Drake Elms in the Landscape

Hello All!

Well, the recent freeze in Central Florida (Zone 9) took out every one of my palms, despite covering them.

After a few nights of internet research and my writing off palm trees in the yard, I purchased a few Drake Elm
trees from the local nursery. My house is in MUCH need of some shade, front daces due west, rear faces
due east.

My problem is that I am on a septic/drain field sewer system. No one can really give me a cleas answer as to
how close I can plant these to my drain field. I desperately need some coverage in my front lawn though. Many
of my neighbors have nice, big mature trees (pine/oak) in the yard, and they are all on the septic as well.

So, I guess my question is how close I can get to it?

And does anyone know exactly how quickly these grow? All I can seem to find is, well, really fast...

Sorry, I don't know anything about the Drake Elm or septic systems. I do know that my mom is having problems with a very large maple tree busting through the sewer pipes and causing back-up in her house. It's going to be a very expensive fix, so make sure you find all the info you need before planting. Have you tried talking to a septic system company? If you have, maybe try a couple more- I'm sure someone's ran into this situation before.

Hello!

Thank you for your reply,
I have called a few septic systems and they don't seem to offer much help. They basically
tell me not to plant anything around them. But again, most of my neighbors have large oaks
and such in their yard. Maybe I'll knock on some doors...

Sorry about your mother's septic problem, hope nothing backed up into her house...

Make sure you talk to neighbors who have the same kind of tree. Some trees' roots are more likely to cause problems than others. I don't know about this one in particular but I'd make sure before you plant your elm that you get specific info on it, not just a general distance for planting trees. Your neighbors' success with oaks/pines may not be applicable to elms,

Nice, wonderful flood in the laundry room along with many gallons of bleach....
Have you considered alternatives for shade like maybe an arbor with vines or extending the porch? Not as nice as a large, beautiful tree but not as risky...

Your county agricultural extension agent may be able to help you.

I live just over in Deltona, and just purchased a drake elm after seeing some lovely ones out at the Volusia County Fairgrounds. I planted it relatively near (about 15 to 20 feet) near my septic field; it is also downhill from it. From what I have learned, trees should be no less than 15 feet from the drainage field, but flowers and shrubs can be right on top of it. I haven't gone quite that far, but I do have shrub/perennial borders all around the septic field.

My queen palms came through the freeze just fine. I've noticed that those that were damaged were younger, smaller trees. I put mine in after the hurricanes in 2004 and they're about 30' tall now. No damage, even though it got below 20 for a couple of nights there.

Someone mentioned arbors, which might be a good idea. You could construct them out of PVC pipe anchored in cement, or you could purchase some. (I have a friend in Ohio who hired a welder to make an arbor of her own design. Expensive, but beautiful) Make them about 18" to 2' wide and train something evergreen over them. Jasmine would work; so would bougainvilla.

Why don't you stop at DeBary Nursery on 17/92 and get some advice from the lady that owns it? She's an excellent source of information. (And no, I;m not that lady. Just a customer of hers.)

Di

I too looked at Drake Elms today. I am in the same situation with the septic tank. I am in Deltona and basically just stuck with palms near the septic field.

I lost a queen palm, lemon tree, and Norfolk Pine during this Winter. I am trying to find plants that can survive our winters, I am tired of having to replace plants each spring...

I really wish I could have a nice big tree in the middle of my front lawn......stupid septic.

Hi, Ecam. There are a lot of different trees that will be hardy. Remember, this winter was a record-breaker as far as cold is concerned. Red maples, and river birch are hardy. Rep maples will provide you with fall color (red leaves - duh) and river birches have both an interesting trunk (peeling bark) and fall color (yellow).

My bottlebrush tree came through the cold just fine and bloomed nicely a month or so ago. My queen palms, lemon tree, prange tree, and kumquat tree came through just fine, too. Sometimes it's just a matter of luck.

I just saw Bradford pears at Lowe's - DON'T get one. They are lovely trees, but grow so thickly that they area problem in high winds. I had a beautiful one up in Cincinnati. It was about 40 feet tall and just lovely - until a wind storm split the darn thing right in half. What a mess!

I highly recommend both DeBary Nursery and Pell's (out on Doyle near Osteen) when you're looking for trees. The people at both places are very knowledgeable and won't steer you wrong.

Thanks DBauer. I will have to do some research on the river birch. I will be the first to admit that I have way too many trees for my lot....but I really love trees. I will be sad when we move some day because I know the next owners of our home will probably chop down half of them...

I was at Pell's today and bought a Drake Elm that will be delivered on Wednesday, they have just about every tree and plant you could want! I wish I would have read your reply before going so I could have checked out the river birch. I have never been to the DeBary Nursery.

Currently I have a few palms, crape myrtles, sweet gum, red maple, live oaks, golden rain tree, half dead lemon tree, magnolia, and a Valencia orange tree. If I was rich I would have a 10+ acre lot and have one of each of the trees at Pell's. :)