Tampa Area Nurseries

[NickJames]

My CEO wants help with a garden/landscaping project. She lives in Lutz (northern Hillsborough Co.)  

Any recommendations for Tampa area nurseries open this coming Saturday?

I need to check weather station data around her home. Not sure how tropical I can go with the selections. 

[kinzyjr]

@Chatta lives in the area and would be able to tell you some good places to start.  @RedRabbit might know a few as well.  @SWFLchris has a good selection of plants, plus a few large ones he would like to sell.

Lutz is a tough one.  Some areas stay relatively mild, others not as much.

[Chatta]

I guess that would depend on what kind of services they're looking for. Millennium Lawn & Landscape has the greatest selection of commercial Palms (coconuts, royals, kings, sabals, mules, etc.)in Northern Hillsborough County. They also look like they have a good design team, and general selection of plants.

I'd also suggest Laurel Oaks Nursery & Tree Farm, and Citrus Park Nursery for more kinda traditional landscape plants.

Lutz from what I know is a very warm 9b climate, some 10a plants are possible but only under canopy. Barry Swartz has an incredibly impressive tropical collection there in Lutz

[RedRabbit]

I'd suggest talking to @SWFLchris as he's the main one in the rare palm business in this area. You might check out Palms Plants Pottery on Hillsborough for a decent mix of tropicals or Sunscape in Oldsmar for large field grown stuff.  I can't really recommend either as I don't think they're great, but they might be your best bet none-the-less.

The climate in Lutz is probably about the same as where you're at in Daytona. 

  

2 hours ago, Chatta said:

Laurel Oaks Nursery & Tree Farm

I've never visited this one, but I've driven by a number of times. I think they've got a Beccariophoneix alfredii planted by the road so they might be good. 

Edited January 4, 2021 by RedRabbit

[redant]

Based on a google street map of the area,  stick with Phoenix, queens, mules, Butia, beccariophoenix alfredii and things along those lines. Just my opinion.

[NickJames]

Thanks all for responses so far!

On the local climate, I do know that a hotel up the road planted a. Merrilli when it opened in 2017. By Feb 2018, they were totally brown - most likely from the Jan 2018 freeze. I remember pulling up to the hotel and being completely shocked at how everything was...dead. They since replaced with a Phoenix species (I think p. Sylvestris). 

at the time it opened, I remember being so jealous as I still lived in Fernandina Beach and would never have dreamed of planting a. Merrilli. 

[RedRabbit]

2 hours ago, NickJames said:

Thanks all for responses so far!

On the local climate, I do know that a hotel up the road planted a. Merrilli when it opened in 2017. By Feb 2018, they were totally brown - most likely from the Jan 2018 freeze. I remember pulling up to the hotel and being completely shocked at how everything was...dead. They since replaced with a Phoenix species (I think p. Sylvestris). 

at the time it opened, I remember being so jealous as I still lived in Fernandina Beach and would never have dreamed of planting a. Merrilli. 

In this area zone 10 palms did very poorly if they were exposed to the wind. Sheltered ones didn’t take too much damage. 

[NickJames]

13 minutes ago, RedRabbit said:

In this area zone 10 palms did very poorly if they were exposed to the wind. Sheltered ones didn’t take too much damage. 

Good to know thanks. These foxtails were on a NW facing parking lot. There was another plaza to the NW but hundreds of feet of empty parking lot for wind to blow across with little friction. 

[NickJames]

I tried looking for old pics of the parking lot but all they have are concept drawings initially and the artist had a. Wrightii drawn in. I’m guessing Hilton wishes they went with that after all ha ha 

[sonoranfans]

Lutz probably means no 10a palms, its inland a bit.  Sabals uresana, causiarum, B. alfredii(already 6'), mules, butia x J and J x B, JxS, copernicia alba, livistona chinensis, decora, and mariae, Bismarckia, arenga engleri, saw palmetto.  We have been lucky for the past 10 years, not sure it will hold out.  You know snake eyes happen every so often.(1/36)

[NickJames]

Cold Sensitive palms on her street - photos I took today 

[RedRabbit]

51 minutes ago, NickJames said:

Cold Sensitive palms on her street - photos I took today 

Hmm, it’s hard to really judge since those palms don’t look very old. If that royal is pre-2010 that’s a good sign. There aren’t many east of Dale Mabry in northern Tampa.

[NickJames]

1 hour ago, RedRabbit said:

Hmm, it’s hard to really judge since those palms don’t look very old. If that royal is pre-2010 that’s a good sign. There aren’t many east of Dale Mabry in northern Tampa.

She seems to think the royal has been there before that. There were some little palms here and there on that property that make me think that homeowner might be a palm nut lol

the most radical we are doing is a bottle palm in a pot so we will be ok lol...