The older half of Sarasota was built under trees and around them. Arlington Park, Southgate, Gulf Gate and the streets off Hudson Bayou near Laurel Park all carry canopy that went in with the neighborhood, and a good share of it is laurel oak. Laurel oak is a fast, generous shade tree with a short working life. UF/IFAS puts that life at fifty to seventy years, and notes that the trunk and the large branches often hollow out from decay and wood rot while the crown still looks perfectly healthy from the driveway. Live oak resists that decay and lives a great deal longer. Same street, same size, completely different call.
That is why an ISA Certified Arborist looks at the tree before we quote it. Sometimes the answer is a structural prune and a return visit in a few years. Sometimes it is a removal you should not push through another storm season. We will tell you which, and we will tell you when a tree is fine and you do not need us at all.
Lots here are tight. Pool cages, lanais, screen enclosures, alley access behind the older blocks, and power drops running straight through the canopy. We rig accordingly, and the site gets raked and blown before we pull out. Free estimate with no obligation. Text 941-445-3027.
ISA Certified Arborist on staff
Workers compensation and general liability insurance
Bucket trucks, tracked lifts, cranes and climbers
Free, no obligation estimates
Uniformed crew, clean lettered trucks, full cleanup
Live oak is the tree that defines the city and it is the one we most often save rather than remove. Reduce an overextended limb, clear the roofline, open the interior enough to let wind pass through. Laurel oak is a different conversation. Decay in the trunk and the root flare is normal at age here, and sounding the trunk plus a look at the base tells us far more than the crown does.
Then there are the palms. Sabal, queen and royal palms run through the older streets and out on the keys, where salt wind works on them year round. Palms get trimmed to the standard, not hurricane cut, because over pruning a palm weakens it. Slash pines are their own case, since a pine that lost its neighbors when the lot around it was cleared is suddenly holding all that wind by itself.
Structural pruning and crown reduction on live oaks
Decay assessment on aging laurel oaks before you spend money either way
Removals rigged over pool cages, lanais and screen enclosures
Sabal, queen and royal palm trimming, including salt exposed properties on the keys
Stump grinding and full cleanup, site raked and blown before we leave
Permit checks against the City of Sarasota tree protection code or the Sarasota County Chapter 54 rules, whichever covers your address
Workers compensation, liability and property damage insurance, which city code requires of anyone pruning or removing trees inside Sarasota city limits
Tree Removal
Trees come out for all kinds of reasons. Dead or declining, leaning toward the house, roots lifting a driveway, or simply the wrong tree in the wrong place. We look at the tree, what sits under it and how we can get to it, then pick the method that puts the least risk on your property.
Small lots and narrow side yards are the hard ones. That is where the tracked lift and the climbers earn their keep. Where there is room to work, a crane lifts whole sections out over the house instead of bringing them down through it.
Hazardous, dead and storm damaged trees
Trees over roofs, pools, lanais and driveways
Tight access side yards and backyards
Full removal with the debris hauled off
Maintenance Trimming
Regular trimming does more than tidy things up. It takes out dead and diseased branches before they drop, thins the canopy so wind moves through it, and lets sunlight reach the grass and beds underneath.
Cuts get made where the tree can seal them. Sloppy pruning invites decay and pushes weak regrowth, which is why the species matters and why an arborist sets the plan before a saw comes out.
Deadwood and diseased limb removal
Canopy thinning for airflow and sunlight
Clearance over roofs, drives and walkways
Structural pruning on younger trees
Pine, Oak and Palm
Pines, live oaks and palms all want different treatment, and a cut that suits one can set another back. Our crews work these species regularly and prune to what each tree can carry.
Hurricane prep comes up a lot. The goal is not to strip a tree bare. It is to pull the dead wood and the weak attachments and leave a balanced canopy that can give in the wind and come back after.
Pine and oak trimming and removal
Palm trimming
Storm season canopy work
Hazard pruning around homes, pools and driveways
One Tree or a Whole Community
The same crew handles a single backyard oak and a community wide contract. HOA boards and property managers get a walk of the property and a straight answer on what needs attention now and what can wait until next year.
A large portion of our work is repeat business over many years. That happens when the trimming plan is built around the trees instead of around the invoice.
For hardwood properties we develop and implement a multi year, phased trimming plan. Spreading the work across seasons keeps the maintenance budget friendly and the schedule on track.
Single residential trees
HOA and community wide contracts
Commercial and property manager accounts
Ongoing yearly maintenance schedules
Multi year phased hardwood trimming plans
Why ACI
Insured, Certified and Easy to Have Around
Tree work is one of the most dangerous trades there is, and plenty of outfits running a chainsaw out of a pickup are not carrying what they should. ACI carries workers compensation and general liability insurance, and we will send proof of coverage before the crew ever shows up.
The rest of it is what the day feels like. Crews arrive in uniform, in clean lettered trucks. They will stop and answer a question about what they are doing and why. When the work is finished the yard is raked and the drive is blown off, so the only thing that changed is the tree. The cleanup is not an afterthought, it is the company motto: "not every customer recognizes a good tree trimming job, but everyone recognizes a good cleanup job."
Workers compensation and general liability insurance
ISA Certified Arborist on staff
In house climbers and equipment operators
Uniformed crew and clean lettered trucks
4.9 stars from 142 Google reviews
23 years working Sarasota, Charlotte and Manatee Counties trees
Every photo on this page is an ACI job. No stock images.
From Google
What Customers Say
4.9 stars from 142 Google reviews.
Absolutely outstanding! So very easy to work with. Competitive pricing and stellar service all around. I wouldn't change a thing. Adam is always a pleasure to work with. This tree was a beast and in about an hour the area was pristine. Highest praises!
Yes. ACI carries workers compensation and general liability insurance, and we will send proof of coverage before we start. If a tree company will not put that in your hands, don't let them on your property.
What does tree removal cost?
It depends on the tree, what sits under it and how we can reach it. A big oak leaning over a roof is a different job than a dead pine in an open yard. Estimates are free with no obligation, so text us and we will come look.
Do you take the stump out too?
We can. Stump grinding is a separate line on the estimate, so you can add it or leave the stump. Grinding it down lets sod or a planting bed go back over the spot.
How often should my trees be trimmed?
That depends on the species, the age of the tree and what is underneath it. Our arborist will tell you what your trees actually need at the estimate, including which ones can wait another year.
Can you reach a tree in my backyard?
Usually, yes. Between tracked lifts, bucket trucks, a crane and climbers there aren't many spots we can't work. If the access really is closed off, we will tell you that up front instead of guessing.
How do you take payment?
Cash, check or credit card. Credit cards carry a 3% fee.
Is my oak a grand tree?
Inside the City of Sarasota the test is specific. A live oak or sand live oak at 24 inches diameter at breast height, or a slash pine, longleaf pine or southern red cedar at 20 inches, is a grand tree if a city arborist rates its condition good or moderate, and city code prohibits removing one unless the director of development services grants an exemption. Unincorporated Sarasota County scores grand trees on a point system in Chapter 54 instead, where a live oak needs 100 points and any grand tree needs a condition rating of 70 percent or better. Either way we measure the trunk and check which set of rules covers your address before we give you a price, so nothing surprises you later.
My laurel oak looks healthy. Why would it need to come out?
Laurel oak holds a full green crown right up until it fails. The decay is in the trunk and the root flare, not in the leaves. We check the base, sound the trunk and look at the root plate. If it is solid we prune it and you keep it. If it is hollow we would rather you heard that in June than during a named storm.
Can you get equipment into a Gulf Gate or Arlington Park backyard?
Usually yes. Those lots are narrow, but many of the older blocks have alley or side yard access and we size the machine to the gate. Where nothing fits, we climb it and rig the wood out piece by piece. We settle access on the estimate visit, not on the morning of the job.
Tree Trimming & Removal Nearby
We work across Sarasota, Charlotte and Manatee Counties, and travel further for storm work.
Storm damage crews for trees on houses, dangerous removals and emergency roof tarping, available 24 hours a day across Sarasota, Charlotte and Manatee Counties.
