Australian Pines

Here's a good article sent to me by our county's invasive species task force director. I like how it really explains the reasons why planting natives is beneficial, and how invasives can cause problems when they grow in an area they're not suited for. By the way, if you're not familiar with Sanibel Island it is a beautiful place, and a popular vacation spot.


With winds cranking at 145 mph, Hurricane Charley gave Sanibel a severe buzz cut Aug. 13, 2004.

Hardest hit were the island's Australian pines - the storm blew down or severely damaged 70 percent of the island's tall exotic plant.

On Monday, a team from Southern Tradition Landscape Contracting of Fort Myers

started Phase 2 of Sanibel's project to replace the Australian pines along Periwinkle Way and other streets with native trees.

By Aug. 1, Southern Tradition will have planted 3,600 trees from 20 species, including gumbo limbo, live oak, and mahogany.

"We lost hundreds of huge, huge Australian pines, some 3 1/2 to 4 feet in diameter," Sanibel environmental planner James Evans said. "Periwinkle way was completely closed off. We're replacing them with natives that did well in the storm. Not all natives are created equal, but these stood up well."

Australian pines were introduced to Florida late 19th century as windbreaks and for shade and lumber.

The reason they did not stand up well during Charley is that they didn't evolve in areas subject to hurricanes, so they developed qualities that put them at risk in high winds.

Specifically, they are very tall, up to 120 feet, twice as high as native species, so they catch a lot of wind. They also have shallow roots, so they have little to anchor them during storms.

Fallen Australian pines were more than a nuisance after Charley.

Before the storm, Periwinkle Way was lined with Australian pines, and when they fell, they brought down miles of powerlines, and falling pines did millions of dollars in damage to city and private property across the island.

Natives fared much better because they have evolved strategies to survive hurricanes.

"We're planting a lot of tropical hardwoods that shed their leaves in storm events, so they're more aerodynamic," Evans said. "The plams shed their fronds, too. Some natives, like gumbo limbo, have adapted brittle branches that snap off in high winds, but the branches are heavy enough that they don't become projectiles."

Another reason for planting native trees instead of Australian pines is that they require less water and no fertilizer.

"They've adapted to Florida's environment, everything from drought to flood," Evans said.

When the trees are put in, Southern Tradition hand waters rather than irrigating them.

"We're fighting the drought now, big time," Southern Tradition president Bill Blauvelt said, looking hopefully at early morning clouds. "I don't think we're going to get wet today. I grew up on Sanibel, and planting these trees is a good thing."

Southern Tradition worked on Island Inn Road Monday, where Sanibel officials had placed flags of varying colors to mark where various species were to be planted - each color corresponded to a tree species, yellow for strangler fig, pink for paradise tree, purple for gumbo limbo.

About 400 trees are being planted along the 1.25-mile road.

"This isn't a typical street planting, the kind you see in Miami with trees planted like lollypops every 10 feet," Evans said. "We want native plant patterns, with trees close together. Their roots will grow together, and the canopy will be close, so they'll resist wind."

The planting project is being financed by $163,000 from Sanibel Beautification, Inc. and $375,000 from the Florida Department of Forestry.

Long before Hurricane Charley, Australian pines were controversial on Sanibel. Some residents said they should be removed because they might be a problem in a hurricane; others said they shouldn't because they provided shade and added to the island's ambiance.

With the pines gone, many on the island are glad to see natives going in.

"We're all in favor of the natural habitat," said Brian Benham, manager of Jerry's Foods on Periwinkle Way.

"The Australian pines gave a wonderful overhead for the roads, but they were dangerous. It will take time for the native trees to grow up, but it will have the same kind of look."

Florida natives

The city of Sanibel is planting the following native tree species to replace Australian pines knocked down by Hurricane Charley:

Bahama strongbark
Black bead
Black ironwood
Pond apple
Bald cypress
Sabal palm
Coconut
Paurotis palm
Gumbo limbo
Dahoon holly
Mahogany
Live oak
Mastic
Paradise tree
Royal palm
Pigeon plum
Green buttonwood
Strangler fig
Wild tamarind
Sea grape

Very nice article. You always find the "good stuff"!

Well, I'm on the email list for the invasive species task force. They're really good about sharing information. I was just really happy to see people supporting the switch to natives. Plus, the article really does make a good argument for why we should use more natives. Even if plant isn't invasive, if it's non-native we should think about whether it can adapt to our habitat without causing harm. Hurricanes are very scary, and I remember last year on the news they showed a lady whose neighbor had Australian pines that fell and leveled her patio area. Luckily, the main part of the house was okay, but she didn't rebuild the pool/patio until the rest of the trees were removed because she figured the next bad storm would knock down a few more and she'd be right back in the same situation.

Yes, I'm on their list too. I have never once posted to the group because I do not have the time but I really try my best to read most of what is sent to me.

I love Sanibel Island and it's a really nice relaxing atmosphere. We've had good luck collecting seashells from the beaches there but not so much in recent years. It will be nice to go back there for a get away to see how different it will look since the hurricane.

australian pines or austrian?

Australian

hi I am an Australian and I don't know what an Australian pine is ...could you tell me?......I am curious. :)

Casuarina equisetifolia

Australian Pine is simply a common name we use over here. Plants can have many common names. I looked this up and the common name you probably use is She-Oak for this tree.

It's an introduced species here (United States) that is invasive. Part of it natural range is Australia so you probably don't have any problems with this plant.

This is why there are so many problems with using common names. This tree has quite a few common names which is going to throw everyone off unless we go to the Latin name which will be the same regardless of how many common names it has.

Ah yes they are not pines...but yes...they do drop limbs in the wind...I had no idea people had these overseas...and I agree that in high wind areas they could be dangerous.These are mine ...right behind the norfolk island pine.

Ah yes Chris .
Some Beautiful specimens you have there .
They are used extensively along our creeks to shore up the banks .
Without them I would lose 100 of tons of soil each wet season to soil erosion .
And they bring so many birds to their flowers .

Golly Ginger ..a lot of our stuff is considered invasive ...but I know that these hold beach areas together.. and all the black cockys flock to mine and eat the seeds ...maybe because they don't have the birds that eat the seeds ...might be why they are a pest....I love mine...but they do drop a branch here and there ...nothing as bad as the heavy gum branches though.

Agree totally .
I collect all the downed branches for our outdoor BBQ .
Free fuel and smells wonderful whilst burning .
Don't Know What They Are Winging About .
Let's talk TOADS if We're going to discuss Invasive .

Well, on that you Aussies and us would be in the same boat. That Cane Toad has been nothing but a problem for us since its introduction here in the US. And then there is the Cuban Tree Frog, that's another one that's trouble.

Those She oaks are also used as a fodder food in the droughts
maybe you should turn the cattle out onto them.Do you have foxes over there? they kill all of our chooks and ducks...they even climb
...so far the cane toads have not made it down to NSW yet...nor the fire ants....I guess we all have our problems with introduced stuff...some natives are also considered pests like some of our beautiful wattles.

Yup, we all have our problems with introduced "stuff".

It all comes down to where a species evolves over time. We wouldn't dream of trying to introduce a koala over here in the US to naturalize because it has a specialized diet and would have nothing to eat yet we introduce the eucaplytus trees without the koala to keep its numbers in check and wonder why we have a problem with eucalyptus? Gross over simplification but that sort of sums up the issues with why so many plants, and animals, become huge problems when introduced outside their natural range.

Yes we have the Red Fox over here. They're indigenous to North America but not to Australia. If you want more information, look it up using Vulpes vulpes. I believe your Country introduced the fox for hunters. I guess the hunters missed quite a few because you now have some serious issues with them over there. Wouldn't you just love to go back in time and slap the people up side the head who introduced the Red Fox considering how much money your government spends trying to keep it under control? Don't feel left out, we've got more than our fair share of people back in time that the Americans would slap up side the head over the billions of dollars we spend annually trying to undo their poor choices. Cats, the English House Sparrow, and the European Starling come to mind off the top of my head but there are others such as Nutria and the list goes on and on. If only we knew then what we know now, eh?

Don't get me started on starlings!!! ha ha ha ggggrrrrrrrrrrr

I'm convinced that we could control that problem very quickly by just having everyone seed their lawns simultaneously and then netting them to be able to dispose of them properly. They descend upon lawns being seeded as if they are locusts. What they do to farmers around here is incredible. Sometimes their numbers are so high that it looks as if they are a quilt over the ground. Those birds have reduced me to broadcasting seed when it snows hoping that at least some of my seed won't be found by them. And to top things off, they sit on phone lines in numbers so great that they knock out phone service every once in a while. There can literally be thousands of them and the phone wires start looking like a jump rope held between two kids with their combined weight dropping the lines down by several feet. I've often likened European starlings to something out of an Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" movie set... only difference is that these birds are real and not props.

Heads up, if you want to discuss starlings in more detail, you need to go over to this forum to do so-
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/pad/all/

Hey Eqi .
Here's a Pic of a GOOD Fox .
Saw it on my way to Climbing My last Mountain . :o)

Sorry, can't see photos yet. I'm working on it.

I can currently view images that I am hyperlinked to at websites though.

send the birds over here. I get a lot in the winter mainly, but then they just go somewhere else. except for the barnswallows. i have several of those. no mosquitos though.if starlings eat birdseed and caterpillars they are welcome here.

I think it's amazing Len .
To every bad spin there is lots more good spin / story .
What a wonderful place the world really is .
In fact I think what a great day this is going to be when I wake up and I am breathing .
Just think how bad you would feel if you weren't breathing ? :o))

LOL Eqi .
Have you ever woken up not breathing ?

Every once in a while I wake up from a dream where I am in an elevator suffocating. Sure enough, I'm suffering from "cat nestled in and draped over whole face syndrome". Doesn't happen a lot with this one cat but it does happen. I do not know why he feels the need to lop himself over the top of my face but he does. My breath maybe? He likes to be close?

Why do WE always get OFF subject so easily ?
Must be we are the only 2 on at this time of day ?

I have noticed since the noisy miners have adopted my grevillias and garden in general that they seem to all gang up and chase the starlings away.

It's called Ying & Yang . :o)

Hi Ying!

It's your fault. It's always your fault because men are always at the root of this type of thing. I know this to be fact because my husband always accepts blame... often times before I have even blamed anyone for anything. You're married, you know how it goes. ;)

Bye,
Yang

Hey Chrissy, can you give those grevillias little billy clubs> just kidding.