PERFECT ISLAND

•   HOME   •    IDEA   •    PLANTS   •    GALLERY   •    MODELS   •    BOOKS   •    ACTION   •    WEBLINKS   •    SOURCES   •    LAWS   •

SOURCES
CLICK A TOPIC IN THE INDEX TO JUMP TO RELEVANT LINKS ~ ALL LINKS OPEN ON A NEW PAGE
RETAIL NATIVE NURSERIES LARGE NATIVE TREE SOURCES SAND/SHELL SURFACE TOPPINGS
WHOLESALE NATIVE NURSERIES TREE AND MANGROVE SERVICES FERTILIZERS AND MULCH
NATIVE LANDSCAPE DESIGN IRRIGATION SYSTEMS HERBICIDES & TREE KILLERS
NATIVE LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE PLANT ID NAME TAGS FREE ADVICE & ASSISTANCE
IF A LINK IS DEAD, GO TO THE SITE AND SEARCH FOR THE NEW LOCATION OF THE INFORMATION

Free Advice & Assistance:

• Michael Miller : Anna Maria :

If you are in or about to start any project to establish or improve your style of life on these islands, and you would like to talk to an experienced person about it just to get an idea of which way to proceed and how much it could cost, call me. Whether it is about landscaping, or a renovation, or even a new structure -- if you need an architect, a designer, or an engineer, just call me. I can point you in the right direction and/or find the right person you need. An hour or two will suffice, and there will be no charge.

•  BACK TO INDEX


Retail Native Nurseries - with a web site:

• 

Over 30 years in the business, this is now a full service retail-only native nursery run by professionals with complementary bacgrounds. Though located in the Florida Scrub, their plant stocks always include a significant number of Coastal Upland plants for the islands. Delivery is $40-$70 depending on quantity and distance.

• 

This retail native nursery grew out of a 50 year old family nursery and groves business. Their list covers a broad range of plant associations with many Coastal Uplands plants and even includes some hard to find species. Delivery of $50+ orders is free within 5mi, $10 up to 10mi, and $25 in the rest of Pinellas county.

• 

This retail nursery is part of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation and has an excellent stock of barrier island plants.

• 

All Native is a full service nursery offering in addition to a broad selection of coastal natives, consultations, design, and installation services.

Retail Native Nurseries - no web site:

• Sweet Bay Nursery : Parrish : 10824 Erie Rd : This is a wholesale nursery with a variety of inland and coastal plants that will sell to retail customers who call for an appointment. Delivery ($50-75) of some orders and installation services are available as well. Tom Heitzman, the owner, is frequently an officer of the Native Plant Society and the Audubon Society.

•  BACK TO INDEX


Wholesale Native Nurseries:

• 

A comprehensive listing of most of the native plant nurseries in Florida maintained by their professional association.

FEATURES: Dropdown menus enable searches for retail or wholesale nurseries by plant common name or scientific name and also by their location. But caution is in order: do not travel any great distance to buy a plant listed as available at one of the nurseries without first calling to verify that it is indeed in stock and ready to be sold. Their stocks can change suddenly with damaging weather or unanticipated large orders. Nurseries have precious little labor to spare for the perpetual updating of stock lists. And there are probably some nurseries who only rarely cull from their lists plants that they long ago used to grow or were equally long ago sure they soon would grow!

• Sweet Bay Nursery : Parrish : 10824 Erie Road : This is a wholesale nursery with a variety of inland and coastal plants that will also broker plants not in stock and offers installation services as well. Tom Heitzman, the owner, is frequently an officer of the Native Plant Society and the Audobon Society.

• Green Seasons : Parrish : 12340 State Rd 62 : Roger Triplett specializes in a large variety of coastal plants, especially Sea oats and shore grasses, and is currently expanding the selection of Wildflowers.

•  BACK TO INDEX


Native Landscape Consulting / Design:

• Michael Miller : Anna Maria :

Complete consultation, design, procurement, and installation services, creating idealized instances of natureon your site.

• Tom Heitzman : Parrish :

Consultation, plant selection, site plans, installation contracting and supervision, are available at hourly rates customized to the project.

• John Sibley : Fort Meyers :

All consulting services are available at hourly rates for any project preferably within a 50-mile radius of Parrish, available for a $50/hr charge (minimum) and $35/hr after the first hour. Residential landscape design is available from $350 and above per project. The front and back landscapes are considered to be separate projects. Installation also available.

•  BACK TO INDEX


Native Landscape Maintenance:

• Bob Thorne : Shady Lady Horticultural Services :

Whether it is a one time one day cleanup or a contract for maintenance at regular intervals, Bob leads a fully insured and highly skilled crew with over a decade of experience tending native plants so that they still appear natural and undisturbed after clipping and cleaning them up.

•  BACK TO INDEX


Large Native Tree Sources:

While some of the cold hardy plants native to the islands are grown in nearby communities, most of our large trees are grown in Homestead, south of Miami. Trucking just one or few of them in from there could add significantly to the price, but that can be reduced by piggy-backing on the trucks I bring in with the trees for my landscape installations.

• Michael Miller : Anna Maria :

•  BACK TO INDEX


Tree And Mangrove Services:

•  Competition in this industry has provided us with many efficient trimming and removal services, but it has also left little time or incentive to master the proper techniques. You are strongly advised, therefore, to read all of the information on proper pruning practices on the USF website of Horticulturist Dr. Ed Gilman before hiring a service. Then print the relevant information and give it to the service as specifications for your job. Finally, monitor the work diligently to make sure they are following your specifications. You will find his pruning pages along with a wealth of other information about buying, installing, and caring for trees at: http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/pruning/index.htm

• 
Licensed, insured, prompt, clean, fast, careful, and nice! -- everything you want a tree service to be.

• 
Click the headline link to reach Tom's website. He is a Longboat Key native and has been a professional mangrove trimmer for 40 years. There you will find extensive discussion of every aspect of mangrove trimming as well as the requisite certified trimmer himself. There are also links in the LAWS section of this website to a copy of the statute itself and one to the FDEP's Permit Application Form.

•  BACK TO INDEX


Irrigation Systems - professionally installed:

• Bob Thorne : Shady Lady Horticultural Services :

Bob's irrigation specialist, Roverto, can set you up with a drip irrigation system with individual heads at each plant that are adjustable and can be individually closed off when the plant is established. This is the kind of system that is customized to each plant's needs, and it does not encourage weed growth by watering unplanted areas like sprayers do.

• Island Lawn Sprinklers : Holmes Beach :

Jeff Singer is fast and exceptionally dependable. When you need him, he'll be there.

Irrigation Systems - install it yourself:

• DIG System (digcorp.com ) : Online at dripirrigation.com : or at Home Depot

DIG is one of several excellent mini/micro drip/spray systems that are easy to assemble without a drop of glue. Attach one of the battery timers to a Y-hose-bib next to your hose, insert one end of an up to 200ft 1/2in Black Poly tube in the clock end and clamp the other end with a figure eight stop. Buy the adjustable heads on 5in plastic stakes (with the connector for the other end attached). Put the head and the connector on the ends of a piece of 1/4in brown vinyl tubing, punch a hole in the 1/2in Poly with the small manual hand punch, insert the connector, and stick the water head end in the ground next to the plant. (put 2 heads on shrubs, and 3 on trees around the perimeter of the root ball, moving them outward as the roots and plant grow.) If you need a lot of the heads, check out the wholesale irrigation supply stores. Similar heads by ANETELCO at TWC Distributors at 1016 12th Av E in Palmetto, FL cost substantially less than at Home Depot.

•  BACK TO INDEX


Sand / Shell Surface Toppings (see article about 250 Sand-shell mix):

Nothing ties a landscape to its island location like wide paths of sand and shell. Groundcovers and grasses can then be allowed to grow naturally way beyond their intended boundaries before trimming is necessary, greatly reducing maintenance. Weeds can be safely and easily eradicated with RoundUp (generic: Glyphosate). The best surface for such paths and driveways is a 3-4 in. topping of 250 Sand (a sand and shell mixture), because it compacts like shell but can be walked on with bare feet. You can further mimic the look of an island shore location by dressing the sides of the paths with random sweeps of 1/2 in. Washed Shell. If you order a full truckload of material, they can load 1/4 - 1/3 with shell and the rest with 250 Sand and drop them in separate piles.

• Dirt Works LLC : Sarasota-Bradenton :

A full truckload is about 18.5 cu yds of 250 Sand (part sand, part shell). They will deliver it to you for the price of the material plus the pre-set delivery charge to your area. This currently bottom-lines around $27 - $30 per cubic yard depending on your distance from the mine. Because delivery is often half the cost of a load, ordering in full loads is the cheapest way to buy it.

While you will only pay for what is delivered, understand that the truck will only get the amount the mine lets them have on any given day, so it could be a little less than you ordered. Also when the material loaded is wet, it weighs and therefore costs a little more.

Additionaly, shell is occasionally in short supply. If a line of trucks builds up one morning, you could be charged $60/hr for wait time over an hour. If you tell the trucker they can bring it on any one of several days, they will be able to pick up when there is no line. Be flexible.

• Mike Miller : Anna Maria :

Mike will design and install a complete replacement of turf and/or hardscaping with 250 sand-shell mix.

•  BACK TO INDEX


Fertilizer - wholesale and retail:

• FLORIKAN : 1579 Barber Rd : Sarasota :

Product : Professional grower grade 50 lb bag 1 year time release 13-13-13 Nutricote fertilizer. Exit I-75 east on Fruitville Rd, first right on Coburn Rd, wind through to STOP sign, cross road and go straight into Eastern Industrial Park. At FLORIKAN sign turn left on Edger to FLORIKAN's pickup building and purchase in office. Or you can buy at reception in main office (by first sign) then take ticket to pickup building. Credit cards accepted.

Mulch - wholesale and retail:

• 1 Stop Landscape Supply : 2560 Whitfield Ave : Sarasota :

Product : Recycled hardwood mulch at $14.50 per yard. Bulk delivery available for up to 30yd truckload (Cost based on distance, call for quote. Example: $77.50 to Anna Maria Island).

• Consolidated Resource & Recovery : 3025 Whitfield Ave : Sarasota :

Product : Recycled yard and tree removal waste at $6.00 per yard. Pick up only.

•  BACK TO INDEX


Herbecides To Kill Weeds and Trees - wholesale and retail:

• Helena Chemical : Palmetto : 1408 20th Avenue East :

Go north on US-41 into Palmetto to 17th St (Memphis Road), turn East to 20th Avenue East, turn right to 1408.

• Southern Agricultural Insecticides : Rubonia : 7400 Bayshore :

[Wholesale Only] Go north on US-41, pass US 19/I-275 cut off, pass light at 7-11, turn left on Bayshore Rd.

Product : RoundUp or the generic products that contain Glyphosate: For eradicating unwanted turf and exotic weeds to start a landscape and for maintaining weed-free sand/shell surfaces. Available from these sources in various degrees of concentration in 2.5 gallon containers at prices dramatically lower than the bigbox retailers.

Product : Garlon: or the generic products that contain Triclopyr Mix a 2.5 gallon container of GARLON with 11.25 gallons of a LIGHT BASAL OIL. Paint a section around the trunk just above ground to kill a Brazillian peppertree, small Australian pine, Carrotwood, or other exotic pest tree. Or fell the tree and paint the stump within 30 minutes of cutting it to kill the root and prevent regrowth.

Product : Light Basal Oil: A carrier oil to dilute Garlon for use in eradicating exotic trees. Mix an 11.25 gallon container of BASAL OIL with 2.5 gallon container of GARLON.

• The near 14 gallons of herbicide you get from mixing these wholesale-size containers for around $250 is appropriate for landscapers and owners with a large property to clear. While you will hear reccommendations for diluting Garlon 1:1 with diesel fuel, it is definitely not a good idea to use materials containing diesel fuel on vegetation. For an economical option on smaller jobs, consider the following 2 products.

Product : Pathfinder II: 13% Remedy (Garlon) and 80% carrier oil ready-mixed in a smaller quantity 2.5 gallon container for around $98.

Product : Renovate: A similar but stronger product that is claimed to be safe for use in wetlands areas and near but not in water.

•  BACK TO INDEX


Plant ID Name Tags:

• PRECISION SIGNS : 100 Elmgrove Park : Rochester NY 14624 :

Product : Silver on black Etched anodized aluminum Plant ID tags with or without black anodized aluminum stakes. Highest botanical-gardens quality finish and look with limitless font options, albeit at premium prices. Currently about $9 each with stakes.

•  BACK TO INDEX

IF YOU NEED INFORMATION, HELP OR ASSISTANCE OF ANY KIND
PERFECTING YOUR OWN ISLAND HABITAT--PLEASE CONTACT ME:

email address
© 2005-2017 MCM

A statement of stockholders equity is another name for the statement of shareholder equity.