is North Americas's largest weevil and is known to attack 'stressed' palms and healthy Canary Island Date Palms. The larvae are about the size of a man's thumb and they completely eat the terminal bud until it collapses. Photos show a Bismarkia palm 2 weeks ago, last week and today.

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Sabal palm colonnades on campus by Engineering that are not pruned and make an awesome shaded walkway.

No need to prune this state tree! Pruning encourages diseases and tall, tapered growth form. Protect our state tree!

This morning

Atlantic White Cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) growing very well in our drainage canal at the UCF Arboretum. We planted two of these about 4 years ago and they are finally taking off. This tree looks very similar in appearance to Southern red cedar but, unlike red cedar, it likes 'wet feet'. This tree can naturally be found in the Florida panhandle and along some of the spring runs in the Ocala National Forest.

Another new palm species made it to the UCF campus today and they were installed in front of Health and Public Affairs. The Puerto Rican hat palm, Sabal causiarum, is native to PR, The Virgin Islands and Hispaniola. It is used in the islands to make hats, mats, baskets and thatch roofs. A very stately looking palm!

A new palm has arrived on campus and I mean 'new' as in newly discovered. High Plateau Coconut Palm (Beccariophoenix alfredii) was discovered in Madagascar in 2004. It reportedly can take low temps into the mid 20's. Visit the UCF Arboretum to see!

This morning.

Puerto Rican Hat Palm (Sabal causiarum) on the left and Florida sabal palm on the right. The massive PRHP can produce 6’ fronds and grow to have a trunk diameter of four feet!

Four PRHPs coming to campus in June in front of HPA!!!

The University of Central Florida is outstanding in many ways, but did you also know we have an outstanding Urban Forestry program? UCF’s Urban Forestry just won the designation of “Outstanding Urban Forestry Program” in the state of Florida for 2017, designated by the Florida Urban Forestry Council. The awards program is part of their ‘Friends of Our Urban Forest’ awards initiative, in which they recognize exceptional programs and individuals in the field of Arboriculture. It is a true honor to win this award.
We would like to thank all who have been involved in growing our program, Landscape and Natural Resources staff, and the Arboretum! We could not have done it without you all! It is a true testament to the effort and care we put into our tree canopy here at UCF.

Jan 6, 2018

A great day.