Tree Care and Land Clearing in Lake Placid, Florida

Known for its caladium fields and the painted murals around downtown, Lake Placid is surrounded by water. Lake June-in-Winter spreads out to the west, the lake that shares the town's name sits just to the south, and Lake Istokpoga lies a short drive northeast. Many of the homes we visit here back up to one of these shorelines, and the trees that make those yards beautiful are often the same ones that worry their owners when hurricane season arrives.

We are a Tampa company, and southern Highlands County is still part of the roughly 100-mile area we serve. When a job here is booked, the crew comes prepared to finish it in one visit.

Shoreline properties come with their own set of challenges. Big live oaks and cypress lean toward the water for light, limbs hang over boat lifts and docks, and soft ground near the bank can rule out heavy machines. On these jobs we usually rely on climbing, roping and the bucket truck rather than dragging trees across a lawn.

• Tree trimming and pruning to lift canopies off roofs, open lake views and remove dead wood before storm season
• Sectional tree removal when a tree is dying, split or leaning toward the house
• Stump grinding so the yard can be mowed or replanted right away

Work at the water's edge can involve shoreline or wetland rules, so check with Highlands County or the Town of Lake Placid before cutting near the bank. We can walk you through the typical requirements.

Lake Placid sits near the southern end of the Lake Wales Ridge, some of the oldest dry land in Florida. Archbold Biological Station, south of town, studies this scrub, and the same sandy habitat covers many private lots. Sand pine, myrtle oak, rosemary scrub and saw palmetto grow thick on undeveloped parcels, and citrus groves fill the lower ground around them.

Before clearing scrub land, owners should know that gopher tortoises are protected in Florida, and their burrows have to be identified and handled under state rules before heavy work. Other protected species live on the ridge too. We will point out what we see at the estimate and help you understand the next steps before any lot clearing begins.

A good share of Lake Placid homeowners spend only part of the year here, and many lots are owned by people who live up north or across the state. Trees and brush do not wait for anyone to come back. Palmetto creeps toward the house, vines climb into the oaks and a dead pine can stand for months before it falls.

If you cannot be here in person, a neighbor or property manager can meet us for the free estimate, and we can talk through the details by phone or email. Our schedule runs from early morning to late evening on all seven days, so finding a time usually is not hard.

Scrub burns hot. In the dry months, a lightning strike or a careless spark can push flames quickly through palmetto and sand pine, and homes built right into the scrub face the greatest danger. Our fire risk reduction service creates defensible space by mulching low fuel around structures, cutting ladder limbs that let ground fire climb into the canopy and opening firebreaks along property lines.

On larger tracts, forestry mulching knocks down dense understory without bulldozing the sand, leaving a chip layer that holds moisture and keeps the soil from blowing.

Our Lake Placid work stretches across the southern half of Highlands County:

• Downtown Lake Placid and the neighborhoods between Lake June-in-Winter and Lake Placid
• Placid Lakes and the wooded streets on the west side
• Homes and groves along US-27 from the south side of Sebring down toward SR-70
• Ranch and pasture land east toward Lake Istokpoga and west along SR-70

We also take jobs in Sebring and along SR-70 to Arcadia in DeSoto County.

Every job starts with a free estimate on site. We look at the trees, the access, the ground and anything nearby that needs protecting, then give you a clear plan. We bring a bucket truck, a skid steer with a mulcher head, a grapple loader, a stump grinder and a dump trailer, and we can talk with you in English or Spanish. Fill in the short form on our contact page to get on the schedule.