Environmental Tree Care
The most sustainable tree is usually the one already growing. Environmental tree care means making decisions that keep healthy canopy standing, help trees survive storms and construction, push back invasive plants, and put removed wood to use instead of a landfill.
What is environmental tree care?
Environmental tree care is tree work planned around the long-term health of the canopy and the land: pruning and protecting trees so they can be kept, removing trees only when there is a real reason, replacing them with species suited to the site, controlling invasive plants, and reusing wood and chips.
Keep healthy trees first
A mature oak gives shade, cooling, stormwater absorption and wildlife habitat that a newly planted tree will take decades to replace. When a tree is causing a problem, such as a limb over the roof or roots near a walk, the first question is whether targeted pruning or root-zone care can solve it.
Our arborist can assess whether a tree is worth keeping and what it needs. When removal is the right answer, we will explain why.
Prune for structure, not size
Good structural pruning helps trees hold up in hurricanes, which keeps them standing and out of the debris pile. Topping and over-pruning do the opposite: they create weak regrowth and decay. Palms are the same: removing green fronds weakens them.
Protect root zones during construction
Most of a tree’s roots are in the top foot or two of soil and spread well past the canopy. Trenching, paving, parking equipment and piling fill over them are leading reasons established trees decline after a project. Fence off the root zone before work starts. Several local cities, including DeLand, publish tree-protection barricade details for exactly this reason.
Remove invasive plants
Florida’s worst invasive plants crowd out native vegetation and can take over a lot within a few years. Clearing them is one of the most useful environmental jobs on a property.
- Brazilian pepper
- Air potato vine
- Cogongrass
- Camphor tree and Chinese tallow seedlings
- Japanese climbing fern
Replant the right tree in the right place
When a tree comes out, the replacement should suit the space it will grow into. Live oaks need room; they do not belong under power lines or a few feet from a foundation. Native species such as live oak, southern magnolia, red maple, bald cypress in wet areas, and sabal palm are adapted to local soils and storms. Many cities publish approved replacement lists for tree mitigation.
Reuse the wood
Removed trees do not have to be waste. Chips can be used as mulch on beds and paths, where they hold moisture and suppress weeds. Suitable hardwood can be split and seasoned for firewood. Forestry mulching processes brush in place, so the material returns to the soil instead of being hauled away. Ask about chip and log options when you request an estimate.
Treat only what needs treating
Not every spot or insect on a tree is a problem. Have an issue identified before anything is sprayed or injected, and use the narrowest treatment that solves it. That protects pollinators and the trees you are trying to help.
What affects
the price?
- Assessment versus hands-on work
- Number and size of trees
- Invasive clearing area and density
- Chip and log handling: leave on site, mulch or haul
- Replacement planting requirements
Every job gets a written estimate before work starts. We are licensed and insured, and estimates are free.
Get a
free estimate.
Call (386) 675-7898 or request a free estimate with the address, a few safe photos and what you want the finished area to look like.
Common
questions.
Is it better to remove a tree and plant a new one?
Usually not, if the existing tree is healthy and safe. A mature tree provides far more shade and stormwater benefit than a young replacement. Removal makes sense when a tree is dead, hazardous, invasive or badly placed.
Can I keep the wood chips from my job?
Yes. Tell us where you want them dropped. Fresh chips are good for paths and around established trees; keep them a few inches back from trunks.
What happens to the logs?
Ask before the job. Logs can often be left cut to length for you, or handled with the rest of the debris.
Do you remove invasive trees?
Yes. Invasive trees and shrubs such as Brazilian pepper are cleared as part of brush clearing, land clearing and forestry mulching work.