Could you sell your house... and leave your trees?

[savemejebus]

A question that I am facing myself right now. We're currently on about .37 acres and have done our best to squeeze fruit trees anywhere we can. While most of them are still too young to produce fruit, I feel like I have an emotional connection to each of them.

We've looked at a couple houses in Parkland on about an acre or so. Nice houses. Better school district... but I don't know that I can leave my trees (even though we can probably plant even more with more land). Anyone else ever confront the same issue?

[Joshua]

i haven't been in that situation but i can imagine i would feel the same.nim rentingand struggle with weather yup donate some of my seeding or sapling to each property or yo just keep them in pots until i vam buy a place

[skhan]

I've been trying to prepare myself for that, I know its inevitable. According to my plan I have a few years though.
I plan on grating the fruits I want to keep, and keep them in big pots. Obviously I'll do this for what ever fruits that can be managed temporarily in pots.
And sell the house to a fellow fruit enthusiast. It would be such a waste to sell it to someone who will just chop them all down because of the "mess"

[demingcr]

Just did this during the summer. We bought the first house before we were married or had kids and outgrew it now that we are and have 2.

While it was only a 1/4th acre lot i had 5 producing mangos, sugar apples, dragon and passion fruit trellises, bananas, and assorted other items on the lot. The extent the small lot was planted out was likely to be a draw back but based on the size and location of the house likely ended up being a selling point as most of the demographic was hispanic or asian and they appreciate (or know what) tropicals are than your typical american.

It was tough leaving things behind. I did get a slightly larger yard but made the choice to plant quality - items i really know i enjoy 100% - rather than quantity to keep the aesthetic of the house and planted mango, avocado, star fruit and sapodilla varieties i know i loved. While i left behind fruiting trees, i off-set this by setting a budget from the proceeds of the house sale to plant 15-25g trees that are of producing size.

If, as you say, most trees are not producing size you could likely dig them up and repot them prior to showing the house and re-sod the dirt patches left, could you not? The only real thing you'd need to consider is storage space so the yard doesnt look too cluttered.

[skhan]

@savemejebus
BTW .37 acres is a nice size lot for Coral Springs
I only have around 0.2 acres 

[FlyingFoxFruits]

I had to dig up my collection and move back in 2009...I put everything in pots, some were 100gal.(2 sabara jaboticabas)

I saved about $2-3k worth of plants.

A question that I am facing myself right now. We're currently on about .37 acres and have done our best to squeeze fruit trees anywhere we can. While most of them are still too young to produce fruit, I feel like I have an emotional connection to each of them.

We've looked at a couple houses in Parkland on about an acre or so. Nice houses. Better school district... but I don't know that I can leave my trees (even though we can probably plant even more with more land). Anyone else ever confront the same issue?

[savemejebus]

@savemejebus
BTW .37 acres is a nice size lot for Coral Springs
I only have around 0.2 acres 

It's. Really nice pie lot on a cul de sac on the water, so definitely hard to give up.

[bsbullie]

@savemejebus
BTW .37 acres is a nice size lot for Coral Springs
I only have around 0.2 acres 

It's. Really nice pie lot on a cul de sac on the water, so definitely hard to give up.

If you are looking in Pine Tree Estates that are East of University,  be very careful as a lot of those lots flood and hold water, especially on the South side of Holmberg.  You will also encounter pieces of limerock the size of volkswagons.

[savemejebus]

@savemejebus
BTW .37 acres is a nice size lot for Coral Springs
I only have around 0.2 acres 

It's. Really nice pie lot on a cul de sac on the water, so definitely hard to give up.

If you are looking in Pine Tree Estates that are East of University,  be very careful as a lot of those lots flood and hold water, especially on the South side of Holmberg.  You will also encounter pieces of limerock the size of volkswagons.

looking at Cypress Head specifically. East of University, north of Holmberg. No idea what the soil is like there.

[val]

No. Could never leave my land period. They are building an turnpike exit close enough that i will one day be surrounded by subdivisions. At that point it wont be "best use" to keep my 15 acre hobby farm intact but i love every inch, every tree. It would greive me sorely to see it subdivided and sold.   Ive been here a long time. I bought it when i was barley 21.

[edzone9]

We will be moving to SF by next year , I will leave all my in ground trees and re-plant everything! Only going to plant 15-25 trees.

It's definitely a sad situation!
Ed

[horseshoe_bayou]

extremely hard to move when you love your tropical fruit trees. my wife is always talking about moving somewhere up in North Florida or Georgia, more bang for your buck, calmer lifestyle, less ghetto than around here and I don't think I could. I would be depressed without my tropical fruit trees and nice beaches.

[Carl.D]

Look at it as an opportunity.
The wealth of experience that you've accumulated over the years, use it to utilize the new property the best possible outcome.
We have all planted trees, that in hindsight wasn't in the best position or best type. Now you'll have the opportunity to start afresh, clean slate.

But always take anything you can, to the new place.

[fyliu]

One thing that happened when one rare fruit guy died, was his daughter did an open house to find another rarefruit person to buy it. She lived far away from the property so couldn't take care of the place.

Sure it was an attempt to get a better price since the trees were worth something to us. It was an attempt to find someone to continue to take care of her father's garden rather than ripping out most of it to build a bigger house. She also tried to make it so that she could come back to visit her old house and garden at some later time. I don't think it worked though, mostly because a small house on an acre of land at that location wasn't worth nearly what she wanted especially after the housing crash.

Anyway, just wanted to share a story.

[Carl.D]

One thing that happened when one rare fruit guy died, was his daughter did an open house to find another rarefruit person to buy it. She lived far away from the property so couldn't take care of the place.

Sure it was an attempt to get a better price since the trees were worth something to us. It was an attempt to find someone to continue to take care of her father's garden rather than ripping out most of it to build a bigger house. She also tried to make it so that she could come back to visit her old house and garden at some later time. I don't think it worked though, mostly because a small house on an acre of land at that location wasn't worth nearly what she wanted especially after the housing crash.

Anyway, just wanted to share a story.

More and more common here as well, townhouse & unit development.
A couple of well known  &  rare collections lost already that way.

[Delvi83]

I understand....if you plant a tree, you see it grow up, you eat its first fruit then it's hard to "sell" it together with the house......and it's even worst to know that the new owner could do what he wants, remove all, build ha swimming pool, or so....

[TnTrobbie]

My in-ground trees are coming with me- regardless of the cost to professionally move em. I'd try to haggle down the cost as well .

[bsbullie]

My in-ground trees are coming with me- regardless of the cost to professionally move em. I'd try to haggle down the cost as well .

The cost, odds of survivability and if survived, the recovery time make it basically not worth it.

[dongeorgio]

Move to the larger land and just buy bigger trees of what you are looking to plant.  That way you don't feel like you are starting from scratch again.  If I had to replant my yard, things would be different.  You now get a blank canvas on which to apply your years of knowledge you did not have when you planted your old house.   Enjoy and welcome to the neighborhood.

[mangomandan]

If you have school-age children, I'd say go for the new larger place.
You still have the time and energy to enjoy the fruits of your labor. 

As a senior citizen I would find it really hard to start over, and some of my trees are mature as well.

[gnappi]

I too am a "senior" and my lot is planted out. I will not  move. My ex wouldn't have fruit trees on my property (made a mess, drew bugs and vermin blah, blah) and I now have a perfect lifestyle. There's nothing somewhere else that I want or need :-)

[zands]

Calll up the county ag extension and get a soil map from them or somewhere else. If your new area has a development where the soil is all sand without limestone I would try to buy there. IOW land with neutral ph soil instead of high ph limestone crap. My guess is this is unlikely. That all soils in Parkland are high ph with limestone rocks. Partly due to the canal dredging process for most West Broward developments

I would dig up a few small trees and be very selective....only real favorites. Prolly unrealistic but if you know who buys your old place and that he wants some or all of your fruit trees it makes it easier to leave most behind. It definitely would bother me if the buyer is just going to obliterate them all. This would give me more incentive to take some to the new house. To even hire people to help dig, transport and replant them.

My other advice is same as others. Treat yourself and family and buy some 15-25 gallon trees for the new house. Write it off as moving expenses. Get off to a good start. Scope out the mango trees in the new neighborhood. You might gets lots free or at minimal cost while your trees are growing to larger fruiting size.

With so much new space I would plant Tari and Ison muscadine grapes, they are ripe in August. Put in a legitimate grape trellis like you see in vineyards.

[gnappi]

" Prolly unrealistic but if you know who buys your old place and that he wants some or all of your fruit trees it makes it easier to leave most behind. It definitely would bother me if the buyer is just going to obliterate them all."

AMEN to that! I sold a house with a BEAUTIFUL and productive peach mango that the owner swore he would keep as I asked if I could come to see "my" tree and get fruit if he allowed it. He took it down within months of moving in. SOB :-)

[zands]

AMEN to that! I sold a house with a BEAUTIFUL and productive peach mango that the owner swore he would keep as I asked if I could come to see "my" tree and get fruit if he allowed it. He took it down within months of moving in. SOB :-)

To make sure your fruit trees don't get destroyed sell it to someone who is mango deprived from up north. Put ads in Craigslist New York, Chicago etc in January and February when its cold. When people fly out for Caribbean and Florida vacations
"Selling house in good area in a Ft Lauderdale suburb with mango and other many tropical fruit trees"
"The fruit orchard is already there for you"

A family might buy it for a second home they would visit one or two months a year. During winter and during mango season. Plus as a Florida real estate investment

[Tropicalgrower89]

Here ya go.

http://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/WebSoilSurvey.aspx