Crew taking down a dead palm with a bronze, drooping crown beside a one-story Orlando home

Palm Tree Removal in Orlando: What It Costs and When a Palm Has to Go

A palm with a dead spear, a shelf fungus at the base, or a crown that has gone bronze. Call the free line any hour and get put through to an independent, locally owned company in the Orlando area that removes palms.

Call (689) 407-5379 Common questions

Palm tree removal cost is the first thing most people search, but the more useful question is why the palm is coming out. A palm killed by disease needs to be handled differently from a healthy one that is simply in the way, and sometimes the stump matters as much as the trunk. Here is how to read the signs, what the diseases common in Central Florida mean for your yard, and what published prices say.

Before going further, a word on this site. Tree Service Orlando FL takes down nothing. It runs a free number, (689) 407-5379, where an automated assistant notes what the palm looks like, how tall it is and your location, then passes you to a palm and tree removal business in the Orlando area. That business inspects the palm, prices it and handles the job, and you pay it, not the line.

Is the palm actually dead?

Palms do not die the way oaks do. UF/IFAS explains that a palm has a single growing point at the top, the bud or heart, and no tissue that can grow a new one. If that bud dies, a single-trunk palm dies with it. That makes the spear leaf, the young unopened frond pointing straight up from the center, the place to look.

A spear that is brown or has collapsed
The whole crown turning bronze or brown from the oldest fronds upward
All the fronds wilting except the spear, a classic Ganoderma sign
A hard shelf fungus on the lower 4 to 5 feet of the trunk
Fronds dying down one side of the leaf stem, with a reddish-brown stripe

Yellow or spotted older fronds on an otherwise green palm are different. UF/IFAS links that pattern most often to potassium deficiency, which is treatable with the right fertilizer. If that is all you see, read about palm tree trimming and feeding before paying to remove it.

Tall palm with a dying brown crown in front of a one-story Orlando-area home, with a bucket truck parked in the driveway

Three palm diseases that end in removal

None of them has a cure. All three are documented by UF/IFAS in Florida landscapes.

Ganoderma butt rot

A fungus that rots the lower 4 to 5 feet of the trunk. UF/IFAS assumes all palms are susceptible, says there is no cultural or chemical control, and warns that infected palms are likely to be the first blown down in heavy winds. Once a conk appears, it says the palm should be removed, primarily for safety.

Lethal bronzing

A phytoplasma disease first called Texas Phoenix palm decline, found in Florida in late 2006 and now confirmed in 36 Florida counties. It affects at least 21 palm species, including the sabal palm and Canary Island date palm. Local reporting with UF/IFAS lists Orange, Osceola, Lake and Seminole among affected counties. UF/IFAS says a palm that shows symptoms and tests positive should be removed immediately.

Fusarium wilt

Fungal wilts that kill queen palms, Mexican fan palms and Canary Island date palms. UF/IFAS says queen and Mexican fan palms often die within two to three months of the first symptoms, that the disease is widespread in Florida, and that diseased palms should be removed and destroyed immediately.

Why a dead or diseased palm should not wait

A dead palm is not just an eyesore. UF/IFAS shows a royal palm that fell on a house because Ganoderma had weakened its trunk, and it warns that palms with this disease are among the first to go over in strong winds. With Central Florida's hurricane season in mind, a palm with a conk at the base is one to deal with before the next named storm, not after.

Lethal bronzing is the other reason to move quickly. It is spread by small sap-feeding insects called planthoppers. UF/IFAS recommends prompt removal of a confirmed infected palm, and preventive antibiotic injections every three to four months only for healthy palms nearby. Injections do not cure a palm that is already sick. Suspect palms can be tested through the University of Florida's Plant Disease Diagnostic Center.

Reddish-brown shelf fungus with a cream rim growing from the base of a gray palm trunk, beside a short cut stump — A conk like this low on the trunk is the sign UF/IFAS uses to identify Ganoderma butt rot.

How a palm comes down safely

Palms are tall, top-heavy and often planted right against the house, the pool cage or the lanai. A careful company plans where every piece will land before cutting anything. Expect it to talk through:

Open ground: a shorter palm with clear lawn around it may be dropped in one piece where the crew chooses.
Top down: beside a house or screen enclosure, the crown and then sections of trunk come down one at a time, usually from a bucket lift or with rope rigging.
Crane: for a tall palm leaning over a roof with nowhere safe to lower pieces, a crane removal lifts sections clear.
Debris: UF/IFAS says palms with Fusarium wilt should be removed and destroyed. Ask the company to haul the fronds and trunk away rather than chip them into your beds.
Stump: after Ganoderma, UF/IFAS recommends removing as much stump and root as possible or grinding the stump, because leftover wood keeps producing spore-releasing conks.

If any frond is near an overhead power line, the utility handles that part first. Do not let anyone, including you, cut near a line.

Palm tree removal cost: what published figures show

These are national figures from Angi's palm tree removal cost guide, not Orlando quotes. Real prices vary with the palm and the yard.

By height

Palm height	Published range
Up to 15 feet	$100 to $200
Up to 30 feet	$150 to $450
30 to 60 feet	$200 to $950
60 to 80 feet	$300 to $1,200
Over 80 feet	$1,100 to $1,500

What adds to it

Stump removal, listed at about $175 to $550
Debris hauling, listed at around $350
A diseased or neglected palm with tangled dead fronds
Tight access, a pool cage, a roof or a line nearby
Emergency work after a storm

Several palms in one visit usually cost less each than separate trips. Compare written quotes on the same scope: the palm, the stump, the debris and any permit. For the bigger picture, see the tree removal cost guide.

Moving a healthy palm instead

A healthy palm that is simply in the wrong place, in the way of a pool or an addition, may be worth moving. Cabbage palms are commonly dug from the field and replanted in Florida landscapes. UF/IFAS explains that when a sabal palm is dug, its cut roots die and it has to grow new ones from the trunk, living on water stored in the trunk meanwhile. Growers often remove all the fronds to cut water loss, and full recovery of the crown can take about two years. Warm months give the best results, and the palm needs frequent watering until it is established.

A palm with Ganoderma, Fusarium wilt or lethal bronzing is not a candidate. Moving a sick palm only moves the problem.

Palm with a rope-wrapped trunk being lowered by a truck-mounted crane into a freshly dug hole in a front lawn, with two workers watching from a distance

Permits and the rules for palms

People often ask whether palms are protected in Florida. The sabal palm became Florida's state tree in 1953, but Florida Statute 15.031 only designates it, and it says the designation does not restrict commercial use of the palm. Removal rules come from your city or county.

Florida Statute 163.045 limits those local rules for single-family homes. A local government cannot require a permit, notice, fee or replanting to remove a tree when an ISA certified arborist or a Florida licensed landscape architect documents that it poses an unacceptable risk. The City of Orlando follows that with a residential exemption for trees documented as dangerous, and otherwise charges $25 for a residential tree removal permit, reviewed within about three business days. Unincorporated Orange County and the other cities in the region have their own processes. The tree removal permit guide covers them.

Check the company yourself. Florida has no state license for tree trimming or removal, so ask the company for a certificate of general liability and workers' compensation insurance, and for the ISA certification number of its arborist. You can confirm a certification with the ISA's credential lookup (opens in a new tab).

Not sure whether the palm can be saved? Call and describe it. The company you are put through to looks at it and tells you its price before any work starts.

Call (689) 407-5379

How a palm removal call works

Call any hourAn automated assistant answers (689) 407-5379 and asks what kind of tree work you need.
Describe the jobGive your name, a callback number, your city or ZIP and what the tree is doing, including anything on a roof, a car or a line.
Get put throughThe call goes to an independent, locally owned tree service company, which hears a short summary before it picks up.
Deal with them directlyThat company looks at the tree, quotes, does the work and is paid by you. If it cannot answer, it gets your details to call back.

How this line works: Tree Service Orlando FL is a free phone line, not a tree service company. It does not trim, remove, quote or schedule tree work and holds no license or arborist certification. Calls are transferred to independent, locally owned tree service companies in the Orlando area. Those companies may pay Tree Service Orlando FL a referral fee. You never pay the line. How it works.

Related services

The line takes calls from across the Orlando area:

Common questions

How much does it cost to remove a palm tree?

Angi's national palm removal guide puts most jobs between about $100 and $1,800, mostly by height: roughly $100 to $200 up to 15 feet, $150 to $450 up to 30 feet, $200 to $950 for 30 to 60 feet and more for taller palms. Stump removal, debris hauling, a diseased or neglected palm, tight access and emergency work all add to it. Real Orlando quotes vary, so get the scope in writing.

Can palm trees be cut down in Florida?

Yes, but local rules may apply. Under Florida Statute 163.045, no permit or fee can be demanded for a palm on a single-family lot if an ISA certified arborist or a Florida licensed landscape architect puts in writing that it is an unacceptable risk. For other removals, your city or county sets the rules. The City of Orlando, for example, has a $25 residential tree permit. Start with the tree removal permit guide.

Are palm trees protected in Florida?

The sabal palm is Florida's state tree under a 1953 law, but that law only names it. It states that the designation does not restrict commercial use of the palm. Whether you need a permit to remove a palm depends on your city or county ordinance and on whether the palm poses a documented risk, so check locally before work starts.

Why does my palm tree keep dying?

If palms keep dying in the same spot, a soil-borne disease is a likely suspect. UF/IFAS says Ganoderma survives in the soil, so replanting a palm where one died of it is risky, and it advises against putting a queen, Mexican fan or Canary Island date palm back where Fusarium wilt killed one. Potassium deficiency, common in Florida's sandy soils, also kills palms slowly. An arborist assessment can sort out which it is.

What does palm stump removal cost?

Angi's palm removal guide lists stump removal at about $175 to $550 on top of the tree itself. For a palm lost to Ganoderma butt rot, UF/IFAS recommends removing as much of the stump and roots as possible or grinding it, so ask for it in the quote. See stump grinding.

How can I tell if my palm tree is dead?

Look at the spear, the single new leaf pointing straight up from the center. A palm grows from one bud at the top, and UF/IFAS explains that when that bud dies, the palm or that stem dies. A spear that is brown or collapsed, with the rest of the crown browning, usually means the palm is gone. A shelf fungus on the lower trunk is another bad sign.

A palm that has to come out? Call the free line

Call the free line any hour. Say what the tree is doing, where you are and how urgent it is, and you are put through to an independent, locally owned tree service company that looks at the job and quotes its own price.

Call (689) 407-5379

Answered 24/7An automated assistant picks up day or night, weekends and holidays.
Free to callYou never pay the line. Any price comes from the tree company.
Ask for proofBefore work starts, ask the company for its certificate of insurance and its arborist credentials.
You stay in chargeThe company looks at the job and quotes first. You decide whether to go ahead.