Help with tree ID

[hdsteele]

Hi All, long-time lurker with a need! Can anyone tell me what type of tree this is? It was a gift from a neighbor in Palm City, Florida Thanks for any help!

 

[Chuck]

Without being there for closer examination I would say it is an immature avocado tree in need of planting into the ground or at least into a much larger container. Some judicious pruning is also in order. If it is an avocado it is rare to see one of this size in a container. If it was grown from seed I have seen them take 10+ years to set fruit. If it is placed into the ground it will produce at some time in the future but probably not if left in a container. An avocado leaves are a dark green glossy color, this tree is a light green. This tree either is not an avocado or it needs to be fed both micro and macro nutrients. I can just about guarantee that what ever it is, it is root bound in that little container and needs to be repotted or planted immediately.

 

[cpp gardener]

I think it might be a Cherimoya. The way the new leaves droop to one side looks more Cherimoya than Avocado. Are the leaves even a little bit fuzzy or rough? Also agree it needs a bigger pot or planting in the ground.

 

[hdsteele]

Thanks for the comments. A neighbor just gave it to us and it is going in the ground. Yes it needs transplanting and pruning. However, I want to know what it is, what it needs, before I do so. Neighbor said that this is one of a few that grew from seeds that fell from a larger specimen she has growing in her yard. That rules out Avocado. It sort of looks like a Crepe Myrtle but leaves seem more elongated and the trunk/bark a little different but I’m no Crepe Myrtle expert. Obviously.

 

[Chuck]

Thanks for the comments. A neighbor just gave it to us and it is going in the ground. Yes it needs transplanting and pruning. However, I want to know what it is, what it needs, before I do so. Neighbor said that this is one of a few that grew from seeds that fell from a larger specimen she has growing in her yard. That rules out Avocado. It sort of looks like a Crepe Myrtle but leaves seem more elongated and the trunk/bark a little different but I’m no Crepe Myrtle expert. Obviously.

Cut off a small limb and take it to a good nursery. They will know. And please, let us know what they say.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Looking at cherimoya the leaves look a bit rounder and broader, at least in most of the pictures they do. Worth asking the neighbour what the seeds were like, she would know if it was that, and it might give a clue. You could ask about flowers while you were there, maybe a picture of the mature tree? All clues help.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Check on Buckeye

They get big. They like hillsides here so drainage in your Florida sand is good, but watch the salt, there may be a reason it is in a pot.

 

[hdsteele]

Thanks all. The neighbor told my wife what it is…but she forgot. Duh. Neighbor is gone for a while and if the nursery (Plan B) doesn’t know for sure we will ask her when she gets back. Just thought I might get a quick answer here. Want to get it in the ground but was waiting until the “Feels like 100 degrees”weather abated a little.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Want to get it in the ground

waiting until the “Feels like 100 degrees”weather abated a little.

Two good bits of thinking in a row there

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Check on Buckeye

View attachment 92724

They get big. They like hillsides here so drainage in your Florida sand is good, but watch the salt, there may be a reason it is in a pot.

The op said it grew from a seed from one in his neighbour's yard, buckeye seed are pretty distinctive, and noteworthy?
You have, however, solved a mystery for me. Over the weekend we visited a garden called Great comp and there was a tree with fruit on it that i didn't know. Looking at the various types of buckeye I think it might have been the 'Yellow' one. You say they get big, I thought it fairly small, the website I found it on says about 40ft for the Ohio one which is the most common. There are a dwarf red buckeye and a painted buckeye as well which fall into the six to fifteen foot range. Our nearest UK relative, the horse chestnut grows to as much as 100ft, now that's a big tree. Unfortunately a lot of them have been killed recently by a leaf blight.

 

[DirtMechanic]

The op said it grew from a seed from one in his neighbour's yard, buckeye seed are pretty distinctive, and noteworthy?
You have, however, solved a mystery for me. Over the weekend we visited a garden called Great comp and there was a tree with fruit on it that i didn't know. Looking at the various types of buckeye I think it might have been the 'Yellow' one. You say they get big, I thought it fairly small, the website I found it on says about 40ft for the Ohio one which is the most common. There are a dwarf red buckeye and a painted buckeye as well which fall into the six to fifteen foot range. Our nearest UK relative, the horse chestnut grows to as much as 100ft, now that's a big tree. Unfortunately a lot of them have been killed recently by a leaf blight.

My wife has a habit of picking seeds and tossing them into the woods about the house. A form of buckeye was one of them. Unfortunately she did the same with trifoliate orange up both sides of the property line. I may never be able to kill that demon without hurting the other trees.

 

[hdsteele]

Two good bits of thinking in a row there

Yep. The old saying..something about giving a monkey a typewriter and enough time and sooner or later he comes up with the bible...something like that.