Updated October 2026
We take tree removal, trimming, stump grinding and storm calls across Hillsborough County every day, with crews leaving from our Tampa service office. Before any removal we confirm whether the City of Tampa, Temple Terrace, Plant City or unincorporated Hillsborough rules apply, because the permit thresholds and inspections differ between them.
One county, several sets of rules
Hillsborough County runs from the bay shore in Apollo Beach to the strawberry farms east of Plant City, and the trees change along the way. Close to the bay, older neighborhoods are thick with laurel and live oaks; further out, newer subdivisions carry young street trees and open yards of sabal palms.
What stays the same is the call: a person answers around the clock, asks what the tree is doing, and sends a crew or books a visit.
Inside Tampa the city's permit applies once a tree is 5 inches across, Temple Terrace waits until 12 inches, and the unincorporated county uses its own thresholds and exempt list. The same oak can need three different answers depending on the street, so we settle the rules before quoting the work.
What grows and what fails here
The 2024 hurricanes hit Hillsborough's laurel oaks hardest. Many were planted when the subdivisions went in and are now past the age when heart rot sets in, and saturated soil let some of them pull out roots and all. Live oaks mostly stood, though dense crowns that were never thinned lost big limbs.
Along the Hillsborough, Alafia and Little Manatee rivers, swamp bays are dying from laurel wilt, and slash pines tower over yards from Valrico to Plant City.
Hillsborough County tree rules in brief
Unincorporated Hillsborough County issues its own tree removal permit, and an arborist affidavit skips the field inspection so the result issues in about five days. Up to a quarter of a non-grand oak's canopy can be pruned without a permit. Invasives such as Brazilian pepper, camphor and Chinese tallow are exempt, but trees in wetlands stay regulated. Tampa and Temple Terrace write separate codes. We confirm which applies before quoting.
Most requested in Hillsborough County
Cities and neighborhoods in Hillsborough County
- Brandon
- Riverview
- Plant City
- Temple Terrace
- Lutz
- Pasco County
- Pinellas County
- Polk County
- Valrico
- Apollo Beach
- Ruskin
- South Tampa
- Hyde Park
- Davis Islands
- Palma Ceia
- Seminole Heights
- Temple Crest
- New Tampa
- Carrollwood
- Town 'n' Country
- Westchase
- Lake Magdalene
- Citrus Park
- Northdale
- Keystone
- Forest Hills
- FishHawk
- Sun City Center
Or see the whole Tampa Bay service area.
Hillsborough County tree questions
Yes, from Tampa out to Plant City, Lutz and the south county.
The county's own, separate from Tampa and Temple Terrace.
With an arborist affidavit, about five days.
Up to a quarter of a non-grand oak's canopy.
Our service office on W Osborne Ave in Tampa.
Yes, they are on the county's exempt list, though wetland trees stay regulated.