Adopt-a-Tree day

Since 1992 when hurricane Andrew devastated the tree cover in our southern end of the county, our county government has designate several days a year as adopt-a-tree day. Today was one of those days, and it was my first time attending the event.

Each homeowner is permitted two free trees per year; the trees are usually native or fruit trees that have adapted well to our soil and climate. The choices today were Lychee, Jackfruit, Inkwood, Orange Geiger and Logan trees.

My first choice was an Avocado tree but I was told that they would be available on the next adopt-a-tree day in September. I walked away with a Orange Geiger tree for my front yard and I pencil in Sep 25 in my calendar for the next adopt-a-tree day.

The Orange Geiger tree (Cordia Sebestena) is native of the West Indies, and was introduced to Key West by a local see captain named Geiger. The tree was featured in one of Audubon famous paintings, when he was asked what was the name of the tree, he would answer the Geiger tree, referring to the house where the tree was planted. The tree is moderate growing (15-20ft height) with beautiful orange flowers that appear throughout the year.

There were many people attending the event, but the process was fast and efficient. Is nice to see our tax dollars at work for such a worthy cause.

This is the spot where the tree will be planted. My original plan for succulents in this corner of the garden didn’t worked. This area gets flooded when we get too much rain; I am transplanting the surviving plants to containers.