Most tree removal in Orlando, Florida, comes down to a handful of trees: laurel oaks that have reached the end of their lives, pines struck by lightning or beetles, palms that died standing up, and trees planted too close to the house decades ago. Removing one safely means planning where every piece lands before the first cut. Here is what that looks like and how to judge the company that does it.
Tree Service Orlando FL does not cut trees. It is a free phone line. Dial (689) 407-5379, tell the automated assistant what the tree is doing and where you are, and your call is transferred to an independent, locally owned tree service company that works in your part of the Orlando area. That company looks at the tree, quotes its own price and does the work.
Why so many Orlando trees reach the removal stage
Drive through any Orlando neighborhood built between the 1950s and 1980s and you will see tall, fast-growing laurel oaks shading the streets. The University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences gives laurel oak a life span of 50 to 70 years and notes that its trunks and large branches often hollow from decay. A small trunk wound or a bad pruning cut can start a column of rot 10, 20 or more feet long inside the tree.
That is why the University of Central Florida has replaced aging laurel oaks on its own campus with live oaks, citing internal decay that causes branch loss. Many of the oaks planted when Orlando's postwar neighborhoods were new are now in that same window.
Signs a tree may need to come down
None of these is a verdict on its own. They are reasons to have the tree looked at by someone qualified before the next storm does it for you.
In the trunk and roots
- Mushrooms or shelf-like conks on the trunk or root flare
- Soft, crumbling or hollow wood at the base
- Cracks or seams running up the trunk
- Soil heaving or cracking on one side of a leaning tree
- Roots cut by a driveway, pool or sewer job in recent years
In the crown
- Large dead limbs, especially over the roof or driveway
- Bark falling off big branches
- Splits where two main stems meet in a tight V
- A pine whose needles turned brown from the top down
- A sudden thinning of leaves on one side of the tree
What a careful removal crew should do
A good company starts by walking the site with you. It should point out what the tree could hit, where the truck and chipper will go, and whether any roots, sprinkler lines or septic pipes are in the way. Then it explains the method it plans to use.
- Room to fall: in an open yard, a tree can sometimes be felled whole in a planned direction.
- Piece by piece: near a house, pool cage or fence, a climber or a bucket truck takes the tree down in sections, lowering each one on ropes.
- Crane: for a big tree leaning over a roof with no safe drop zone, a crane removal lifts sections over the house instead of lowering them through it.
The written quote should say what happens to the wood, the brush and the stump. "Removal" on one quote can mean the trunk is left in log lengths on your lawn, while another includes hauling everything and grinding the stump. Compare quotes on the same scope.
Permits: what Florida law and the City of Orlando say
The rules depend on where you live and why the tree is coming out.
A risky tree at a house
Florida Statute 163.045 says a local government cannot require a permit, fee or replanting to remove a tree on a single-family residential lot when an ISA certified arborist or a Florida licensed landscape architect documents that the tree poses an unacceptable risk to people or property.
Other trees in the city
The City of Orlando issues tree removal permits, with a $25 fee for residential properties. The city says it reviews applications within three business days and may require replacement trees planted within 60 days.
Outside city limits
Unincorporated Orange County and every other city in the area set their own rules. The tree removal permit guide covers the details. Ask the company you hire to confirm what applies at your address before work starts.
Trees near power lines and pool cages
Two situations change the job completely. If any part of the tree touches or could fall into an overhead power line, stop and call the utility. OUC, which serves the City of Orlando and St. Cloud, tells customers never to trim near its lines and to call (407) 423-9018 instead. Many other homes in the region get power from Duke Energy or another utility named on the bill, each with its own tree request process. Once the utility has made the line safe, a tree company can finish the job.
Screened pool enclosures are the other common trap in Central Florida. A limb that would bounce off a shingle roof can fold an aluminum cage. If your tree overhangs one, say so on the call so the company plans for it.
Before you hire anyone
Florida does not issue a statewide license for tree trimming or removal, so the paperwork you ask for matters more than a business card. Ask the company you are connected with for:
- A certificate of general liability insurance naming you as certificate holder, sent by its insurance agent.
- Proof of workers' compensation coverage, or a written explanation of why it is exempt.
- The name and ISA certification number of the arborist who will make the call on the tree, if the job involves judging risk or a permit.
- A written quote that lists cleanup, hauling, stump grinding and any permit work.
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 what the tree needs? Call and describe it. The company you are put through to looks at the tree and tells you the price before any work starts.
Related services
Removal is often only one part of the job.
Emergency Tree Removal (24/7)
A tree on the house, the car or across the driveway. What to do in the first hour and how emergency removal is handled and priced.
Stump Grinding and Removal
Grinding stumps below grade, what happens to the roots and the chips, and when full stump removal makes more sense.
Crane Tree Removal
When a crane is the safest way to take a big tree over a house or pool, how a crane job is planned, and why it can cost less overall.
Arborist Tree Assessment
A certified arborist's look at a tree's health and risk, what the visit costs, and the written report Florida's tree law relies on.
How a tree 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.
The line takes calls from across the Orlando area:
- All Orlando-area service areas
- Orlando
- Kissimmee
- St. Cloud
- Clermont
- Winter Garden
- Ocoee
- Apopka
- Winter Park
- Altamonte Springs
- Longwood
- Lake Mary
- Sanford
- Oviedo
- DeLand