Glad I saw this post I have the Fl Betony and it will take over if you let it... Spreads like dollar weed and it likes a lot of moisture, a real problem in my blueberry beds, It pretty much goes dormant once it gets hot.....

Yep. It is fairly semi-aggressive. But it doesn't seem to be as 'bad' as my mimosa or passionvine. In fact, it's a lot easier to pull up as the roots tend to be fairly shallow.

I read about its cycle on Clemson U's site and I like how it is a cool season perennial. When my mimosa and other plants start to go dormant (or semi-dormant in the case of the mimosa), this plant will be coming up to keep the beds green. I am thinking this is one 'weed' that I am willing to work with rather than fight.

I vote for the long-leaf pines. They are native and very beautiful when they are grown out. In the condo where I once lived I had several pines right off my porch. I loved to hear the wind sing through those trees. It's a unique sound.

I suppose every tree has its own sound, though.

I too am a fan of long leaf pines. However, I understand they grow very slowly, especially the first several years. One big difference, if I remember correctly, is that slash pines will grow with a high water table but long leafs will not. I have a high water table, but my lone pine is a 25 year old loblolly. Where I live is supposedly out of its typical range, but this one has done very well. It supports a huge bougainvillea. Due to the high water table, if I were to plant another pine, it would be a slash pine.

According to Floridata, both can handle saturated soils. Naturally speaking, though, the Slash Pine is generally found in moister soils while Longleaf naturally occurs... just about anywhere. Which I guess is a good indication on which I should plant since I am something like 150 ft above my water table. Right plant, right place.

Leekle,

I bet your pines are going to look great! Plants look best when planted in odd-numbered groups: groups of 3, 5, 7 or more plants. I don't remember all of the science behind that but someone in landscaping design can probably explain why. So my suggestion is to get two more pines and plant three on each side of your home. Plant them in a not-quite-perfect triangle. I am constantly planting triangles (3s) and pentagrams (5s) in my yard to try and get the most pleasing design. I'm not always successful but that is the goal! :)

Carol in Jacksonville

Yeah, it has to do with the way our eyes tend to find the center of something to take in the whole. With an even number the center is empty space so we don't really see the group. By having the odd numbers our eyes find that center plant and the entire group forms into one 'entity'. I do this a lot in my yard for sections that I want to be focused on. If I expect something to just act as a filler or back drop, then I don't worry about even or odd.

The Longleafs I have were recently acquired from an Earth Day event at a nearby Cemex plant, so they're still in their grass stage. The slash pines I acquired in January of 2013 and have been residing in pots ever since. They have gone out of grass stage and now have nice 3 ft tall trunks. I am debating on just planting the two Longleafs which will be far enough away from each other that they don't look like a group, but close enough to 'lean' on each other as they get taller. But I also kind of want to do a group of three and use one of Slash Pines to act as the third one, giving the trees that much more support when they reach those sky-scraping heights.

Leekle, I'm a huge fan of your S. Florida "pine flatwoods" and as far as I've been able to discern, these consist almost entirely of elliota, er, slash pines. I don't know that there's a more beautiful sight than a native stand of these trees with the saw palmetto understory, etc. So I'd go with those. Now I don't have nearly as much knowledge about longleaf but for that matter, the needles on slash are also very long. The orangish bark is a stunning sight too, I do declare.

So what about using both species? Or is there simply not room for that?

+oM

Thanks Tom. As it is, I am more central to central-north. The area I am in is one of the higher locations of this fairly flat state. According to historical data I have read, the area I am in is considered sandhills or pine sandhills. Both Slash and Longleaf grew here, but Longleaf has been far more extensively farmed to the point where one site, Floridata I think, stated that there are no longer ANY virgin stands of Longleaf. I am not trying to revert my yard back to pre-colonial times, but I do try to keep in mind what what naturally belongs here. The way I see it, God/Nature put those type of plants here for a reason, so the best I can do is try to incorporate them into my yard along with the exotics. And besides, it's hard for me to turn my nose up at the idea of free pine needle mulch!

As far as my debate goes, I went out today and looked over my beds from various angles and it turns out that there was no debate. To try and incorporate three pines into the bed would have required a pretty massive transplanting effort of several plants that are finally to the point of being established. Something I was not really wanting to do. So now two grass-stage Longleafs are sitting in their new homes and starting their own establishment period.

Leekle, I am also on a sandhill ridge. It is called the Lake Wales Ridge. It extends from about where I live in Clermont south for about a hundred miles to Lake Wales in Highland County.

I am very fortunate to live near Lake Louisa State Park. I have volunteered there. They have made a concerted effort to plant the Long-leaf pines. They do periodic burns to kill non-native vegetation. The park has a large deer population, some of which I see frequently. It also has a large population of Zebra Swallowtails.

Anyway, I really support your planting of the Long-leaf pines. You are returning some of the habitat to its natural state.

my neighbor

Love-the-yard: intriguing photo; might you post the same but taken from a distance?

Sure - I'll go get one now! The photo above is two or three years old.

Carol

Here's some fresh ones. My neighbors have a beautiful yard and awesome shade! The Canary Island Date Palm and pine tree combo is simple yet breath-taking.

Carol

Beautiful settings! Thanks!

Yes quite inspiring. Now I'm itching to get back down there! Heck, we may as well be in Florida the last few days, what with these tropical-like downpours!

+oM

I dare say those pictures have me re-re-evaluating my beds and trying to figure out where I can put in those two slash pines as well as the long-leafs. I think I have found a spot for one of them, just need to find a spot for the other. When we get our own, larger bit of land, there will definitely be a Pine Corner in the NW part of the yard.

Also, as an aside, apparently I am not the only one having to bite the bullet in regards to Citrus Greening. We were passing through Mt. Dora this morning and there was a Citrus Grove that had a herd of cows turned loose on it. They were really going to town and doing a good job of defoliating the sad looking citrus bushes in the field. Though, I question the wisdom of letting cattle munch on diseased plants.