Happy Arbor Day, Florida!

Trees help us humans out in a lot of different ways. They take in our carbon dioxide and produce the oxygen that we breathe. They give us shade and hold the soil in place, preventing erosion. They provide animals with habitats, and some of them give us fruit and nuts. And some of them are fun to climb!

Planting Trees

This Arbor Day, why not celebrate trees by learning how to plant one? AskIFAS has a plethora of resources on the subject. For example, the UF/IFAS Environmental Horticulture Department has illustrated, step-by-step guides on tree selection and planting and establishing trees. We also have an infographic with the 10 steps to ensure your tree planting is successful. And just last fall, we published a set of detailed recommendations for determining how much space your shade tree will need.

Caring for Trees

If you’re trying to learn how to take care of your trees, we can help with that too. We have an extensive topic page on tree pruning, not only for shade trees, but for palms, citrus trees, and other fruit trees. We also have an entire page on tree care.

Identifying Trees

Maybe you’re not in a position to plant a tree yourself right now. In that case, you can still learn to identify the trees around you, beyond just “deciduous,” “palm,” and “Christmas tree.” The School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences has an extensive article on how to identify a tree.

There’s a famous saying that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, but the second best time is now. At AskIFAS, we can help. For all our publications on trees, start at our topic page on landscape trees. And contact your local UF/IFAS Extension agent if you want to know more!

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