4.9 · 462 Google reviews · Licensed & Insured
Palm & Tree Trimming in Madeira Beach, FL
Madeira Beach palm and canopy trimming before hurricane season - loose fronds and seed pods are missiles in 90 mph wind. Call (727) 365-1803.
“Fast quote and when we decided it was time to remove our Oak, they were there on time and ready to get to work. They have all the equipment necessary for this huge job and work very efficiently.”
- 462 Google reviews
- Licensed & Insured
- ISA Certified Arborist on staff
- Pinellas since 1989
After a bad storm, two things happen to the trees on a barrier island. Some are killed outright. Most are simply wrecked, torn limbs, split unions, stripped crowns, hangers thirty feet up, and a general look of something that ought to be bulldozed.
The second group is where the money gets wasted, in both directions. Half of them get removed when they did not need to be. The other half get "cleaned up" by somebody who cuts every damaged limb back to a convenient length and leaves a tree covered in stubs, which is a slower and more expensive way of killing it.
There is a proper discipline for this, and it is called restoration pruning.
What restoration pruning actually is
It is a program, not a visit.
Cycle one, remove what is genuinely dead, broken and hanging. Make clean cuts back to live laterals or to the branch collar, never to a stub. Leave anything that might yet recover, because at this stage the tree needs every scrap of foliage it has to rebuild energy reserves.
Cycle two, a season or more later, the tree will have thrown a mass of sprouts around each wound. Select the best-placed one or two per site to become the new limbs, and remove the rest. This is the step that almost nobody does, and it is the step that decides whether you end up with a tree or a thicket.
Cycle three and beyond, thin and space the retained sprouts as they gain size, re-establishing something like a natural crown. Over several years a badly damaged tree can be walked back to a sound, sensible structure.
It takes patience and it is far cheaper than replacing a mature tree, which on a barrier island, with salt, sand and wind, is not a two-year proposition.
Which trees are worth restoring
Species and location decide it. Sea grape and buttonwood are tough, salt-tolerant and respond well to being rebuilt. Cabbage palms either have a living bud or they do not, palms do not branch, so there is nothing to restore; a palm with a firm, green spear is alive and a palm with a soft, pulling spear is not. Queen palms and inland ornamentals that took surge are often not worth the effort. Trees with a split main union, a lost root plate or a decayed trunk are removals, and we will say so.
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.
The rest of the trimming work
Along Gulf Boulevard, around John’s Pass Village and on the commercial frontages, the ordinary work is palms: dead fronds and seed stalks removed before they drop onto a sidewalk or a parking lot, green fronds left on. Residential blocks want clearance over roofs and drives, and deadwood out.
Note that Pinellas County’s tree code protects every palm six feet or taller, and treats severe pruning, topping, defoliating, excessive root pruning, as "effectively removing" the tree, with the same permit requirement and the same $150-per-DBH-inch penalty. The contractor is jointly liable with the owner.
Free estimate
ISA Certified Arborist on staff, ISA member company, ANSI A300 pruning, and a family company that has worked this county since 1989. In Pinellas County since 1989.
Call (727) 365-1803.
Frequently asked questions
My tree looks destroyed. Is it a write-off? Often not. Trees that keep a living trunk, a sound root plate and some foliage can be rebuilt over several pruning cycles. Trees with a split main union, a moved root plate or major decay usually cannot. That judgment is what the assessment is for.
How do I know if a palm survived? Look at the spear, the newest, unopened frond in the center. Firm and green means the bud is alive and the palm will recover, however rough the rest looks. Soft, brown, or pulling out with a light tug means the bud is gone and the palm will not come back.
Why do you leave some of the damaged branches? Because a stressed tree needs foliage to rebuild energy reserves, and because it is often too early to tell what will recover. Cutting everything questionable in one visit is quick, and it is one of the main reasons storm-damaged trees die afterwards.
How long does restoration take? Several cycles over a few years, with visits spaced by growing seasons rather than months. It is a slower, cheaper answer than removal and replacement, and on a barrier island the replacement is the hard part.
Google reviews
Rated 4.9 by 462 of your neighbors.
Reviews · Palm & Tree Trimming in Madeira Beach, 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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