Southern Pride Tree Farm

Live Oak Trees Commemorate Special Events And Guests

According to the Sea Island Company (seaisland.com), planting live oak trees has become a meaningful way for visitors to commemorate special events as well as mark the visit of honored guests to Sea Island ever since the visit of President Calvin Coolidge in 1928. The live oak has been claimed as the state tree of Georgia, and is considered a symbol of majesty and strength. The following documents those famous visits:

President Calvin Coolidge – December 1928

President Calvin Coolidge planted the first commemorative oak during the Christmas holidays shortly after “The Cloister” opened its doors. President and Mrs. Coolidge were visiting Sea Island Company founder Howard Coffin at his home on Sapelo Island.

President Dwight Eisenhower – May 1946

This oak was planted after President Eisenhower was elected, in honor of the visit he and Mrs. Eisenhower made to Sea Island in 1946.

Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard – April 1952

Queen Juliana and her husband Prince Bernhard spent Easter weekend on Sea Island and added an oak to the grounds. During their visit, the royal couple was attending as honored guests at an oyster roast hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Alfred W. Jones, Sr., at Altama Plantation.

President Gerald Ford – December 9, 1979

After his term of office, President Ford planted a commemorative oak while visiting as a guest of honor at a meeting and golf tournament at Sea Island.

President Jimmy Carter – July 28, 1981

President Carter assembled his first cabinet at The Cloister shortly after being elected in 1976. Accompanied by Mrs. Carter, he returned to plant an oak in July 1981.

Eugene O’Neill – May 12, 1988

A live oak was planted by Connecticut College, New London, Conn., to commemorate the playwright’s 100th birthday. O’Neill, who spent his youth in New London, lived on Sea Island from 1931 to 1936 in the cottage he and his wife, Carlotta Monterey, built and named Casa Genotta. O’Neill wrote his only comedy, “Ah, Wilderness!” on Sea Island; with it, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1936.

President George H.W. Bush – September 29, 1991

President Bush planted a commemorative oak while he and Mrs. Bush were vacationing in 1991 at “The Cloister”, site of their 1945 honeymoon. They also visited in January 1995, to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. During that visit, President Bush played the opening round at Ocean Forest Golf Club. The former president returned in August 2001 to open the 38th Walker Cup Match at Ocean Forest.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher – April 1994

The former British prime minister has been called the most enthusiastic planter at Sea Island. Most honorees sprinkle a ceremonial shovel full of dirt; Mrs. Thatcher went around the tree shoveling the dirt, despite the fact she wore a pink suit. Her security guard was heard to say that Mrs. Thatcher would have packed down the dirt had she been wearing her gardening shoes.

President George W. Bush – June 7, 2004

President Bush hosted the G8 Summit, the most significant annual gathering of the eight leaders of the free world, on Sea Island from June 8-10, 2004. In the tradition of his father, he planted a commemorative oak close to his father’s.

Prime Minister Tony Blair – June 11, 2004

The British Prime Minister and his wife planted a commemorative oak during their visit for the G8 Summit.

The Sea Island Summit First Ladies – November 16, 2004

The Sea Island Gardening Group planted an oak to commemorate the visit to Sea Island by five of the First Ladies whose husbands participated in the G8 Summit. Those Ladies included Laura Bush of the United States, Cherie Blair of the United Kingdom, Bernadette Chirac of France, Sheila Martin of Canada, and Ludmilla Putin of the Russian Federation.

Additional live oaks on the grounds of The Cloister honor Georgia founder James Oglethorpe, the 50th anniversary of The Cloister, Mr. and Mrs. Alfred W. Jones, Sr., and the Sea Island Employees in celebration of the 2000 Millennium. It is exciting to see the many ways live oak trees are used to mark momentous occasions, and this is just one example. These famous live oaks will be alive many generations from the day they were planted since some trees live hundreds of years or more.

Live Oak Trees: Weather Resistant and Virtually Perfect

sptree Live Oak Trees September 28, 2015November 20, 2015live oak trees, strong live oak tree 0 Comment

Small town main streets across the southern US of A are where a lot of us call home. Even to those who are not from small towns still can look at picture or portrait of one and feel the love and homely feeling. Main streets all along the south are rippled gorgeous, picturesque, cathedral live oak trees. These trees as they grow seem to reach such great heights and then stretch out their branches as if they were holding hands. Like friends walking hand and hand down a country road. Live Oaks are some of the most weather resistant steadfast trees around. They really do stand up for the tests of time.

As many natural disasters’ have plagued the southern US, these beautiful trees withstand many of their warpaths. Like in 2004, Florida, the southern most state, had one of the worst hurricane seasons yet. Three major hurricanes hit the state almost back to back to back.

Author and landscape designer Pamela Crawford and researcher Barbara Hadsell researched and studied the damage state wide to see which tree/ s held up the best through the torturous weather conditions. The answer the came to was the Southern Live Oak tree. So many trees were either damaged or up rooted completely during the storms throughout the state that there was much information to be collected. Although thousands, if not more trees were damaged in the wake of the storms the live oak had stood strongest. Whether it be from there deeply rooted root systems, their well-balanced cathedral like branches and foliage or some other scientific fact, they stood this test of time, which Mother Nature had thrust upon them.

Live Oaks have always been known throughout history as a symbol of strength and longevity and during those storms, they said it louder. One might say these small town main streets scattered across the southern United States might have placed them along their streets and roadways as if to protect the small town charm held beneath. Maybe put there not only for their looks, their homely appeal, and inviting nature but as small a reminder that the south is strong. Since finding out all this information, I have started to wonder if these simple radiant trees are still standing tall today to almost mock at Mother Nature and tell her that they, the Southern Live Oak trees are way to strong for the wrath of even her.

Landscaping Makeover With Live Oaks

sptree Live Oak Trees, Privacy Trees September 21, 2015November 20, 2015landscaping tree, live oak trees 0 Comment

The front yard of your home can really benefit a lot from a landscaping makeover. Landscaping is not just reserved to the backyard alone. In fact the front yard is your home’s first chance to make visitors feel welcome and convey your personality. If you are unsure whether the front of your home is as inviting as you’d like it to be, then you should certainly consider how you can enhance its appearance.

I make my living developing layouts for other people’s yards and making them a reality, I am a landscaper. Now keep this a secret just between you and I, but my opinion on landscaping is that no one really needs to hire a landscaper if they could do the work themselves. The exception to this rule is of course large or multiple jobs. Of course I don’t share this secret with my clients, I need to earn a living somehow but if you have good landscaping ideas, you’ll enjoy the fruits of your labor that much more if you do it yourself. You’ll have a sense of pride that you’ve done the design and work yourself, and exactly to the design you wanted.

You can start by giving your home a more welcoming look by adding flowers to a front-yard garden. You can use a variety of flowerbeds or add elegance by lining the walkway to your home. Vibrant colorful flowers nestled in natural pine mulch are eye-candy for you and your visitors. They will almost certainly enhance your visitor’s first impression of you, and your home.

Personally I believe there are four main reasons why people don’t do their own landscaping work. It’s either a lack of interest, lack of know-how, lack of time, or no landscaping ideas. Now if you don’t have the time to do the work there isn’t much you can do about that, but you can learn how to do the landscaping tasks, and there are great landscaping ideas everywhere.

Ideas and designs can come in an array of places. Magazines offer a lot of interesting techniques for landscaping and gardening on all types of budgets. Look at gardening, home improvement or architectural magazines; they are great for showing vibrant pictures with landscaping ideas in them. Also do not be afraid to search websites for landscape and gardening ideas. I believe the very best place to look for an idea is right in your own community. What are other people doing around you with their yards?

You can use trees and bushes to line your home’s porch or front garden for a great architectural effect. You should always maintain them properly to keep them neat. Consider using fruit trees and dogwoods for their beauty and relaxing fragrances. Ornamental trees like live oaks also offer elegance and a sense of arrival to guests of your home.

Depending on the size of your porch you can add various pieces of furniture such as benches and rockers to enhance the feel of warmth and comfort. You can also increase its appeal with plants of various colors and sizes, and even train decorative climbers to accentuate railings and arches. Don’t forget to pay attention to your pathways, and ensure they are in good state of repair and always clean. This will make your sidewalk more appealing and safer too. Be creative with materials you could use, such as ornamental boulders or colored concrete as a main feature.

Adding a pond or small fountain to your front yard can enhance the sense of beauty, calmness, and serenity. Just make certain your plans are not overly ambitious if you do this yourself as the result could be frustrating. You can also brick or stones to add even more interest to the water feature. Surround your water feature with boulders and/or plants to enhance it even more.

Keep it simple, this is probably the best piece of advice to follow when it comes to landscaping your front yard. Avoid messy and over-complicated settings: if you keep it neat and trim you will enjoy walking up to your front door, regardless of your chosen decorative scheme. To tell you the truth, this is where I get a lot of my landscaping ideas. When I drive by a yard I think looks wonderful I take a moment to stop and think, what is it about that garden or patio that makes it stand out. How could I integrate the greatness of that design into my work?

Now, I am not suggesting you copy your neighbor’s yard, but you could take ideas from everywhere. You can also get great ideas from museums, public gardens, or people down the street, and once you borrow those ideas, make them your own! You will find yourself with a beautiful design and layout after some inspiration. Enjoy the process of developing a wonderful unique layout, and take the time to make it look beautiful.

Planting My Privacy Trees

sptree Live Oak Trees, Privacy Trees September 14, 2015November 30, 2015live oak trees, privacy trees 0 Comment

“I finally have my gorgeous live oak privacy trees in my yard! I could not be happier with my choice of mature trees for my landscape. The wholesaler Southern Pride Tree Farm did an excellent job of delivering my trees on time and my landscaper did a wonderful job of planting my new trees. Now when I look out my picture window I see these amazing trees instead of just grass and a road. It really adds a lot of romantic class to my home.

The process was a little intimidating at first but it all went a lot smoother than I thought it would. When I first contacted Southern Pride to order my privacy trees it was explained to me that I would need to contact a landscaper to help move these trees into place. Since the trees for privacy I ordered weigh 10,000 pounds each my landscaper would have to have the proper equipment to handle this job.

Luckily the landscaping company I have been using the last few years had experience moving big trees so that was a big plus for me. Since I was going to have 5 1/2 feet deep holes dug into my yard for the trees to be placed into I also had to contact my utility companies to come and mark off where all the lines ran on my property.

So on the day I had set to have my trees delivered the landscapers came out to dig these holes and I swear to you they were big enough for a person to jump down in there and not be seen. I was almost tempted to try it! I was really worried that the equipment might cause damage to my yard or the sidewalks but again my landscaper came through for me and there were no problems.

My live oak trees really do look great now (even the neighbors came out to watch them plant my trees!) and I am sure that despite my lack of a green thumb they will thrive. The owner of Southern Pride Tree Farm Jimmy Gray, has been growing live oak trees for over 20 years according to the website. They also assured me that if I ever have any questions or concerns about my trees I can call them for support.

All in all I received a fair wholesale price on my three trees, I received great service, and I am beyond THRILLED with how my yard looks. I would happily recommend Southern Pride and do business with them again.

For the best privacy trees check them out for yourself if you like: Southern Pride Tree Farm.”

– From a very happy Southern Pride Tree Farm customer

Privacy Trees

sptree Live Oak Trees, Privacy Trees September 14, 2015November 20, 2015live oak tree, oak trees, privacy tree, privacy trees 0 Comment

I need some privacy trees! Looking out at my boring flat green lawn is one thing but beyond that is the gorgeous road. Well… I would not call it gorgeous… more like ugly, and noisy! Then of course across the street are my neighbor’s houses which really do not make the best of views. Don’t get me wrong I live in a beautiful subdivision but I still feel that nagging desire to plant some nice trees for privacy.

There are a variety of fast growing privacy trees at the local tree nurseries but none of them seem just right for me. I do not really have the patience to wait years to grow beautiful tall privacy trees. I also considered the more typical privacy shrubs trees style but I really have fallen in love with the idea of big shade privacy trees.

So my search for the best privacy trees begins and naturally I turn to the internet for some inspiration! They have everything online after all and what better way to also find cheap privacy trees. My first thought was that I want to think about how I would go about landscaping privacy trees in my yard. My yard is fairly large in the front and established trees might be best in my opinion to avoid years of waiting for large privacy trees.

My next step was to research good privacy trees used for privacy in my region which happens to be in the south east. I wanted trees that provide privacy which also were easy to maintain and not easy to kill… I don’t have much of a green thumb! I admit I am instantly drawn to varieties of oak, especially those grand live oak trees that bring to mind old photographs of gorgeous southern plantation homes.

Digging in a little deeper in my search for the best trees to plant for privacy in my yard I find out there are three types of live oaks that a tree nursery provides. One is called a Highrise live oak tree and it is one of the more narrow privacy trees. Then there is a Standard live oak which is allowed to develop naturally. Finally my favorite one which is called a Cathedral live oak which is tall and dense, perfect for blocking out noise and providing good privacy.

Now I know what I want but I need to research where to buy privacy trees that deliver to my location and then of course a service which offers planting privacy trees for me, since the trees would already be large, just what I want. Obviously this took me a while to do and I made several phone calls to compare cost but I finally settled on a company called Southern Pride Tree Farm out of this little town I never heard of before called Bell, Florida.

They seemed to know more about their live oak trees than other nurseries and more importantly… assured me they would explain exactly how to care for it! Sigh of relief here, I hate to be a burden but I am just not great with live plants. All of the plants in my house are plastic. Now I am just waiting on my order which I am having delivered next week and I will update the blog when I get my new live oak privacy trees.

Live Oak Trees For Sale

sptree Live Oak Trees, Privacy Trees September 7, 2015November 30, 2015live oak tree, live oak trees, oak trees 0 Comment

A big, sprawling, picturesque tree, usually decorated with Spanish moss and strongly reminiscent of the old South, oak is one of the widest dissemination of the Oaks, providing large areas of deep, inviting shade. The live oak is the tree state of Georgia.

Reaching 40 to 60 feet tall, with a gap of 60 to 100 feet and usually with sinuous curves of many trunks and branches, oak is an impressive sight for any large-scale landscape. An amazingly durable American native, it can measure its lifetime in centuries if properly located and cared for in the landscape.

Live oak is usually pest-free. Occasionally mites infest the foliage, but they are of little concern in the landscape. There is some concern for a newly discovered Texas live oak decline. Galls cause homeowners much concern. There are many types and galls can be on the leaves or twigs of live oak. Most galls are harmless so chemical controls are not suggested.

Light requirement: tree grows in part shade/part sun; tree grows in full sun
Soil tolerances: clay; loam; sand; acidic; occasionally wet; alkaline; well-drained
Drought tolerance: high
Aerosol salt tolerance: high
Soil salt tolerance: moderate

Once established, Live Oak will thrive in almost any location and has very good wind resistance. Live Oak is a tough, enduring tree that will respond with vigorous growth to plentiful moisture on well-drained soil. Like other Oaks, care must be taken to develop a strong branch structure early in the life of the tree. Be sure to eliminate multiple trunks and branches which form a narrow angle with the trunk as these are likely to split from the tree as it grows older.

Best growth is made in moist, acid soil, sand, loam or clay, but the tree is amazingly adapted to drought. It also tolerates alkaline soil well. Young trees grow three feet each year and the trunk adds about one-inch in diameter under nursery conditions.

source: about.com

From The Live Oak Tree Farm

sptree From The Farm, Live Oak Trees, Privacy Trees September 7, 2015December 1, 2015big tree shipping, from the farm, live oak tree, live oak tree shipping, live oak trees 0 Comment

A field-grown live oak tree is planted into native soils, grown to a harvestable size, harvested prior to sale and transported to the job site. Field-grown live oak trees are referred to as balled and burlapped (B&B) because the root system is harvested and wrapped in burlap. Live oak trees are placed in wire baskets to support the root system and to make it possible to lift the live oak by the root ball rather than the trunk.

Many studies have been done to compare B&B Live Oak trees with container grown live oak trees after planting. One such study from the University of Florida Horticulture Department (1996) shows how B&B take to a new environment as long as certain root pruning and irrigation procedures are done in the nursery. Live oak trees in our field-grown nursery are maintained with drip irrigation, fertilizer, selective shoot pruning, and root pruning. Root pruning, drip irrigation and fertilizer help build a strong, dense root system, while selective pruning is used to guide the live oak tree into the desired form.

Our field-grown live oak trees are hardened-off or cured after harvesting. This hardening-off process lasts three to four weeks and it simply involves providing the live oak with optimum irrigation during the few weeks after harvesting. This step, as simple as it may seem, is crucial to the health and survivability of the live oak tree.

After the live oak tree is hardened-off it is ready to ship (see our shipping process page) to the landscape site. New roots that have begun to develop are ready to grow immediately into the landscape. These new roots growing outside of the burlap are a sign of quality. Our Quality Root System Guarantee reminds you of the care taken to assure the survival of our live oak trees in your landscape. Look for roots outside of the burlap, our QRS Guarantee assures that you are planting a quality hardened-off live oak tree.

Live Oak Tree Losing Leaves

sptree Live Oak Trees, Tree Care August 31, 2015November 30, 2015live oak tree care, live oaks, tree care 0 Comment

“Should I prune my trees? and is there a right time to do so?” are questions that are often asked. This is always an important and highly relevant question when dealing with the topic of tree care – for your yard and garden – if your house or town house or villa.

When considering the opportunity, a pruning should take into account several factors. The timing is not always correct when it is easier and more convenient for the artist or technical landscape.

The first factor to consider is that each pruning cut on a branch of life is a direct insult and injury to the plant is a tree, shrub or bush. These wounds take away plant energy because the tree is repairing itself and containing decay at the same time. Make a global rule to prune only the minimum amount necessary. The experience of thousands of landscapers has shown that excessive pruning will result in permanent damage to the plant or tree trimmed. Just as in the future increase frequency of corrective pruning and landscaping will most likely be necessary and required. These repairs later could not otherwise have been necessary.

The second factor to consider is the actual tree species. It is well known that different trees have different growth patterns that affect the time of year that success can prune the tree. Trees like maple, willow and birch should not be pruned later this year – in the winter season and also in the early spring seasons. Pruning of willow, maple and birch trees during that time will likely lose large amounts of liquid sap, which if not slightly weaken the trees, leave a sticky mess in your yard. The trees tend to lose the sap can be best be pruned when they are in their completely leaves later in the spring or summer.

The third factor to consider is the presence of insect pests and diseases. Some trees may be more susceptible to these problems if they are injured by pruning. Therefore, species such as elm and oak must be pruned only in latency, which is typically after the leaves fall and mild winter. In many jurisdictions, there are prohibitions on pruning elm and oak trees during their growing seasons.

In general, most flowering trees can be pruned right after the flowers to allow new buds set. The pruning of these trees may be too late in response to poor flowing next year growing season.

Research has found that with many deciduous trees, the last to wait for pruning in the winter season, the greater the amount of adventitious shoots that will develop the following year. If you prune these trees later in the season – best in the fall or late summer is that these succulent shoots are less likely to exploit in his backyard.

Firs and pines, most can be pruned in spring when they are making new growth. In general, most evergreen conifers follow this rule and should not be pruned from mid-summer to autumn weather cools.

Finally, it is important that your tools are sharp and in good condition. Cuts larger than 3/4 inch should be done with a sharp saw. If the cut is less than 1/4 inch below the preferred tool are bypass pruners.

All in all, pruning ornamentals, shrubs and plants can be done properly and at the right time of year according to plant species.

Live Oak Trees Florida Georgia and Texas

sptree Live Oak Tree Facts, Live Oak Trees, Privacy Trees August 24, 2015December 1, 2015live oak tree care, live oak trees, tree care 0 Comment

Savannah Georgia comes to mind when one thinks of live oak trees. The trees classic beauty of Spanish moss along the streets with historic homes before the war are unforgettable.

Live oak grows throughout the southeastern United States. Located on the east coast of southeastern Virginia to Florida and west to southern Texas and central. It grows mainly in sandy soils of low coastal areas but also grows in rich woods in wet or dry sand. It has a resistance to salt fog, sea salt and does well in the barrier islands.

Live oak is monoecious. This means they have male and female reproductive units in the same plant. They produce flowers each spring from March to May and the acorns ripen in September and fall in December. Live oak acorns are long, dark brown to black and tapered. They are sweet and very popular among birds and other animals.

If when the acorns fall and it is moist with warm soil, the acorn will germinate soon after the fall. Germination is the beginning of seed growth of the acorn. The leaves that develop during germination absorb the moisture that makes food available. The roots came after to find its own water to produce outbreaks. Seeds of live oak leaves remain below the soil surface and shoots sprout abundantly from the roots.

Encinas do not get very tall, rarely over 50 feet but the crown (or the extension) of the tree can have a length of 150 feet. It is a very popular shade tree because to this. Year oak wood is very tough and strong and was used for ship building long ago. The wood is not used today as it is mostly shade and ornamental trees.

Oaks have a tendency to grow in large dense groups with interconnecting roots that make it very susceptible to wilt disease of oaks that is a fungus. This fungus is spread from one oak to another through connected roots and is one of the most severe tree diseases. They kill hundreds of trees in Austin Texas each year in the patches because of its tendency to grow in forests. Certified arborists provide tree services Austin are very experienced in the diagnosis and treatment of wilting.

The wilting symptoms are usually found in the leaves develop yellow veins that turn brown and fall off the tree. The crown of the tree exits diluted until it dies. Wilting can be costly for the treatment and control and an accurate diagnosis is essential. An arborist certification services of trees should be contacted to ensure proper diagnosis and treatment.

Privacy Trees For My Yard

sptree Live Oak Stories, Live Oak Trees, Privacy Trees August 17, 2015December 1, 2015live oak tree, live oak trees, privacy tree, privacy trees 0 Comment

“I need some privacy trees!”

Looking out at my boring, flat green lawn is one thing but beyond that is the gorgeous road. Well… I would not call it gorgeous… more like ugly, and noisy! Then of course across the street are my neighbor’s houses which really do not make the best of views. Don’t get me wrong I live in a beautiful subdivision but I still feel that nagging desire to plant some nice privacy trees.

So my search for the best privacy trees begins and naturally, I turn to the internet for some inspiration! They have everything online after all and what better way to also find cheap privacy trees. My first thought was that I want to think about how I would go about landscaping privacy trees in my yard. My yard is fairly large in the front and purchasing mature trees might be best to avoid years of growing and waiting for large privacy trees.

My next step was researching good trees that are used for privacy in my region which happens to be in the south east United States. I wanted trees that provide privacy which also were easy to maintain and not easy to kill… I don’t have much of a green thumb! I admit I am instantly drawn to varieties of oak, especially those grand live oak trees that bring to mind old photographs of gorgeous southern plantation homes.

Digging in a little deeper in my search for the best trees to plant for privacy in my yard I find out there are three types of live oaks that a tree nursery provides. One is called a Highrise Live Oak tree and it is one of the more narrow privacy trees. Then there is a standard live oak which is allowed to develop naturally. Finally my favorite one which is called a Cathedral Live Oak which is tall and dense, perfect for blocking out noise and providing good privacy.

Now, I know what I want but I need to research where to buy privacy trees that deliver to my location and then of course a service which offers planting these privacy trees for me, since the trees would already be large, just what I want. Obviously this took me a while to do and I made several phone calls to compare cost but I finally settled on a company called Southern Pride Tree Farm out of this little town I never heard of before called Bell Florida.

– A short story from a satisfied Southern Pride Tree Farm customer