Invasive Tree Removal in Clearwater, FL

Invasive tree removal means cutting out Brazilian pepper, melaleuca and similar non-native trees, then dealing with the stumps and roots so they do not resprout. It is for Clearwater homeowners and property owners with a thicket of these trees on a lot, along a fence line or against a structure. It is one part of [lot clearing](/services/lot-clearing/), and the stump is the part that decides whether the job lasts.

Brazilian pepper, melaleuca and other invasive trees we remove

Most of the invasive trees we are asked to take out around Clearwater fall into a short list. Each one behaves differently once it is cut, so we identify the tree before we choose a method.

Brazilian pepper

Brazilian pepper grows as a multi-trunk shrub or low tree with dense dark foliage and clusters of red berries in the cooler months. It forms tight stands that shade out everything underneath. The sap and crushed leaves can irritate skin, and the smoke from burning it can bother your lungs, so it should not go on a burn pile. The trunks often fork low to the ground, which means one tree can leave several stumps to deal with.

Melaleuca

Melaleuca, sometimes called punk tree, has thick, pale, papery bark that peels off in layers and narrow leaves that smell sharp when crushed. It drops a huge amount of tiny seed, and a stressed or cut tree can release even more. Large melaleuca trunks are heavy and are taken down in sections. Small seedlings can be pulled by hand when the ground is wet.

Australian pine, camphor, Chinese tallow and carrotwood

Australian pine is not a true pine. It has drooping, needle-like branches, shallow roots and brittle limbs that drop in storms. Camphor trees, Chinese tallow and carrotwood also turn up on residential lots. If you are not sure what you have, send us a photo of the leaves and bark and we will tell you what it looks like to us before we quote the work.

Why invasive tree stumps resprout, and how we stop it

Cutting an invasive tree at the trunk does not kill it. Brazilian pepper and Chinese tallow in particular push up fresh shoots from the stump and the root crown within weeks, and a single cut tree can come back as a denser clump than before. A flush-cut stump left in the ground is the most common reason an owner pays to clear a lot twice.

We deal with the stump in the same visit as the tree. These are the usual steps:

• Grind the stump and the root crown below ground level, so there is no live wood at the surface to sprout from.
• Follow the larger surface roots outward and grind the ones that are close to the surface or likely to throw suckers.
• Where herbicide is the right tool for a species, apply it to freshly cut wood, because treated wood only takes it up for a short time after the cut.
• Rake out the grindings and fill the hole so you can see any new growth early.

How an invasive tree removal job goes, step by step

The order matters more than the equipment. Doing the steps out of sequence is how stumps get missed.

Walking the lot and marking the trees

We walk the property with you and mark what comes out, what stays and what is a native tree worth keeping. Invasives often grow tangled with oaks, palms and other trees you want to save, so marking first avoids mistakes.

Cutting and dropping

Trees are cut at the base and either dropped whole or taken down in sections when there is a fence, a pool cage, a roof or a neighbour's yard nearby. Branches go through a chipper.

Grinding stumps and root crowns

The stump grinder cuts down into the stump and across the root flare, usually well below the soil line. A multi-trunk Brazilian pepper may need several passes across the whole base.

Treating, filling and cleaning up

Cut surfaces are treated where that is appropriate, the grindings are used to fill the hole or hauled off, and the debris is cleared. We tell you what to watch for as the lot settles.

Removing invasive trees near houses, fences and pool cages

Invasive trees are fast growers, and many were never planted on purpose. They seed into the gap beside a fence, against a block wall or under a power drop. That puts the trunk, and the roots, close to something that can be damaged.

Near a structure we cut in smaller sections and lower them with rope instead of dropping them. Roots that have grown against a slab, a footing or a drain line are ground back carefully, because pulling them out can shift the soil around whatever they have wrapped. If limbs are touching a utility line, tell us before the visit so the work can be planned around it.

Invasive tree growth in Clearwater's climate and older neighbourhoods

Clearwater has a humid subtropical climate, warm to hot most of the year with few frosty nights. That is the main reason these species do so well here: nothing kills them back in winter. Most of the rain arrives in the wet season, from June through September, and a stump that was missed in spring can be a shoulder-high clump by the end of it.

The city sits between the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay, and a lot of its land is low and close to open water. Seed from berries and wind-blown pods travels easily across empty lots and drainage edges. Older neighbourhoods, such as the early twentieth century Harbor Oaks area, tend to have mature trees and long-neglected back corners where invasives have had years to fill in.

Clearing the rest of the lot and keeping invasives from returning

Once the trees and stumps are out, the lot needs to be kept from reseeding. Berries and seed pods left on the ground are the next generation. If the surrounding growth is thick, brush and underbrush clearing takes out the smaller stems and seedlings around the trees we removed.

For a larger parcel, forestry mulching can grind standing brush and small trees into mulch in place. A mulcher works at the surface and leaves stumps behind, so on invasive species it works best when the stumps are then ground out and treated.

Plan to walk the area after the first wet season and again the following spring. Pull or cut any seedlings while they are small. A seedling that is a few inches tall comes out with one hand, and the same plant two years later needs a grinder.