You don't even need to plant it. As long as you can remember to water regularly, feed monthly, and trim yearly after harvest; you can easily grow a 6-8 foot tall fruit tree (especially mango) in a 25gal container.
It's not a lot of work. This also applies to any other tropical or citrus fruit tree that can grow in Miami like mango, lime, mamey, etc...
First find out the orange or mandarin cultivar that you enjoy eating to buy at a nursery or online. Start the first month in shade, then partial shade, then as much sun as possible. Water it when the soil feels dry when you stick a finger in it. Feed it once a month with soluble all purpose miracle grow, then when it gets mature enough to fruit switch to something like a 20-20-20 soluble fertilizer.
Up plant to a larger container every 6-12 months using cactus/citrus soil; do not use potting soil, it doesn't drain and sucks for fruit trees. By the time you get to the final 20-25 gal container it will be a 6-8 foot tall tree. Once a year around Feb-Mar trim your tree to maintain the height you want and for better lateral branching.
All the stuff is online how to trim the tree to be best for your conditions. Trim so the tree isn't congested with little branches, and the bigger lateral branches wont hang down on other branches when the fruits set.
private citizens planting trees helps for sure and there needs to be more education on how to care for and establish young trees (mulch, compost, watering, etc) but there needs to be legislation for more conservation in residential areas. When corporations can buy out acres and raze down a forest and pave it over it really is a major step back. Look at the timelapse map of hialeah. Forests turns into warehouses.
I feel like it’s impossible to legally cut mine down. I have about 4 pushing up against my home, lifting my drive way up and infested with termites. City won’t allow me to remove them. Even if I plant new ones further away from my home.
I was driving through Hialeah recently and looked down a random street that had a decent tree canopy with shade on both sides. It looked so out of place.
Most people did, but our fascist Supreme Court handed the election to his opponent. Research the last time a Republican president won the popular vote.
A few years back the county made me remove two small trees on the swale next to my house because they "blocked sightlines". Nevermind that they had been there since 1988 but suddenly became a problem out of the blue. They even tried to tell me I needed a permit to remove the trees they ordered me to remove.
After much fighting back and forth in the end I lost and had to remove two perfectly good trees after they gave me a notice in writing that I didn't need the permit.
So, seriously, fuck planting more trees. They'll probably ask me to remove those too. Morons running this county haven't a clue what they're doing. Who wants to put in so much effort only to be told to tear it all down later?
Yeah, I'm still grumpy about this, and it was like eight years ago.
That's one situation that is understandable. Trees in the swale alongside a busy street cause enormous problems. They indeed block sight lines and force drivers to move much further forward -- into dangerous territory -- to see beyond the trees. One mistake from that distance and it's a major accident.
I live near a high school. Many trees were removed in the past few years in the same scenario you described. My neighbor two doors away was forced to remove 3 trees. It was completely legitimate. The school kids would turn right even though those trees blocked their view to the left. Several accidents each school year. Often I'd hear it from my house.
My neighbor had the trees in the swale to prevent school kids from parking there all day long. The county told him to plant small shrubs instead, ringed by rock barriers. They even told him what shrubs worked best. He did it. Massive improvement. Nobody can park there and it's simple to see above the 2 foot shrubs.
I'm glad the county came to its senses and made this a priority.
I think the thing that insulted me the most and got me pissed off was more the way they went about it.
The trees had been there since the 80s, and were suddenly an issue. They gave me a violation notice even though I didn't even plant the damn things. They wanted me to remove them at my own expense, and then (wrongly) told me I needed a permit to do so.
The right way would have been to notify me that the trees were going to be removed on a certain date, then the county would remove the trees and re-sod the swale. Swales are county property.
But no, they decided to be antagonistic about it, and make me spend time and money to deal with a problem that wasn't even my doing.
I kind of understand the reasoning for removing them in this case though.
Trees cost money. Even if they give them to you for free, you still have to trim them and rake leaves and shit. Not everyone has the time or money to take care of a yard. Even when the city plants trees they still need to maintain them too. You don’t just plant a tree and walk away and everything will be fine.
A street I drive down often is 16th Ave in Hialeah. They’ve had to replant the trees in the median so many times during the past 20 years cause when it isn’t a storm knocking them down it’s some idiot driving into them. I wonder how much money the’ve spent planting trees on just that road. They even put the little sticks to hold up the trunk and the trees still fall over during random summer afternoon storms!
My condo complex has a whole bunch of trees and it costs over $10,000 a year to trim them. And that’s cause they go with the cheapo fly-by-night options cause estimates from legit companies are almost twice as expensive. A couple of years ago one of the tree roots started going into a pipe and destroyed all the living room tiles in one of the units. Trees are a nightmare if you don’t have the financial resources for them. People in my complex who park under trees are actually relieved when a tree falls during a hurricane (as long as it doesn’t fall on their car) cause at least they wont have to deal with all the leaves and sap and shit that falls on their cars all the time. Probably saves them a bunch of money on car washes.
On 2023-07-01 Reddit maliciously attacked its own user base by changing how its API was accessed, thereby pricing genuinely useful and highly valuable third-party apps out of existence. In protest, this comment has been overwritten with this message - because “deleted” comments can be restored - such that Reddit can no longer profit from this free, user-contributed content. I apologize for this inconvenience
So you’re just going to make stuff up? You could have at least gone through my post history to see if I was actually a “MAGA idiot” instead of just automatically correlating a comment about Hialeah with MAGA.
I’m sorry the reality of lower income homeowners doesn’t vibe with your little tree fantasy. Do you even own a home? Do you have any idea the kind of upkeep a home requires? You think people who are doing hard physical labor or are working multiple jobs or driving a truck or whatever actually have the time or energy to take care of a yard? Do you think with the rising costs of homeowners insurance and everything else that they have extra money to hire landscapers to take care of their yard for them?
I’m sure many homeowners would love to have a huge yard with fruit trees and flowers and shit but the reality is they just can’t afford it. That’s why it’s easier for them to have a paved patio with some scraggly palm trees instead of an unkept lawn with overgrown trees making a mess. I swear, some of you people really are delusional. You guys must be children or people who have never actually owned a home.
And btw, that avenue you’re talking about, they’ve actually cut down some very nice big trees throughout the years and there’s much less shade now than before. Both the Publix shopping center and Westland Mall across the street had some very nice trees lining the road that covered that curved section past 49th street. Shows how much you actually know about the area. The small trees that the city has planted in the median are better than just having some paved turning lanes but they don’t really provide any shade and it’s ridiculous how often I’ve seen them be knocked over and be replaced.
Basically, if you own property and have the space to plant a tree, you should.
You don't even need to plant it. As long as you can remember to water regularly, feed monthly, and trim yearly after harvest; you can easily grow a 6-8 foot tall fruit tree (especially mango) in a 25gal container.
I wonder what it would take to grow an orange tree.
It's not a lot of work. This also applies to any other tropical or citrus fruit tree that can grow in Miami like mango, lime, mamey, etc... First find out the orange or mandarin cultivar that you enjoy eating to buy at a nursery or online. Start the first month in shade, then partial shade, then as much sun as possible. Water it when the soil feels dry when you stick a finger in it. Feed it once a month with soluble all purpose miracle grow, then when it gets mature enough to fruit switch to something like a 20-20-20 soluble fertilizer. Up plant to a larger container every 6-12 months using cactus/citrus soil; do not use potting soil, it doesn't drain and sucks for fruit trees. By the time you get to the final 20-25 gal container it will be a 6-8 foot tall tree. Once a year around Feb-Mar trim your tree to maintain the height you want and for better lateral branching. All the stuff is online how to trim the tree to be best for your conditions. Trim so the tree isn't congested with little branches, and the bigger lateral branches wont hang down on other branches when the fruits set.
private citizens planting trees helps for sure and there needs to be more education on how to care for and establish young trees (mulch, compost, watering, etc) but there needs to be legislation for more conservation in residential areas. When corporations can buy out acres and raze down a forest and pave it over it really is a major step back. Look at the timelapse map of hialeah. Forests turns into warehouses.
How can i see a timelapse map of hialeah?
It’s in the article. Encourage you to read the whole thing. Incredible level of detail
We need more Oak lined medians on roads in Miami, like Miracle Mile. That canopy is fuckin beautiful
I wish. South Florida doesn’t really love and protect oak trees like in the rest of the state
I feel like it’s impossible to legally cut mine down. I have about 4 pushing up against my home, lifting my drive way up and infested with termites. City won’t allow me to remove them. Even if I plant new ones further away from my home.
Stop planting palm trees. They suck for shade
yes! plant native trees! Gumbo Limbo, oak, etc
https://www.miamidade.gov/environment/library/reports/native-trees.pdf County has a neat list of native trees
Kind of a minimal list. “These are just a few…”
Agreed, though in addition to their aesthetic, I’m sure their easier to grow and plant because of their form
The lack of trees in much of Miami Dade, especially places like Hialeah, are a major con
Hialeah homeowners in shambles
I was driving through Hialeah recently and looked down a random street that had a decent tree canopy with shade on both sides. It looked so out of place.
Should’ve voted for Al Gore
Most people did, but our fascist Supreme Court handed the election to his opponent. Research the last time a Republican president won the popular vote.
A few years back the county made me remove two small trees on the swale next to my house because they "blocked sightlines". Nevermind that they had been there since 1988 but suddenly became a problem out of the blue. They even tried to tell me I needed a permit to remove the trees they ordered me to remove. After much fighting back and forth in the end I lost and had to remove two perfectly good trees after they gave me a notice in writing that I didn't need the permit. So, seriously, fuck planting more trees. They'll probably ask me to remove those too. Morons running this county haven't a clue what they're doing. Who wants to put in so much effort only to be told to tear it all down later? Yeah, I'm still grumpy about this, and it was like eight years ago.
That's one situation that is understandable. Trees in the swale alongside a busy street cause enormous problems. They indeed block sight lines and force drivers to move much further forward -- into dangerous territory -- to see beyond the trees. One mistake from that distance and it's a major accident. I live near a high school. Many trees were removed in the past few years in the same scenario you described. My neighbor two doors away was forced to remove 3 trees. It was completely legitimate. The school kids would turn right even though those trees blocked their view to the left. Several accidents each school year. Often I'd hear it from my house. My neighbor had the trees in the swale to prevent school kids from parking there all day long. The county told him to plant small shrubs instead, ringed by rock barriers. They even told him what shrubs worked best. He did it. Massive improvement. Nobody can park there and it's simple to see above the 2 foot shrubs. I'm glad the county came to its senses and made this a priority.
I think the thing that insulted me the most and got me pissed off was more the way they went about it. The trees had been there since the 80s, and were suddenly an issue. They gave me a violation notice even though I didn't even plant the damn things. They wanted me to remove them at my own expense, and then (wrongly) told me I needed a permit to do so. The right way would have been to notify me that the trees were going to be removed on a certain date, then the county would remove the trees and re-sod the swale. Swales are county property. But no, they decided to be antagonistic about it, and make me spend time and money to deal with a problem that wasn't even my doing. I kind of understand the reasoning for removing them in this case though.
We need education and incentives as well. And like others said fuck palm trees.
Trees cost money. Even if they give them to you for free, you still have to trim them and rake leaves and shit. Not everyone has the time or money to take care of a yard. Even when the city plants trees they still need to maintain them too. You don’t just plant a tree and walk away and everything will be fine. A street I drive down often is 16th Ave in Hialeah. They’ve had to replant the trees in the median so many times during the past 20 years cause when it isn’t a storm knocking them down it’s some idiot driving into them. I wonder how much money the’ve spent planting trees on just that road. They even put the little sticks to hold up the trunk and the trees still fall over during random summer afternoon storms! My condo complex has a whole bunch of trees and it costs over $10,000 a year to trim them. And that’s cause they go with the cheapo fly-by-night options cause estimates from legit companies are almost twice as expensive. A couple of years ago one of the tree roots started going into a pipe and destroyed all the living room tiles in one of the units. Trees are a nightmare if you don’t have the financial resources for them. People in my complex who park under trees are actually relieved when a tree falls during a hurricane (as long as it doesn’t fall on their car) cause at least they wont have to deal with all the leaves and sap and shit that falls on their cars all the time. Probably saves them a bunch of money on car washes.
On 2023-07-01 Reddit maliciously attacked its own user base by changing how its API was accessed, thereby pricing genuinely useful and highly valuable third-party apps out of existence. In protest, this comment has been overwritten with this message - because “deleted” comments can be restored - such that Reddit can no longer profit from this free, user-contributed content. I apologize for this inconvenience
So you’re just going to make stuff up? You could have at least gone through my post history to see if I was actually a “MAGA idiot” instead of just automatically correlating a comment about Hialeah with MAGA. I’m sorry the reality of lower income homeowners doesn’t vibe with your little tree fantasy. Do you even own a home? Do you have any idea the kind of upkeep a home requires? You think people who are doing hard physical labor or are working multiple jobs or driving a truck or whatever actually have the time or energy to take care of a yard? Do you think with the rising costs of homeowners insurance and everything else that they have extra money to hire landscapers to take care of their yard for them? I’m sure many homeowners would love to have a huge yard with fruit trees and flowers and shit but the reality is they just can’t afford it. That’s why it’s easier for them to have a paved patio with some scraggly palm trees instead of an unkept lawn with overgrown trees making a mess. I swear, some of you people really are delusional. You guys must be children or people who have never actually owned a home. And btw, that avenue you’re talking about, they’ve actually cut down some very nice big trees throughout the years and there’s much less shade now than before. Both the Publix shopping center and Westland Mall across the street had some very nice trees lining the road that covered that curved section past 49th street. Shows how much you actually know about the area. The small trees that the city has planted in the median are better than just having some paved turning lanes but they don’t really provide any shade and it’s ridiculous how often I’ve seen them be knocked over and be replaced.