Mast Trees Boynton Beach, Florida
Are you looking for something unique and eye-catching to complete your client’s landscape design in Boynton Beach, Florida? If you love the look of tall, slender Italian Cypress trees, you will love the Mast Tree from Palmco!
You will find Palmco, one of the largest palm plantations in North America, in Bokeelia on Pine Island, Florida. We assist landscape contractors, architects and developers with wholesale palms, clumping bamboo and ornamental plants that can beautify resorts, golf courses, commercial properties, residential estates and more.
What is a Mast Tree?
The beautiful Mast Tree, or Polyalthia longifolia ‘Pendula,’ is also known as the False Ashoka because it is often mistaken for the sacred Indian Asoka or Ashoka tree (Saraca indica), which has similar foliage but is not related. You may also hear the Mast Tree called Buddha Tree, Weeping Mast Tree or Indian Fir Tree.
The Mast Tree is native to India and Sri Lanka. It belongs to the Annonaceae family, one of the largest families of flowering tropical plants and trees. Its more well-known relatives include the Custard Apple or Wild Sweetsop (Annona reticulata), Soursop (Annona muricata), Ylang-Ylang (Cananga odorata), and Cherimoya (Annona cherimola).
It became popular in British India because it resembles the Mediterranean Cypress and because its tall, stick-straight trunk was ideal for building ship masts, hence the name. Today in India and Sri Lanka, the wood is mainly used to craft decorative items and drum cylinders.
The Mast Tree will grow to 30 to 45 feet tall with a spread of 4 to 5 feet at maturity. It has dense layers of feathery, wavy-edged leaves that hang from drooping branches and cover the tree from top to bottom. The contrast of new, coppery brown leaves, older lime green leaves, and mature, glossy dark green leaves makes a spectacular show in any landscape.
In spring, the tree is covered with inconspicuous but fragrant star-like pale green flowers that typically last for two to three weeks. The tree then bears clusters of fruit that are initially green but ripen to purple or black. It is attractive to bees, butterflies and birds.
How to Use the Mast Tree
Mast Trees will transform any plain landscape. Their dense foliage, soft texture and tall, symmetrical shape, makes them popular for framing entryways, covering vertical drain-pipes, softening corners and vertical edges, and even as elegant property dividers. Use them for:
- lining a driveway or avenue
- privacy screening
- tall hedges
- shade
- architectural accents
- visual dividers
- noise pollution screening
- windbreaks in open areas
- xeriscaping
Palmco provides wholesale Mast Trees in Boynton Beach and throughout Florida, the contiguous U.S. and worldwide, and they are quickly becoming a popular landscaping choice. Give us a call at (239) 283-1329 to find out more about them.
