Storm-Ready Tree Trimming & Removal
in Miami
How to Get Your Trees Ready for Hurricane Season in Miami
Miami Tree Service Company starts hurricane prep long before June 1. Hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30 and peaks around September 10, and Miami-Dade's own advice is to prune several months ahead, never take more than 25% of a canopy, and never start pruning during a watch or warning.
Timing is half the battle. Once a storm has a name, crews are booked solid, curbside debris turns into a hazard and the county asks residents not to put trash out.
The other half is making the right cuts. Good pruning helps a tree shed wind. Bad pruning, like topping or hurricane-cutting palms, makes things worse.
Use this as a season-by-season checklist for Miami yards, from what to look for now to what to do after the wind dies down.
Why Choose Us
- Insured crews for removals over roofs, pools and seawalls
- Free, itemized written estimates before any work starts
- Permit paperwork help for Miami-Dade and city tree programs
- Hurricane-season pruning to ANSI A300, never hatracking
- Palm trimming that leaves the green fronds where they belong
- Full cleanup and haul-off on every job
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Hurricane Tree Prep in Miami, FL
When to Prune in Miami
- Winter and early spring: the best window for structural pruning
- May: finish big jobs and coconut removal before June 1
- Hurricane season: dead wood and urgent hazards only
- Watch or warning: no pruning and no debris at the curb
Once trimming is done, schedule a bulky waste pickup right away, because branches left at the curb can become projectiles. Households in the county's service area get two pickups a year, up to 25 cubic yards each.
What to Look For in Your Trees
- Dead or hanging limbs, which break first
- Cracks, cavities or fungus on the trunk
- Two trunks joined in a tight V
- A new lean or soil heaving at the base
- Roots cut by recent work on a driveway or pool
Shallow roots are the Miami twist. Much of Miami-Dade has only inches of soil over limestone, so a big tree can tip over at the root plate even when the trunk looks perfect.
Young trees need structural pruning more often than mature ones, because a weak fork fixed at 10 feet tall is a lot cheaper than a split trunk at 40 feet.
Thinning Beats Topping
After Hurricane Andrew in 1992, UF/IFAS researchers found pruned broadleaf trees survived at 73%, versus 47% for unpruned ones. The right cuts thin the crown so wind passes through instead of pushing on a solid sail.
Topping and hatracking do the opposite. They leave stubs that rot and push out weak shoots that snap in the next storm, which is why Miami-Dade says never to do either.
Palms Before the Season
Get coconuts down at the start of hurricane season. Leave green fronds alone and skip the hurricane cut, since over-pruned palms lost their crowns more often in the 2004 and 2005 storms. Our palm tree trimming guide has the prices and the 9-and-3 rule.
Which Trees Hold Up Best
UF/IFAS ranks South Florida species for wind resistance. After Andrew, about 93% of sabal palms survived, while only about 4% of Australian pines did.
- Highest: sabal palm, live oak, gumbo limbo
- Medium-high: royal palm, coconut palm, mahogany, sea grape
- Medium-low: black olive, royal poinciana, mango
- Lowest: queen palm, weeping fig, avocado, Australian pine
If you're replanting after a removal, that list is worth taping to the fridge.
Book Early, Not in June
UF/IFAS recommends getting a certified arborist out for an evaluation far ahead of hurricane season. Add the county's roughly 21-day permit review for any removal that needs one, and the smart window closes well before the first named storm. Spring calls get the best schedule.
Power Lines and FPL
FPL clears main lines about every 3 years and neighborhood lines about every 6, but trees within 10 feet of a line are the owner's job to have trimmed by a qualified line-clearance crew. Never trim near lines yourself, storm or no storm.
After the Storm
Stay away from downed lines and treat every wire as live. Keep debris piles out of the street and away from fences, mailboxes, storm drains and low wires. Then call for storm damage tree removal in Miami before a hanging limb finds your roof.
If the tree came from next door, read who pays when a tree falls in Florida before you call your agent. Miami-Dade's hurricane tree preparation guide lays out the county's rules in its own words.
Book your pre-season pruning early. Call (786) 767-5327 for a free estimate.