Digging Into the Facts on Sand Live Oak Trees

When you live in Florida, you revel in all the perks it brings: the sun, the sandy beaches along the beautiful blue water, the warm climate… Unfortunately, there are also some drawbacks on the flip side of the coin: the high heat index, the extreme humidity, the sandy soil. Even more, reason that, when you’re landscaping a property, you use native Florida trees and plants so that you’re not fighting an uphill battle by constantly trying to keep “exotic” species healthy in an environment that does not welcome them. Fortunately, there are a number of trees that are appealing to the eye and that thrive in the difficult conditions of the Emerald Coast of Florida and throughout the Gulf Coast, including sand live oak trees.

 

Lively Live Oaks

Sand live oaks are generally medium to large in size, growing from 25 to 75 ft., with dark brown or black bark with scale-like plates and leather-like, dark green leaves with a silver underside. Despite their tenacity and hard-scrabbling nature, sand live oak trees are visually appealing; and they also offer high wildlife benefits such as attracting certain species of butterflies.

The sand live oak grows best in moist, acidic soil, sand, loam or clay. However, the tree adapts amazingly well to drought conditions – an important feature for any tree in our area. They also tolerate alkaline soil well, so the trees are not quite so limiting in their planting area as some species of trees. Even more appealing to homeowners and property owners seeking tough trees that hold up well to abuse, sand live oak trees that suffer the impact of construction damage take a long time to die, and they thrive extremely well in almost any location.

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Thrive Where You’re Planted

Truly, their versatility seems to know no bounds and the trees are also highly wind and salt resistant – two factors important to the coast of Florida, where sea-salted air and high winds are a constant consideration. Sand live oak trees are tough, persistent trees that grow vigorously in well-drained soil in areas where moisture is plentiful. But even without the most ideal conditions before them, they still find a way to establish themselves and grow strong.

Because sand live oak trees compartmentalize decay well, they have the ability of slowing or stopping the spread of decay once they’ve been injured. However, as with any other type of oak, the trees require proper care early in their lives in order to develop a strong branch structure. The coarse root system of the trees means that un-established sand live oaks are often grown in fabric containers in field soil, root pruned in the field or grown in air root-pruning containers or copper root-pruning containers. Unlike being planted and grown in open conditions without any sort of containment that encourages easier uprooting and planting into landscapes, container systems lessen the likelihood of circling roots along the edge of the root ball. Field systems generally result in preserving a greater portion of the root system during harvesting.

 

Take a Stand for the Sand (live oak)

With so much going for them in terms of hardiness and adaptability to most environments, using sand live oak trees in your landscaping project is a wise move, especially throughout Northwest Florida. The overall goal is always for planting trees that thrive under our conditions, and these attractive trees very handily fit the bill. At Executive Landscaping, Inc., we’ll work with you in the selection of trees for your landscaping project, guiding you in the right direction to achieve the look you’ve envisioned. We’ve spent decades providing quality landscaping services for clients throughout the Gulf Coast and stand on the reputation we’ve created for making properties in our community true masterpieces.

Call the landscaping experts at Executive Landscaping, Inc. to learn more about sand live oak trees today!

 

Common Native Trees in Florida

Cypress TreeBottle BrushDahoon HollyLigustrum TreeJuniper TreeMagnolia TreePersimmon TreeSabal PalmSand Live OakRiver BirchNative Florida Trees