Most tree trimming calls in Orlando are about the same few problems: oak limbs resting on shingles, branches hanging low enough to scratch a truck, dead wood over a patio, and a big canopy that has never been thinned and catches every gust. Good trimming fixes the problem in front of you without creating a worse one inside the tree. This page explains what that looks like and which cuts to refuse.
A quick word on who does the work. Tree Service Orlando FL is a free phone line, not a trimming company. When you dial (689) 407-5379, an automated assistant asks what the tree is doing and which town or ZIP you are in, then hands the call to an independent, locally owned tree company serving that area. The company comes out, prices the trim itself and is paid by you.
The three jobs most Orlando trims are really about
Roof clearance. Limbs that sit on or sweep across a roof wear down shingles, drop leaves into gutters and give squirrels and rats a bridge to the attic. The fix is to shorten those limbs back to a healthy side branch growing away from the house, not to strip everything on that side of the tree.
Driveway and sidewalk clearance. Low limbs over a driveway get hit by trucks, trailers and moving vans. Lifting them is called crown raising. UF/IFAS advises keeping the live canopy at least two thirds of the tree's height when raising, so a tree is not left as a tall pole with a small tuft of leaves on top.
Cleanup. Dead, broken and crossing branches are the easiest wins. UF/IFAS notes that dead, diseased or broken limbs can be removed at any time of year with little harm to the tree.
Thinning heavy oaks before hurricane season
The Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, so late winter and spring are the usual windows to have a big oak looked at.
What the research found
The University of Florida's study of trees after hurricanes found that properly pruned trees, meaning not topped and with open, well distributed crowns, came through high winds better than unpruned trees. For seven broadleaf species, 73% of pruned trees survived compared with 47% of unpruned ones.
What a good storm trim includes
- Dead wood removed, starting with anything over the house, cars or play areas
- Long, heavy limbs shortened with reduction cuts to a side branch
- Crossing and rubbing branches sorted out
- Inner branches left in place to damp movement in wind
- No more live foliage removed than the tree can handle
Cuts that hurt Orlando trees, and why to say no
Some of the most common "storm trims" sold door to door after a hurricane make trees weaker. The ANSI A300 pruning standard, which professional tree companies work to, names these practices as ones to avoid.
Lion-tailing
Lion-tailing, sometimes called over-lifting, means stripping out most of the inner and lower branches so each limb ends in a tuft of leaves, like a lion's tail. It looks tidy and lets light through, which is why it is popular. UF/IFAS explains that those inner branches damp the movement of the main limbs in wind. Remove them and the limbs swing harder in a storm, with all the weight out at the ends. Over-lifting also takes away live branches that feed the wood, which UF/IFAS links to dysfunctional wood and cracks.
Topping and hat-racking
Topping cuts big limbs back to stubs at a set height. UF/IFAS's pruning circular says plainly that hat-racking "has no place in horticulture." The stubs decay, and the tree answers with dense sprouts that are weakly attached and grow back fast, so the tree ends up taller, weaker and needing work again sooner.
Taking too much at once
The same UF/IFAS circular warns that removing more than about 10% of the live foliage from a mature tree can stress it. A crew that fills two trucks with green leaves from one healthy oak has probably gone too far.
Spanish moss: what trimming will and will not fix
Plenty of Orlando homeowners ask for the moss to be pulled out of an oak, believing it is choking the tree. UF/IFAS says Spanish moss does not kill trees and does not need to be removed. It is an air plant that only uses the tree for support. When a tree suddenly looks full of moss, the more likely story is that the tree is already in decline and its thinner canopy is letting in the light moss likes.
Heavy moss can add weight, shade some leaves and occasionally break a small branch, but for a healthy tree UF/IFAS calls the effect minimal. If your oak looks thin, a tree company or an arborist assessment should look for the real cause: root damage from construction, soil compaction, decay or disease. Paying for moss removal alone treats the symptom you can see.
How often Orlando trees typically need trimming
People ask "how often should trees be trimmed" as if there were a single answer. There is not, but the research points to a pattern:
- Young shade trees: UF/IFAS says pruning every year or two produces a better tree than waiting four or five years between sessions. Small corrections now prevent big cuts later. That work is covered on the tree pruning page.
- Mature oaks and other shade trees: work is driven by need. Typical triggers are limbs reaching the roof again, dead wood showing up in the crown, or one side of the canopy growing heavy.
- Every tree near the house: a look from the ground each spring, before June 1, for dead limbs, splits, mushrooms at the base and new leans.
- Palms follow their own rules. See palm tree trimming and when to trim palm trees.
Not sure whether your tree needs trimming this year? Call the line, describe what you see, and the company you are put through to can look at it and tell you before any work starts.
Limbs near power lines: OUC and Duke Energy rules
This is the one trimming job a homeowner, and most ordinary tree crews, should never touch.
Lines along the street
OUC, which serves the City of Orlando and St. Cloud, trims trees along its distribution lines on a regular cycle using line clearance contractors. Customers can call OUC at (407) 423-9018 to schedule tree trimming near its lines. Duke Energy says it follows up on trimming requests for its main lines within 10 business days.
The line to your house
Duke Energy says the property owner has primary responsibility for keeping the service line to the house clear of trees, and should ask the utility to de-energize it before any work. Only line clearance qualified people should do that work.
Keep your distance
Duke Energy says an unqualified person should not work within 10 feet of overhead lines carrying under 50,000 volts, and farther from higher voltage lines. If a limb is on a line or a line is down, stay away and call the utility, or 911 if anything is sparking.
What to ask before anyone climbs your tree
A trimming quote should describe the work in plain words, not just "trim oak." Ask the company you are connected with to put these in writing:
- Which limbs come off and why, for example "reduce the limbs over the roof back to side branches" or "remove all dead wood over the driveway and patio."
- That no topping or lion-tailing will be done, and that cuts will follow the ANSI A300 pruning standard.
- What happens to the brush and wood, and whether the lawn and driveway are raked and blown clean. For hauling only, see tree debris removal.
- A certificate of general liability insurance and proof of workers' compensation, sent by the insurer or agent.
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).
Related services
Trimming often turns up something else that needs attention.
Palm Tree Trimming
Sabal, queen and Washington palms: which fronds should come off, why hurricane cuts hurt palms, and how often to trim.
Tree Pruning and Oak Tree Care
Structural pruning for young trees and live oaks, the right season to prune oaks in Central Florida, and cuts to avoid.
Tree Cabling and Bracing
Steel cables and rods that support split trunks and heavy limbs, when they help, when removal is safer, and how they are checked.
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 trimming 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