Source: UF/IFAS 2021

Why Flowering Trees?
Most trees, like pines, oaks, elms, hickories, ashes, and maples, produce relatively inconspicuous flowers. If you have room for another tree and want to add a splash of seasonal color, there are many options at your disposal in Central Florida. These trees also give a sense of seasonality in an environment that is relatively verdant throughout most of the year.

Where Temperate Meets Tropic
The climate of Central Florida presents an interesting problem for those seeking to liven their landscapes with flowering plants – the location is juxtaposed between temperate and tropical climates. In USDA Hardiness Zone 9b, it is just cold enough for frosts to remove most tropical flowering trees from consideration, but too warm and physiologically stressful for most of the intense flowering species used throughout the rest of the country. When people think of temperate flowering trees, it is the cherries, pears, crabapples, and other members of the rose family that tend to come to mind. In 9b, some of their relatives like flatwoods plum and Carolina laurel-cherry are still potential candidates for landscaping, but the cold-hardiest members of the tropics are often all that can be used here without heavy wind or frost protection.

Flowers Don’t Last Forever
Seasonality of flowering is highly linked to plant origin. Plants from temperate areas will usually begin flowering in the spring....

Thanks to our year-round warm and mild climate, many Floridians enjoy planting and caring for fruit trees around their property. Fruit trees offer many benefits, from added visual beauty, fruit production, and wildlife sustainability. One of the most common questions prospective fruit growers ask is when is the best time to plant fruit trees.

The best planting times for fruit trees vary according to your climate, the type of tree you are planting, and how the tree has been prepared for planting. In this article, we’ll cover the best time to plant fruit trees in Orlando, The Villages, Clermont, and nearby central Florida areas

Planting Bareroot Deciduous Trees

Bareroot trees are trees that have been dug up from the ground when they’re dormant. These trees are usually uprooted in the fall and their roots are shaken free of all soil. Generally, bareroot trees establish themselves quicker and grow more vigorously than other transplants.

Because bareroot trees are dug up while dormant, they must be planted while they are still dormant, usually in late winter or early spring at the latest. January is the best time to plant deciduous fruit trees as this gives the roots time to establish themselves before the hotter months. When choosing deciduous trees for your central Florida property, it’s important to pick ones that have a low chill requirement as they fare better in our mild, somewhat warm winters.

The chill...