Florida’s Trees
News, City Programs and Additional Resources

A healthy tree canopy is crucial to a community’s environmental well-being. Trees help cool urban heat islands and reduce energy consumption. Planted in the right areas they will also help reduce storm water runoff and help cities become more resilient.

That’s why it’s vitally important to plant, preserve and protect trees. Here are some important things to consider:

Planting

Many local governments have ongoing programs to plant trees in public spaces – along streets and in parks, schools, and playgrounds. If your city or town doesn’t have a tree planting, you and your neighbors should probably be asking why it doesn’t. Some Florida cities fund their tree planting programs in whole or in part from mitigation fees required by tree protection ordinances when owners clear land for development.

When planting, remember – “right tree, right place.”  Plant native or Florida-friendly trees and never plant nuisance or invasive trees, such as Australian pine, camphor and Chinese tallow. A list of trees classified as invasive may be found on the Florida Invasive Species Council List.

Make sure the tree being planted won’t grow too large for the space. Will the roots damage sidewalks or foundations? If the tree requires frequent, severe pruning it’s probably the wrong tree for that space. Local urban foresters or county agricultural extension agents are great resources for advice on choosing the right tree for the space.

Preserving and Protecting

The cornerstone of protecting a community’s tree canopy is a strong, effective, and properly enforced tree protection ordinance. Most ordinances protect trees of a certain size, almost always with exemptions for dead or dying trees or invasive species, and sometimes with exemptions for single-family residential property. A good tree protection ordinance not only requires permits for removal but, when removal is necessary, also requires replacement planting or tree mitigation payments into a city-run tree fund.

Maintenance of the tree canopy is important to its growth and survival. A good maintenance program includes fertilization and pruning for the health of the tree.

When pruning your own trees, always follow best practices and avoid excessive pruning. For example, contrary to popular belief, crepe myrtles should need little or no pruning. If you’re committing “crepe murder” to keep a tree under control, you probably planted the wrong variety for the location.

Scenic Florida is happy to share these additional resources for your use in creating a beautiful and healthy tree canopy in your community.

Trees – Trimming and Removal – Codes and Enforcement

Back From Work – Suprise!

Ugly “over the limit” tree trimming

Tampa Concentrating on Large Scale Offenders

“Tampa tree service company fined more than $234K for cutting down protected trees”

Read More

Resources

22 Benefits – Street Trees

Brochure Here(.pdf)

Walkable Communities

Florida Urban Forestry Council

A great resource on tree issues. Their monthly newsletter is always full of good information and their conferences are packed with all kinds of information on urban tree issues.  https://fufc.org/

Planit Geo

They have many resources and news on their site. In 2022, Planit Geo did a two-part webinar on tree ordinances. Their webinars are archived and can be viewed online.  https://planitgeo.com/urban-forestry-webinars/

Trees – Preemption

City of Tampa Response

Senate Bill 518 – Tampa’s Updated Interpretation of the Tree Removal Statutory Exemption, Fla. Stat. Sec. 163.045
2022-12-21 Tampa sb_518_citys_updated_interpretation_of_the_tree_removal_statutory_exemption.pdf

Florida’s Trees in the News