Trees we love.
Every yard in Pinellas is a mix of the same few dozen trees — and each one wants something different. These are the guides Cody wishes every homeowner had.
The direct answer: most tree problems in Pinellas are species problems. The palm that “needs” trimming twice a year, the oak that drops a limb on a calm morning, the cypress that plays dead every winter — each is doing exactly what its species does. Know the tree, and half the mystery (and half the bad advice) disappears.
Every guide below follows the same honest pattern: how to recognize the tree, when it actually wants pruning in our zone, the problems it really gets here — named, not vague — the DIY line where homeowners get hurt, and what shapes the cost when you do call someone.
Sabal palm
The state tree, the wind champion — and the #1 victim of the “hurricane cut.”
Read the guide →Queen palm
Gorgeous, fragile, lowest wind rating of any palm UF tested. High maintenance, worth it — sometimes.
Read the guide →Royal palm
The estate tree that drops 40-pound fronds on its own schedule.
Read the guide →Foxtail palm
Barely needs a saw — desperately needs the right nutrition in our alkaline soil.
Read the guide →Live oak
The most wind-resistant shade tree in Florida — if nobody lion-tails it.
Read the guide →Laurel oak
Pinellas planted thousands in the ’60s. Lifespan: 50-70 years. Do the math.
Read the guide →Crepe myrtle
Stop crepe murder. Prune it right — or let us fix the one that wasn’t.
Read the guide →Southern magnolia
The mess is part of the deal — and the spring leaf-drop panic is (usually) a false alarm.
Read the guide →Mango
Prune right after harvest, keep it pickable, and mind the anthracnose.
Read the guide →Slash pine
Old Florida’s giant. Doesn’t forgive construction damage — and beetles keep the score.
Read the guide →Bald cypress
Bare every December on purpose. Top-tier in hurricanes. Knees included.
Read the guide →Ficus
The fastest hedge in Florida, attached to the hungriest roots.
Read the guide →Tell Cody about your tree.
Three fields. He answers his own phone — you’ll hear back fast.
Faster: text a photo of the tree to (727) 761-8618.