Landscaping new home

[Happinow]

Hi. When we build our new home, we are thinking about putting in a few palms as well as a few fruit trees (orange, banana). Any thoughts? Do any of these trees attract more bugs than usual? Thanks for your help. :wave:

[buggyone]

I have three interesting fruit trees in my yard. I have a Meyer's Lemon which produces lemons about the size of small grapefruit. It makes wonderful lemon pie. I have a Verigated Pink Lemon which produces lemons with a pink color inside - sort of like a pink grapefruit. It is not as tart as a yellow lemon. My favorite, though, is a Key Lime. It produces lots of key limes which are yellow when ripe (not green) and are somewhat smaller than the Persian limes you buy at the store. My wife makes a no-sugar, low-fat Key Lime Cheesecake that is delicious.

[batman911]

Does anyone know if Mango trees grow in central Florida?

[Uptown Girl]

Sadly, mangoes to not do well here.
40 degrees ruins flowers and fruit, 32 degrees does permanent damage.

To answer the general fruit tree question, if the trees are kept groomed, there should be minimal problem with critters. That means, no over ripe fruit left hanging about on tree or ground. Fruit is yummy for critters, too.
Blossoms will attract pollinators, but that's a given if you want to end up with fruit!

Many do citrus in pots to keep the trees a manageable size for harvesting. Remember, they need full sun!

[Happinow]

Thanks for the info. Buggyone,that low fat key lime cheesecake sounds delicious! My husband suggested a lemon tree but I wasn't sure what to do with the lemons. I just thought of home made lemonade! That would sure to please on a hot summer day with a slice of key lime cheesecake!:lipsrsealed:

[2BNTV]

My wife makes a no-sugar, low-fat Key Lime Cheesecake that is delicious.

Sounds like a great recipe for a diabetic. :mmmm: :mmmm: :mmmm:

[Papa]

Hi. When we build our new home, we are thinking about putting in a few palms as well as a few fruit trees (orange, banana). Any thoughts? Do any of these trees attract more bugs than usual? Thanks for your help. :wave:

The only suggestion I would have is to WAIT a couple of months before you do anything beyond the routine lawn mowing. A Lesson-Learned the hard way.

[Jim 9922]

The only suggestion I would have is to WAIT a couple of months before you do anything beyond the routine lawn mowing. A Lesson-Learned the hard way.

I agree 100% except I'd advise waiting at a least a year to see what all the plants you THINK YOU WANT will perform during the different seasons. The magnolia is great except for all the leaves it drops all the summer, palms are great the first few years but who needs a 45 footer (except maybe AT&T for a cell tower) in a few years, the golden rain tree is wonderful except in October when it drops its seed pods, fruit plants can be messy and attract fruit rats, it seems all fruit comes in at the same time and most people with trees are begging you to take their surplus, pin oak trees offer great shade but are also great at plugging gutters with leaves and seem to drop nuts half the year to stain your driveway, a lot of palms and fruit trees and shrubs can't tolerate a long hard freeze, and TV gets one every few years, etc,etc.
It seems that especially nothern newbees go bonkers in thir first round of plantings because everything is so wonderful , and new, and grows all year, and, and ---. I know , we've been there, done that too.
The smart thing to do is tour the various villages of different ages (a good use of your cart when you can't get a tee time) and observe all the yards noting the good and the bad and note too the different effects as the plants you are interested in age and mature. You should also observe planting locations, distance from houses or other garden areas (yes, in FLA everything seems to get big, wide and tall fast).
Take pictures of what you like AND dislike. Then think about the maintenance a mature plant will demand, and its potential cost (trimming a 40 foot palm twice a year, picking up a 1/2 bushel of rotten fallen fruit each day)Then make your decisions.
Our personal impression, especially after touring the older areas, is that too much is planted too closely. Landscapers are happy to fill up the tard with lots of plants today to make it look "full", but you should be planting for three to 5 years down the road. It doesn't all have to be done the first 6 months you are here. You can always fill in with cheap annuals at first. You have the rest of your life to do it right. :wave:

[mgjim]

You have the rest of your life to do it right.

Excellent advice - just what you should expect from someone named Jim.

[buggyone]

Yep, the low-fat, no sugar Key Lime Cheesecake is perfect for a diabetic. My wife found out a couple years ago she has Type 2 diabetes so she experimented around to alter some recipes by using Splenda and low-fat substitutes. You would never guess the cheesecake is almost health food.

[Happinow]

Jim9922 - Thanks for the great info! We are from the North and yes everything is so wonderful in TV. We are excited to make everything "perfect" when we move in. My husband is a "get it done now" kinda guy and wants our new home to be paradise. I think waiting a while and riding around in our cart makes perfect sense. We will take your advise and do our homework before planting.

[Happinow]

Jim9922, how about the landscaping they do initially when you build your home? When we were looking at the models, I thought it was done well. How fast does that grow? We don't like a lot of shrubs close to the home and like them well manicured. I was fond of the plantings they put in on the model homes and assume that's what they put in when we build. Do we have a choice of plantings when we build. Will we meet with a landscaper? We will speck our home out in March and start building in April. Any advice with a new build would be helpful. This is our first new build....

[CaptJohn]

My husband suggested a lemon tree but I wasn't sure what to do with the lemons. I just thought of home made lemonade! That would sure to please on a hot summer day with a slice of key lime cheesecake!:lipsrsealed:

Make a lemon icebox pie using Emeril Lagasse's recipe. Ummmmmmmmmm.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/lemon-icebox-pie-recipe/index.html
It's time to go make another one! :-) :wave:

[Jim 9922]

We have always bought resale (3 so far, and each a much better deal than new) and rework what is already present. That usually requires a 50 % rip-out and severe cut backs and shaping of the remainder. It is amazing what FLA plants tolerate and come back better than ever. Keep in mind that ripping out established planting usually involves repairing the irrigation system because of roots. And, the locals all tell me never to leave large stumps or roots to decay naturally; those are candy to termites!! :loco:
But to answer your question; my understanding is that the villages offers different levels of landscaping packages. The ones you see in the model areas are usually the most complex and expensive but are still quite generic compared to what the potential could be. If I bought new, I would go with the minimum and add what I really want, and what might be proper to the home and lot, after much research. What you plant will grow quickly. It seems that many FLA plantings, especially bushes, will look mature in 3 years as compared to 10 years up North in Wisconsin.
I can't stress enough to tour the established areas sepecially noting the bads and things that have grown out of proportion to the home. Also keep observant for bush type plants that have been pruned to grow into small trees. If you stop and look closely you will see many good examples throughout the villages. These bush "trees" make great yard trees as they seem to top out at about 20-25 feet. My neighbor has a holly bush that is magnificant as a 25' 3-trunk "tree". Be sure to spend some time in the historic section to really see the good and bad of mature plantings and what your efforts will morph into in 20 years. When you see something of interest, stop and ring the doorbell, find out about it. After all we are America's most friendly hometown, and quite frankly most people are more than happy to share their successes.
Another little thing we've noticed in all the neighborhoods we've been in; They are all 5 to 10 years old and it seems starting about the 7th year not a week goes by without the roar of a chain saw taking down another over grown palm tree or two. If you want palms, work with a trusted garden supplier to obtain "dwarf" varieties and those tolerant of our local climate conditions. As I said before mature 30 and 40 foot queen and other palms next to a 20 foot high house are probably one of the most common mistakes or "do-overs" in TV, not to mention their 50 to 80 pound seed stalks once or twice a year.
Again have fun with your new home, but remember you have lots of time to do it right the first time, retirement lasts forever, or at least for the rest of your life. :wave:

[Happinow]

Thanks Jim9922. You seem to be a wealth of information and it is greatly appreciated. With the home being so expensive, we don't want to make any landscaping mistakes. We will hold off until we can do our homework on the landscaping. We look forward to going around on our golf cart and looking at what others have done with their yards. I think that's half the fun! We could probably get more house if we bought used, but we just didn't want to put up with the demo. We are pretty anal people and want it all brand new and perfect when we get there! Sounds a little selfish but it's our last home and it's what we've dreamed of. Glad all has worked out for you!

[TednRobin]

Anybody have luck w kumquats or pomegranates?

[Jim 9922]

Anybody have luck w kumquats or pomegranates?

Trying to eat and digest them, or what? Just kidding. :girlneener:
Actually a friend of ours in TV tried to grow the pomegranates twice and after losing to frost both times gave up. I think they need a more tropical climate as in at least south of Tampa.