there is a wall that runs alongside the driveway (sloped). its essentially a giant planter box in which the previous owners plated this tree. So now the root system of this tree runs through the entire wall/planter box. If we remove the root system the planter box-wall may lose support and slowly slump. it would be a huge pain to reconstruct it

I lived in Florida (Avon Park/Okeechobee) for many years and am familiar with "Florida Holly" as compost feedstock. As finely shredded chips, the Brazilian Pepper is OK in a pile but break down more slowly than softwoods like slash pine you have there. Leaves are 'leathery' and slightly acidic, which will slow down composting somewhat due to producing an acidic leaf mold, lowering the compost pH. Depends on what your compost end result is going to be used for. If a container potting media, keep the chips very small. If as an anamendment in sandy soil, larger chips are useful...But it takes a LONG time to compost a large amount of such material. Mostly deep sand in S. Florida, and if that's the case where you live, recommend that you rent a 50+ hp tractor with large wheels and a strong PTO tiller and a professional driver. Land clearing company. Should not take more than 4 hours to make several passes in at least two directions on that 'almost acre' to get the majority of those chips tilled into the ground. In my opinion, mulched chips on top of the ground decompose more slowly than wood chips IN the ground or compost pile. It's a matter of moisture. Drier chips break down more slowly because the microbes that do the 'breaking down' require a moist environment to survive/reproduce. Point out to the tractor operator to be aware that larger stumps could be an issue for the tiller, but this 'holly' shrub is usually 'small' diameter trunk and shallow-rooted, and in sand, tilling will 'loosen' stump roots, which should also help keep the stumps from putting up more new growth - which they are prone to do. Cypress trunks are another issue - best to avoid those with the tiller. Stumps that produce strong new growth should be ground down. There are treatments for stumps to kill them - but I don't recommend that treatment if you're going to grow something new in that area. Tilling-in the chips will help them break down faster, since underground the chips will hold more moisture. In sand, broadcasting nitrogen fertilizer (even cheap synthetic ammonium sulfate) will not be cost-effective before tilling - not just because of the large area, but because with frequent afternoon rains through that section of the penninsula, the nitrogen would be quickly leached down, beyond the wood chips, and be lost. AND, you don't want to promote vegetative growth from the understory you just had removed, by providing a nitrogen source to all those cut-down stumps. On the other hand, planting rye grass cover is a good suggestion, to add organics into the soil, but the only rye grass I recommended for your area is CEREAL Rye (Elbon) because it is a R-K nematode 'trap crop' in addition to being a very fast-growing cover crop. Root-Knot Nematodes are common in the sandy soils of south Florida and can do considerable damage to susceptible plants. Sounds to me like that area is a perfect place to start a veggie garden or perhaps sow pretty wildflower seed mixes. Hope this helps, SoilGuy

We put one in about three years ago and it has been wonderful. The first year we were giving it too much water and it started looking very sad, so my only advice is wtach the water.

I'd keep an open mind as to what to expect. The article states that the honey has found local acceptance - so it can't be all bad! And besides, how honey tastes to one person doesn't mean everyone will either agree or disagree. One of our club members (past president) hates the taste of orange blossom honey and I personally think it tastes great - certainly out of the ordinary and different from your run-of-the-mill honey but I certainly don't dislike the flavor of it. We also get local (north Texas) honey on occasion, that has a touch of horsemint in it which has what I can only describe as an "after-taste" with a bite to it - some people like it but I'm not particularly fond of it. We also can get Spring honey from the cotton blossoms in our area - I've heard a few people describe it as having a 'musty' taste or odor to it but I couldn't really describe it that way myself. It's got a little bit of a cloudiness to it's appearance but tastes okay to me (if just average). I've even brought myself to taste testing some Autumn aster honey! If you can hold your nose and not smell the stuff, the actual honey doesn't taste half bad! (BUT I'm content to let the bees have it for THEIR Winter stores ). In short, I wouldn't put a lot of stock in what the article says, but rather judge for yourself. In fact, I'd be interested to know what you think of the honey coming from this Brazilian pepper tree. Please post a follow-up when you've had a chance to taste it.