4.9 · 462 Google reviews · Licensed & Insured
Tree Service in Largo, FL
Largo tree removal, pruning and stump grinding. Family owned since 1989, ISA Certified Arborist on staff, free estimates. (727) 365-1803.
“Happy trees did an amazing job cutting my trees and providing information. Steve was really nice and knowledgeable. Great communication and pricing. Definitely will be using their service again!!”
- 462 Google reviews
- Licensed & Insured
- ISA Certified Arborist on staff
- Pinellas since 1989
Largo’s tree work is being driven by a decision somebody made fifty years ago. Whole subdivisions went in through the 1960s and 1970s, they were landscaped fast, and the tree that got planted by the thousand was the laurel oak, a species UF/IFAS puts at a 50 to 70 year useful life. Those trees are all inside that window now, on the same streets, at the same time.
Which makes Largo a removal-and-replace market more than a trimming market, and it is worth saying plainly rather than pretending every tree can be saved with a good prune. Some can. A great many of the ones we are called to in Ridgecrest, around Largo Central Park and out toward the Belleair Bluffs edge cannot.
What that means on the ground
Largo sits far enough inland to be the least salt-exposed part of west Pinellas, so trees here grow taller and heavier than the same species on the coast, and then fail with more mass in them. Combine that with the two things nearly every Largo back yard has, a screen enclosure and a six-foot fence, and the removal method is decided before anyone starts a saw.
That is where matching the machine to the tree earns its keep. The equipment is chosen for the tree rather than the other way round: a spider lift for a tight side yard, bucket trucks and grapple trucks for the wood and brush, a crane on the technical picks. A stem over a pool cage comes out by crane pick rather than by rope-and-pray, and the grapple truck clears the driveway the same day instead of leaving a brush pile for a week. We’re fanatics about clean up, and a Largo job is finished when the yard is tidy, because that is the part you actually live with.
Across the city we handle removals, structural and clearance pruning, palm work, stump grinding, cabling and bracing on trees worth keeping, storm response, and lot clearing.
The Largo permit rule people get wrong
Largo protects trees from four inches caliper, and palms with four and a half feet or more of clear trunk, on any site in the city regardless of use. There is no residential carve-out from the permit itself.
Then there is the clause that surprises everybody, § 10.7.2(B)(3)(d): removal of dead, dying or diseased trees "shall not require a permit fee or replacement, but shall require a permit." Dead gets you out of the money, not out of the paperwork. And Largo has no storm waiver at all, the City’s own storm-preparedness page states a permit is required for removal due to disease, storm damage or safety concerns.
The good news for a city full of failing laurel oaks: Largo’s replacement table escalates 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 with size, but it carries a footnote that laurel oaks are replaced at 1:1 regardless. And on an existing single-family lot, if the removal still leaves you at the Table 10-6 minimum tree count, replacement is not required at all. Full detail and citations on the Largo tree permit page.
Start here
Send us a photo of the tree.
You do not have to know whether it needs to come down. That is the part we are for.
- One photo, whole tree in frameTrunk base to top. A close-up of anything that looks wrong helps.
- Text us the photoThe text button below opens the right thread. Add your street and city.
- We come out and lookEvery estimate is in person, free, sometimes the answer is that it needs nothing.
Where to go next
- Tree removal in Largo, the laurel oak problem, and what a hollow trunk looks like from outside
- Tree trimming in Largo, clearance and structure, done to standard
- Largo tree permits, thresholds, ratios, fees, who is liable
- Nearby: Clearwater · Seminole · Belleair · all of Pinellas County
Frequently asked questions
All my neighbors are losing oaks at once. Is something going around? Usually it is age, not disease. The trees went in together and they are ending together. An arborist can tell you which of yours is genuinely at the end and which has years left.
Do I need a permit if the tree is already dead? In Largo, yes. Dead waives the fee and the replacement, not the permit. That is the City’s own wording.
Can you work over my pool cage? Yes, that is exactly what the crane is for. It is our machine, so it is a scheduling question rather than a rental question.
Do you file the paperwork with the City? We do. Note that Largo’s code says a tree service filing on an owner’s behalf must hold a current Business Tax Receipt with the City of Largo, worth asking any contractor about, not just us.
Call (727) 365-1803 for a free estimate anywhere in Largo.
Google reviews
Rated 4.9 by 462 of your neighbors.
Reviews · Tree Service in Largo, FL
4.9
462 reviews on Google, the count on our public Google listing
“We were looking for a tree service with a certified arborist. We got just what we needed with Happy Tree Service. Steve gave an estimate and knowledgeable advice. They arrived on time did an excellent job and cleaned up all debris. We recommend them and will use them again.”
“Happy trees did an amazing job cutting my trees and providing information. Steve was really nice and knowledgeable. Great communication and pricing. Definitely will be using their service again!!”
Every one of these lives on our public Google listing, where we cannot edit or delete a word. Read them all on Google →
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