Tree Service Questions, Answered

A free phone line, run by Dominion Digital Group, that connects Orlando-area callers with independent, locally owned tree service companies. It is not a tree company and never does tree work itself. See about.

An automated assistant answers (689) 407-5379 at any hour, asks what kind of tree work you need, takes your name, callback number, city or ZIP and a description of the tree, then transfers you to a local company that hears a short summary first. See how it works.

Yes. The line never charges callers. The tree company sets its own price and tells you directly. The line may receive a referral fee from that company.

No. The site is phone only, on purpose. A call puts you through to a company directly instead of leaving your details in a form. There is no email address or contact form. See contact.

Not from the line, which never quotes. Some companies can give a rough idea from photos, but a fair price usually needs someone to see the tree, what it could hit and how a truck gets to it. Get the final price in writing.

Angi's Orlando data puts typical tree removal at about $203 to $2,028, with most people paying around $761, and says work near buildings or utility lines can cost up to 50 percent more. Your quote depends on the tree and the site. See the tree removal cost guide.

Trimming is priced by the size of the tree, how many trees, how much is coming off and how hard the access is. Palms are often priced per tree. See the tree trimming cost guide for what a fair quote lists.

Inside Orlando city limits, the City issues tree removal permits with a $25 fee for residential properties and says it reviews applications within three business days. It may require replacement trees planted within 60 days. Other cities and Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake and Volusia counties set their own rules. See the permit guide.

Florida Statute 163.045 says a local government cannot require a notice, application, permit, fee or replanting to prune, trim or remove a tree on a single-family home lot if you have documentation from an ISA certified arborist or a Florida licensed landscape architect that the tree poses an unacceptable risk to people or property. The assessment must follow the ISA's tree risk assessment procedures. It does not apply to mangroves.

UF/IFAS Extension notes there is no state licensure for tree services in Florida. That is why the questions you ask matter: insurance, arborist credentials and a written quote.

Ask the company to have its insurance agent send you a certificate of general liability and workers' compensation coverage, with you named as certificate holder. UF/IFAS suggests confirming coverage with the insurance carrier rather than trusting a photocopy, which may be out of date, and warns that hiring an uninsured company can leave you liable if a worker is hurt.

ISA certification is a professional credential for arborists issued by the International Society of Arboriculture. UF/IFAS notes it does not guarantee quality but makes it more likely you are dealing with someone who follows current industry practice. Ask for the arborist's name and certification number and look it up on the ISA's credential lookup at certificates.directory.isa-arbor.com. See arborist tree assessment.

From the ground, look for mushrooms or conks on the trunk or roots, soft or hollow wood at the base, cracks in the trunk, large dead limbs, a new lean with soil lifting on one side, and splits where big limbs meet. Any of these is a reason for an arborist to look. See tree removal.

Many are laurel oaks. UF/IFAS gives laurel oak a life span of 50 to 70 years and says its trunks and large branches often hollow from decay. UF/IFAS hurricane research also lists old laurel and water oaks as prone to failure in storms.

Get everyone out of the damaged part of the house. If a power line is down or anyone is hurt, call 911 and stay away from the wires. If you smell gas, leave and call 911 from outside. Then photograph the damage from a safe spot, call your insurer, and call the line to reach a company for emergency tree removal.

The utility, not you and not an ordinary tree crew. In Orlando and St. Cloud that is usually OUC, which asks customers to call (407) 423-9018 about trees near its lines. Otherwise call the utility on your bill. Call 911 if a line is down or sparking.

Often, if the tree damaged a covered structure such as the house or a fence. Consumer Reports notes that removal is commonly capped at around $500 to $1,000, and that a tree that falls without hitting anything usually is not covered. If a neighbor's tree hits your house, you generally claim on your own policy. Check your own policy. See who pays when a tree falls.

Before it starts. NOAA's Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. UF/IFAS research found properly pruned trees survived hurricane winds better than unpruned ones, while topped trees and trees with large pruning wounds failed more often. See hurricane tree prep.

No. UF/IFAS found that palms given a hurricane cut were more likely to have their crowns snapped off in the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes than palms with full canopies. A properly pruned palm keeps a round canopy and no fronds above horizontal are removed. See palm tree trimming.

UF/IFAS advises not removing any frond whose tip sits above the horizontal, the 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock line. On palms short of potassium, which is common in Florida, only completely dead fronds should come off. See when to trim palm trees.

UF/IFAS hurricane research found that cabbage (sabal) palms and Phoenix palms are often able to stand firm, queen palms are prone to falling over, Washington palms tend to break, and royal palms lose foliage.

This is a legal question that depends on the facts, so talk to your neighbor first and to an attorney if there is a dispute. Do not do anything that could kill or destabilize the tree, and never cut near a power line. The who pays guide covers what usually happens when a neighbor's tree falls.

Grinding chews the stump down below the soil surface. The roots that spread out from it are usually left in the ground to decay. Ask how deep the company will grind and whether it hauls away the chips. See stump grinding.

Orlando and the cities around it in Orange, Seminole, Osceola and Lake counties, plus DeLand and west Volusia County. See the service areas page.