Tree Service in Howey-in-the-Hills, FL

Howey-in-the-Hills Tree Service on Little Lake Harris

Howey-in-the-Hills was founded by William J. Howey, a citrus grower and land developer who began platting lots in 1921 and built what is often called Florida's first citrus juice plant that same year. The town incorporated as Howey in 1925 and added "in-the-Hills" in 1927. Howey nicknamed the rolling land here the Florida Alps, and the Howey Mansion he built still stands in town. The town sits on the west shore of Little Lake Harris, an arm of Lake Harris, with Yalaha to the northwest.

SR-19, known in town as Palm Avenue, runs north about 8 miles to Tavares and south about 13 miles to Groveland. The Mission Inn Resort and Club sits on CR-48 with golf courses and the Las Colinas homes around it. Newer neighborhoods include Venezia and Talichet at Venezia North, south of West Central Avenue. Blevins Patriot Park is the town's main gathering spot.

Tree Trimming in Howey-in-the-Hills for Historic Oaks

Howey is full of old live oaks, many planted when Howey laid out the town or left standing from the land around his groves. Those trees give the town its look, and most of them need care rather than removal. Our tree trimming and pruning work here includes taking out deadwood, lifting limbs over streets and roofs, and reducing weight on long limbs over houses. Pruning a large oak usually runs in the upper part of the $175 to $900 per-tree range. For a big tree with a split trunk, cabling and bracing at $350 to $1,200 per tree can help keep it standing.

Howey Soils, Hills and the Lakefront

The hills are sandy, drain fast and were once covered in citrus. On slopes, trees lean slightly downhill and roots are exposed to erosion. Near Little Lake Harris, the ground is lower and wetter, with water oaks, cypress along the shore and cabbage palms. Lakefront oaks take strong wind across the water, and in wet years their roots sit in soaked soil, which can lead to decay at the base. Laurel oaks, common in older yards, often hollow out with age. Each condition needs a different approach.

Citrus still turns up all over town. Howey built his business on oranges, and many older lots and the hills outside town still have a few trees left from the groves. Most are dead or in decline from freezes and greening. Our citrus tree removal takes care of those, and we will tell you if a tree looks healthy enough to keep and prune instead.

Howey-in-the-Hills Areas We Serve

• Old town along Palm Avenue (SR-19) - historic oaks over streets and older homes, often near overhead lines.
• Little Lake Harris shoreline - lakefront lots with wet soil, water oaks and cypress, and wind off the water.
• Mission Inn Resort and Las Colinas - golf-course homes with mature oaks and palms near roofs and pools.
• Venezia and Talichet at Venezia North - newer homes with young oaks and palms that need training cuts.
• Blevins Patriot Park area - in-town residential streets with mature shade trees.
• Yalaha edge and rural lots - acreage outside town limits under Lake County rules.

Howey-in-the-Hills Tree Removal Permits

Howey has one of the stricter tree codes in our service area. The town rewrote its tree protection rules in its Land Development Code with Ordinance 2016-008, which covers protected, specimen and historic trees, when a permit is needed, mitigation and appeals. Town documents from 2023 say anyone planning to cut down, move or remove a tree, including on a single-family lot, must first get a tree removal permit, with requests reviewed by the Public Works Director. Mitigation is based on the size of the tree removed, and denials can be appealed to the Town Council. The town also recognizes Florida Statute 163.045, which exempts residential trees documented as dangerous by an ISA certified arborist or Florida licensed landscape architect. Because the rules are detailed and can change, we confirm the current requirements with the town before every removal here. Our guide to tree permits in South Lake County explains the basics.

Common Tree Jobs in Howey-in-the-Hills

When a tree does need to come out, we handle the permit process and the tree removal itself, then grind the stump. In Venezia, Las Colinas and other neighborhoods, palm tree trimming is common, usually $85 to $275 a palm. After a storm, storm damage cleanup starts with trees on homes and blocked streets.

What Tree Work Costs in Howey-in-the-Hills

Here the permit and the size of the oaks shape the price more than access does. Removing a medium tree in the 30 to 60 foot range typically costs $850 to $1,800, while a large historic oak over a home can run $1,800 to $3,500 or more, plus mitigation if the town requires replacement trees. Many owners decide pruning is the better value. Stump grinding usually adds $95 to $450 per stump. You get a single written price, and we explain what the town may require before you commit.

Power Lines and Storm Prep in Howey

Most of Howey-in-the-Hills is in Duke Energy territory, but SECO Energy also serves parts of Lake County, so check your bill. Overhead lines along Palm Avenue and older streets run through the oak canopy. We trim around service drops to homes and leave main lines to the utility. Before hurricane season, a look at the big oaks over your house is time well spent. We look for cracks at old pruning cuts, hollow sounds in the trunk and heavy limbs reaching toward the roof, and we write down what can wait and what should not.

Tree Service Near Howey-in-the-Hills

South on SR-19, we serve Groveland and its pine woods. Across the hills to the southeast, Montverde has the same kind of big old oaks along Lake Apopka.