Does anyone know if Sourwood Trees need some afternoon shade in north Florida?
Sourwood Tree
I would venture to say no, since this species is native across the Florida panhandle eastward nearly to where you are.
That said, I would hope any plant you procure is from the southernmost provenance you can find. I would suspect that if you got a plant from somewhere like West Virginia or Kentucky, it would live a short and unhappy life in Florida.
Here's a distribution map for Sourwood: http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=OXAR
Yes, my husband got them from a local tree nursery. The owner told him they might benefit from afternoon shade. I wasn't sure if that meant they absolutely need it or not. Just don't want to kill them in our August heat! New plants tend to cook in this humidity. :-)
Where you purchased them is one thing. Where that local tree nursery got them is most important.
It would be worth your while to ask that question. If the plants originated much farther north (bought in and re-sold), then the advice to provide afternoon shade is probably a good one. If the plants were grown from seed collected in Florida, then they should grow in any good garden conditions.
Whichever way you go with it, show us! It is always a fun learning experience to see how things go.
I will tell you what I do when I plant something like this in the heat of summer, and do not know if it was grown in sun-I put one of my big recycling bins, which are over 4 ft tall, on the west side of the plant, then move it a few inches away, every few days. That way the leaves don't get sunburned, they have a chance to get acclimated.
That said, I have some little Sourwoods I sprouted from seed last year, I found in our heatwave this summer, the one that was getting full afternoon sun was unhappy, so I put a footstool on the west side, now it is happier.
My two bigger sourwood trees are doing fine in the sun, but Seattle sun is very different from FL sun (I used to live in Gainesville).
Good luck, I love Sourwoods too.
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