Tree Removal in Central Florida

Not every damaged tree has to go. A lot of them can be saved with good pruning, and we will tell you when that is the better call. Some conditions mean the tree is already failing, and waiting usually makes the job harder and more expensive rather than cheaper.

Worth a closer look if you see any of this:

• Bare, brittle limbs in the upper canopy while the rest of the tree leafs out
• A lean that is new, or one that has gotten worse since the last storm
• Soil heaving, cracking, or lifting on one side of the base, which means the root plate is moving
• Mushrooms or shelf fungus growing at the base or on surface roots
• A vertical crack or open seam running down the trunk
• Hollow-sounding wood, soft spots, or piles of sawdust at the base
• Storm damage that took out much of the canopy
• Limbs growing into the roof, the siding, or the service line to the house

Fungus at the base and a moving root plate are the two that tend to get underestimated. Both mean the problem is in the roots, where you cannot see it, and a tree with failing roots can come down in wind that it handled fine a year ago. If you are not sure which category your tree is in, that is what a free estimate visit is for.

Removal is mostly planning. The cutting is the short part.

It starts with a walk around the tree and the property. We look at the lean, the condition of the trunk and roots, what is under the canopy, and where the weight actually sits, which is often not where it looks like it sits from the ground.

Then comes access. Can a truck get to the back yard, or does everything come out through a side gate by hand? Where is the septic, the drain field, the irrigation, the pool cage? Is there a service line to the house running through the canopy? Access drives more of the plan, and more of the price, than most people expect.

From there it goes one of two ways. If the tree has room to fall and nothing underneath it matters, it can be felled whole, which is fast. If it is over a roof, a fence, a driveway, or a neighbor, it comes apart from the top down in sections. A climber works down the tree cutting manageable pieces, and each piece gets tied off and lowered on ropes rather than dropped. That rigging work is why a tree in a tight spot costs more than the same tree in an open field.

Cleanup is part of the job, not an add-on. Branches, limbs, and debris get hauled off and the work area gets raked out.

We do not quote tree work over the phone without seeing it, because the same species at the same height can be two very different jobs. These are the things that move the number:

• Size and height. Taller means more climbing, more cuts, and more time in the tree.
• Species and wood density. Live oak is much heavier per foot than pine, so the same size limb needs heavier rigging and comes down in smaller pieces.
• Distance to structures. A tree with clear space around it can often be felled whole. One leaning over a bedroom has to be dismantled piece by piece.
• Equipment access. A wide driveway and a six-foot gate make a job cheaper. A back yard reachable only through a narrow side gate means everything moves by hand.
• Power lines. Anything near an energized line slows the work down and changes how the tree gets taken apart.
• Stump grinding and haul away. Grinding is priced separately, so ask for it in the same visit if you want the stump gone.

Every estimate is free and comes in writing, so you can compare it against anyone else without guessing what is included.

Four species make up most of the removal work around here, and they do not behave the same way.

Live oak

The big spreading oaks are the heaviest thing in most yards. Live oak wood is dense, and the limbs run out sideways instead of up, so a single branch can reach across a driveway and weigh more than a small car. They come down slowly and in small pieces. Live oaks are also tough and long-lived, so a healthy one is usually worth saving. Removal is generally about root damage, construction too close to the trunk, or a structural failure in a major limb.

Laurel oak

Laurel oaks look similar to live oaks from a distance and are a completely different proposition. They grow fast, they do not live nearly as long, and they tend to rot from the inside while the outside still looks healthy. A laurel oak can hold a full green canopy over a trunk that is already hollow. This is the tree that surprises people after a storm, and it is worth having looked at once it is mature.

Sabal palm

Palms are not built like hardwoods. There is one growing point at the top, no branching structure, and a fibrous trunk that does not split the way wood does. That means no climbing spikes on a palm you intend to keep, and a different approach to taking one down: usually sectioning the trunk from the top rather than felling it whole, since a full sabal trunk is dense and lands hard.

Slash pine

Tall, straight, and shallow-rooted. Pines snap partway up in high wind more often than they uproot, which leaves a broken spar that is dangerous to work and needs to come out. Stressed or damaged pines also attract bark beetles, and once a pine browns out it is dead and needs to come down before it drops limbs on its own.

Florida Statute 163.045 changed how tree removal works on residential property. A local government cannot require a permit, an application, or a fee to remove a tree on residential property when the owner has documentation from an ISA Certified Arborist or a Florida licensed landscape architect stating that the tree presents a danger to people or property. The law also says the local government cannot require you to replant a tree that was removed under it.

Two things worth being clear about. That documentation has to come from a certified arborist or a licensed landscape architect, and it has to say the tree is a danger. A tree that is simply in the way, dropping acorns, or blocking a view does not fall under the statute.

The statute also does not erase every local rule. Seminole, Volusia, and Orange counties, and the cities inside them, each have their own tree ordinances, and they can still apply to commercial property, to protected or specimen trees, to trees in a right of way, and to situations the statute does not cover. Rules also vary between a city and the unincorporated county around it.

Hauling is included. Branches and brush come out with the crew, the trunk gets cut into pieces small enough to move, and the work area gets cleared before we leave.

If you want any of it kept, say so before the crew starts rather than after. Wood is easy to set aside during the job and a nuisance to bring back once it has left.

Sometimes the honest answer is that the tree is fine and the problem is three limbs. Deadwood over a walkway, a canopy that has gotten heavy on one side, or branches on the roof are pruning jobs, not removals, and pruning costs less. Read about our tree trimming and pruning if that sounds closer to your situation. If a tree is already down or leaning hard right now, get 24/7 emergency tree removal instead of waiting for a scheduled estimate.