Miami, Florida
Tree Removal and Tree Service in Miami
Inside the City of Miami a tree permit is required before a tree is removed, relocated, root pruned or trimmed by more than a quarter of its canopy. Topping, known locally as hat-racking, is banned outright.
- County
- Miami-Dade
- Tree rules
- City Code Chapter 17. Tree permits are reviewed through the Building Department.
- Key local rule
- Permit for removal, relocation, root pruning or trimming more than 25 percent
- Electric utility
- Florida Power & Light
- Main hazards
- Hurricanes, shallow rooting on limestone, palm diseases
What Chapter 17 requires in the City of Miami
The city's tree protection FAQ sets out the triggers. A permit is needed before removing, relocating or root pruning a tree, or trimming more than 25 percent of it. Any work on a tree, palm or shrub in the city right-of-way also needs one. The code counts a plant as a tree once it is 12 feet tall with a 2-inch trunk.
A specimen tree has a trunk of 18 inches or more in diameter, and removing one carries heavier replacement requirements. The city may ask for a certified arborist's report on condition. Trees found to be dead or hazardous may be approved without replacement planting.
Applications are posted as intended decisions with a period for comment or appeal before the permit issues. Recent notices show prohibited species such as Brazilian pepper, umbrella tree, lead tree and weeping fig approved for removal, often with no mitigation required.
Miami trees and what goes wrong with them
- Live oak
- The most wind-firm large shade tree here when it has room for roots. Problems start where roots were cut for driveways and utilities.
- Royal poinciana
- Wide, brittle and shallow rooted. Loses major limbs in tropical storm winds.
- Banyan and strangler fig
- Enormous crowns on aerial roots. They topple in hurricanes when the prop roots have been removed.
- Mahogany
- A common street tree with dense wood. Co-dominant stems split unless pruned when young.
- Black olive
- Staining and heavy litter drive many removal requests. It needs a permit like any other tree.
- Coconut and royal palm
- Palms rarely blow over, but lethal bronzing and lethal yellowing kill them standing.
Thin soil over oolite, and the lesson of Irma
Much of Miami sits on the Atlantic Coastal Ridge, where a few inches of sandy soil cover porous Miami limestone. Roots spread wide and flat across the rock. A tree planted in a small hole cut into the oolite may never anchor beyond it.
Hurricane Irma in September 2017 passed well to the west and still stripped or toppled a large share of the canopy in Coconut Grove, Coral Way and the Upper Eastside. Trees with one-sided root systems against sidewalks and seawalls went first. Andrew in 1992 did far worse to the south of the county.
Salt is the other constraint. Along the bay and on the islands, storm surge and spray burn foliage and kill species that tolerate everything else.
Hurricane pruning and hat-racking are not the same thing
Crews go door to door before every storm season offering to cut trees back hard. One approach is good practice and the other is a code violation.
Structural pruning
- Removes dead, cracked and crossing limbs
- Thins selectively so wind passes through while the natural outline stays
- Shortens over-extended limbs back to a side branch
- Stays under the 25 percent threshold, or is permitted
Hat-racking
- Cuts limbs back to stubs between branch unions
- Leaves a flat-topped or bare frame
- Triggers weak, fast regrowth that breaks in the next storm
- Prohibited under Chapter 17, with penalties for the owner
If a company proposes topping, rounding over or cutting everything back, decline it.
From application to removal
Confirm the jurisdiction
Coral Gables, Miami Beach, Miami Shores and unincorporated Miami-Dade each run their own tree permits. The city's rules apply only inside the City of Miami.
Identify the tree
Species and trunk diameter decide whether it is prohibited, ordinary or specimen.
Get an arborist's report if asked
For a declining or hazardous tree the report documents why it cannot be kept.
Apply and wait out the notice
The intended decision is posted, and work starts only after the appeal window closes and the permit is issued.
Plant the replacements
Where mitigation is required, replacement trees go in on the lot or in the right-of-way, or a contribution goes to the tree trust fund.
A South Florida tree calendar
| Months | What happens | Sensible action |
|---|---|---|
| December to April | Dry season, slow growth, easy access | Structural pruning and planned removals |
| May | Rains return, permit offices get busy | Finish pre-season work and clear dead fronds and coconuts |
| June to November | Hurricane season | No heavy pruning with a storm in the forecast. Debris left at the curb becomes a missile. |
| After a named storm | Leaning trees, hanging limbs, long waits | Deal with hazards first and stand up small trees within days |
Miami tree permit questions
Do I need a permit to trim a tree in Miami?
Not for light pruning. A permit is required when more than 25 percent of the tree is trimmed, for any root pruning, and for any work on trees in the city right-of-way.
Can I remove a Brazilian pepper or ficus without replacing it?
Removal of a prohibited species still goes through the permit process in the City of Miami, but recent city decisions have approved such removals with no replacement required.
Does the Florida law on dangerous trees override the Miami permit?
State law limits local permit requirements on residential property when a certified arborist or landscape architect documents that a tree poses an unacceptable risk. The documentation must meet the statute's standard, so obtain it before any cutting. See the Florida guide.
Who trims trees near FPL lines?
Florida Power & Light maintains clearance around its main lines. The service drop to the house is the owner's responsibility, using a contractor qualified to work near energized lines.
Florida pages
- Florida tree serviceState law on residential tree removal and hurricane patterns.
- TampaGrand trees and Gulf Coast storm damage.
- OrlandoLaurel oaks at the end of their lifespan.
- Tree trimmingPruning that holds up in wind.
- Lightning Protection for Trees in TampaLightning protection for prized trees in thunderstorm-heavy Tampa, also relevant to South Florida.
Reach a tree service in Miami
Call to be connected with an independent tree company that works in the Miami area, or leave your number and one will call you back.
(844) 955-1716Call availability varies by area and time of day
Limbwright is a referral service. Your call goes to an independent tree service company that sets its own schedule and terms. Ask for proof of insurance and a written scope before work starts. How this works
Call now
Talk to a tree service provider in your area. Have the tree's location and what it is near ready.
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