Fast-Growing Trees and the Bill That Comes Later

There is a rough rule in arboriculture that holds up remarkably well: fast growth and strong wood do not go together. Trees that put on height quickly do it by producing lower-density wood, and lower-density wood breaks more easily.

In a hurricane zone, that trade-off is not academic.

Why Fast Growers Fail

Weaker wood. Rapid growth produces larger cells with thinner walls. The tree gets tall quickly and the material is less able to resist bending and breaking loads.

Poor branch structure. Fast growth frequently produces narrow branch unions with included bark — the classic weak attachment that splits under load.

Shorter lifespan. Fast growers generally decline earlier, and a declining tree with decay in the trunk near a house is a different risk than a healthy one.

Codominant stems. Rapid vertical growth often produces multiple competing leaders rather than a single dominant one.

None of this means never plant them. It means knowing what you are choosing.

The Common Ones Around Here

Laurel oak. Extremely common in older Volusia neighborhoods, often mistaken for live oak. It grows fast, gets large, and then declines — typically much earlier than live oak, with heart rot and limb failure common in mature specimens. Many of the oak failures we deal with after storms are laurel oaks.

The distinguishing feature from live oak is the leaf: laurel oak leaves are larger, thinner and more variable, and the tree drops them in a brief period in late winter, while live oak leaves are small, thick and leathery.

If you have a large laurel oak near the house, it is worth having assessed. They can be perfectly sound, and they warrant more attention than a live oak of the same size.

Red maple. A Florida native, genuinely attractive, tolerant of wet soil, and structurally mediocre. Prone to codominant stems and narrow unions, and the wood is not strong. Fine in the right spot away from targets; not what you want directly over a bedroom.

Sweetgum. Fast, tall, and produces the spiky gumballs everyone complains about. Weak-wooded and prone to limb failure.

Silver maple, where it appears, is among the weakest.

Bradford pear and similar ornamental pears are the textbook example of the problem — beautiful for a decade, then splitting apart at the classic weak union. They are also invasive in many areas.

What Holds Up Better

Live oak is the standard for a reason. Slow to moderate growth, dense wood, spreading form with a low center of gravity, and genuinely excellent hurricane performance when structurally sound. It is also long-lived enough that one planted now outlives everyone reading this.

Cabbage palm, the state tree, is extremely well adapted to our conditions and to storms.

Southern magnolia performs respectably and is evergreen.

Bald cypress is strong, handles wet sites, and is a good storm performer.

Dahoon and yaupon holly are smaller natives with decent structure that feed birds.

The Honest Trade-Off

Fast growers give you shade in ten years. Slow growers give you a tree your grandchildren will sit under.

The reasonable middle path, and what we generally suggest, is to plant the long-lived tree where you want the permanent canopy, and use faster-growing species where a shorter horizon is acceptable — away from the house, as a screen, in a spot where failure would not matter.

What is not reasonable is planting a weak-wooded fast grower directly beside the house and then being surprised twenty years later.

Making the Best of What You Have

If you already have fast-growing species near structures — and most Volusia properties do — the management is the same in principle:

Structural pruning while young. Establish a single leader, eliminate codominant stems, keep branch diameters subordinate to the trunk. This is the highest-value intervention and it has to happen early.

Periodic assessment on mature specimens, particularly near targets. Check unions, look for decay, watch for deadwood.

Reduce overextended limbs rather than stripping the interior. See our post on lion's tailing for what not to do.

Cabling and bracing where a valuable tree has a specific correctable defect. It is a real option and it requires ongoing inspection.

Removal when the risk is not manageable. Sometimes the right answer for a declining laurel oak over a house is replacement with a live oak that will be there in a century.

Planting Now for the Next Storm

If you are replacing a tree lost in a storm, that is the moment to choose deliberately. Consider mature size relative to the space, distance from structures, salt and wind exposure, and hurricane performance — not just how fast it will fill in.

The tree you plant this year is the tree that will be tested in fifteen years.

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ArboristRX assesses tree structure and species risk across Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach, Port Orange, Oak Hill and Volusia County. Call (386) 444-5959.