summerdean: Native trees, especially those with wide spreading branches, low centers of gravity, strong deep root systems, and small leaf size hold up better in windy conditions (and tropical storms). This is especially true if they are growing in mixed groves of trees. Solitary trees have less wind resistance than massed trees. The cypress trees - bald cypress or pond cypress are the premier storm resistant trees. This is largely due to their deciduous nature, fine leaf pattern, tapered and balanced central leader, minimal branch pattern, broadly balanced root system. Dawn redwood falls into the same category. Favorites for their interesting trunks and soft green needles. You are interested in flowering trees - these are above average in wind resistance: Carolina Silverbell - Halesia tetraptera or H. carolina - lovely flowering tree Japanese Tree Lilac - Syringa reticulata Pagoda Dogwood - Cornus alternifolia - very nice shape and blooms Panicled Golden Raintree - Koelreuteria paniculata - dramatic show at least twice a year Sargent Cherry - Prunus sargentii Fringetree - Chionanthus virginicus - I love these trees - they take a beating and thrive where I live. Crape Myrtles Evergreens provide privacy from the road: Southern Magnolia - Magnolia grandiflora - as Spurce says, is incredibly tolerant of windy conditions Sweetbay Magnolia - Magnolia virginiana - smaller, fragrant flowers, partially evergreen species available Red Cedar - Juniperus virginiana American Holly - Ilex opaca - evergreen, good screen for road Larger trees with good wind resistance: American Hornbeam or Musclewood- Carpinus caroliniana Hophornbeam - Ostrya virginiana Wild Cherry - Prunus serotina Catalpa Trees - Catalpa speciosa River Birch - Betula nigra Black Gum - Nyssa sylvatica (personal favorite, outstanding fall color) Black Walnut - Juglans nigra Black Locust - Robinia pseudoacacia If you decide to plant a few shade trees or specimens: Shumard Oak - Quercus shumardii Nutall Oak - Q. nuttalli Cherrybark Oak - Q. falcata v. pagodafolia Swamp chestnut oak - Q. michauxii Live oak - Q. virginiana White oak - Q. alba Sycamore - Platanus occidentalis London Planetree - Platanus x acerifolia Winged Elm - Ulmus alata Since you are interested in flowering trees, you may want to consider 'shrubs' - many are larger than small trees and will give you more variety. Happy planting! Pam

I stumbled across this thread and read with interest. I have an @ 8 year in ground Peve Minaret Bald Cypress planted in wet clay soil here in PNW, south end of WA. We chose this tree because we fell in love with the soft ferny needles & the interesting bark. It has developed knees quite a distance from the trunk. Because I prune it to maintain size, it has a pretty interesting branch structure all winter. I was hesitant to prune but from research on the conifer society site I learned this tree is very amenable to pruning. The conifer garden in the Oregon Garden Resort in Silvedale, OR has a couple of Peve Minarets which are pruned and they’re gorgeous speciman trees. These are older pics from 2016 & 2020 - You can see from the 4 year size difference why I needed to prune. I believed the plant tag info of a 10’ mature height. Our moderate temps & wet winters make many plants far exceed their nursery tag growth descriptions!

clematis are listed as being toxic to dogs, and so are rose of sharon's, not to mention ROS's are not even vines... which defeats the purpose of the poster question... now allbeit, most plants listed as "toxic" to dogs won't kill your dog outright... most are not toxic to the extreme point... but they're still not "good" for your dog to digest if they do chew on 'em... they could cause diarreah, nausea, or they could have more none visible effects that take time but maybe hard on their kidneys, or other functions within their body, slowly killing or weakening them over time... the poster said they were in search of a plant that's NON-toxic... and hardy kiwi's are a climbing vine that is just that, NON-toxic; and best part, if you plant just males you won't even have to worry about the fruits at all... plant a female in your garden, and you get mini-kiwi's you can use in smoothies and such... i'm actually planting a bunch around our chain link fence myself this spring for the same purpose... keep the dogs from getting distracted so easily by everything around 'em... like i said in my above post, i too had alot of trouble finding a true non-toxic "vine" to hide our fence, esp. one that could surely thrive in my zone (6B) with no worries... now hardy kiwi's are not found on either list by the ASPCA, but i assure you that they are non-toxic... a perfect hardy "true-vine" for someone attempting to "hide" their chain link fence... (i'm going with the "artic beauty" types)... Here is a link that might be useful: ASPCA's list of plants toxic and non-toxic to dogs...

In short Thursday morning will have freezing temperatures all the way down to Lake Okeechobee. This is whats called an "advective freeze". Where the wind is responsible for blowing the cold down from the north. The immediate west coast MAY be a few degrees warmer due to "gulf effect" cloud cover and precipitation and a very slight amount relatively warmer air being being pushed on shore. A few degree shift to the north in the surface wind direction could keep these areas significantly colder, so instead of 40 and upper 30's, it could be colder. (Slight chance of snow flurries or freezing drizzle instead of light rain would be possible in this scenario in Tampa and Fort Myers btw...) I wouldnt worry about frost at this point in above freezing areas as the winds will be too strong for frost to form.... Friday morning looks like an entirely different beast! The winds will slacken to nearly calm in most areas. This is called a "radiational freeze". The calm or near calm winds will allow whats called an Early Evening Transition to setup. This means that the lowest 100-300 meters of the atmosphere, aka the surface layer, will essentially "settle out" with heat radiated from the soil zipping up and out to space under the calm, clear skies. The lack of wind to mix this layer vertically due to turbulence means no mixing with air thats sometimes 10 to 15F warmer only a few hundered feet above the ground. For a further explination go buy a Dynamic Meterology book... also brush up on your Calculus and Differential Equations...haha. Anyways, bottom line is that a freeze is likely for most of Florida and frost is possible for nearly everywhere, even down in South Florida. Also as a side note here.... Dont forget that the long duration of well below normal temps this round will stunt the growth of all but the most cold tolerant of veggies. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, citrus, etc can handle a day or two of this short of a frost or freeze, but when its a week at a time you'll see effects. Good luck everyone and stay warm!