Tree service for Melbourne — the oldest oaks on the Space Coast, and a city that protects them
Melbourne's 88,000 people live under live oaks that were old when the city was platted. Keeping them healthy, taking down the laurel oaks and pines around them, and working within the city's tree ordinance is what we do here every week.
Melbourne is Palm Bay's neighbor to the north — 88,499 people, the second-largest city in Brevard — and it's an older place: Eau Gallie and downtown along the Indian River date to the 1880s, the neighborhoods between US-1 and Babcock were built from the '20s through the '60s, and the live oaks over them are a century old and more. It's the best oak canopy on the Space Coast, and the city knows it: Melbourne has its own tree ordinance, and unlike Palm Bay it requires a permit for removing many trees even on a single-family lot, with exemptions for invasives, dead and hazardous trees, and the statewide 163.045 arborist-letter path. We check the rule for your lot and your tree before we quote, and we pull the permit when one applies.
The work is what an old canopy needs: careful pruning of the big live oaks — deadwooding, thinning, lifting off the roofs of the 1920s houses in the Historic District and the river streets; removal of the laurel oaks and pines that were planted in between and are failing now, usually with a crane because the lots are small and the oaks leave no drop zone; palm care along the river; and storm work — Melbourne's older, taller canopy takes the first of every wind, and the Eau Gallie and downtown streets are where the hangers and the trees on roofs are after a storm. On the west side, in the newer subdivisions toward Suntree and Wickham Road, it's the same builder-planted trees as Palm Bay's southeast.
What we do in Melbourne
Live oak preservation
The century-old oaks deadwooded, thinned and lifted to the ANSI standard; the arborist's assessment when the city or an insurer wants one.
Permits under Melbourne's ordinance
The city's tree-removal permit pulled where it applies on a house lot; hazard and invasive exemptions and 163.045 letters used honestly.
Crane removals on tight lots
Laurel oaks and pines under the big canopy craned out from the street in the Historic District and the river neighborhoods.
Storm response
Eau Gallie, downtown and the river streets first after every storm — trees off roofs, hangers down, documented.
Palms along the river
Sabals and royals on the river streets cleaned properly; lethal-bronzing removals.
West-side subdivisions
Builder-planted oaks and queen palms off Wickham and toward Suntree — structural pruning and bronzing removals.
Neighborhoods, streets and communities we cover
- Downtown Melbourne & the Historic District
- Eau Gallie
- Eau Gallie Arts District
- Indian River streets & Riverview Drive
- Babcock Street corridor
- US-1 corridor
- Wickham Road & Lake Washington
- Suntree side (Melbourne city)
- Melbourne Square area
- Florida Tech area
- Melbourne Village edge
- Sarno Road
- Crane Creek
- West Melbourne line
Tree services available in Melbourne
- Tree removal, crane tree removal, 24/7 emergency & storm service
- Tree trimming & pruning, hurricane prep, storm cleanup
- Palm trimming, palm removal, stump grinding
- Lot & land clearing, Brazilian pepper & invasive removal
- Commercial & HOA tree service
Questions from Melbourne homeowners
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Melbourne?
Often, yes. Melbourne's tree ordinance protects trees above a size threshold on most lots, including single-family lots, with exemptions for invasive species, dead or hazardous trees and — statewide — trees an ISA Certified Arborist documents as an unacceptable risk under F.S. 163.045. Palm Bay's house-lot exemption doesn't apply here. We check the rule for your tree and pull the permit when one is needed; cutting a protected oak without one is a fine and a replanting order.
Can you save the big live oak over my 1920s house?
Almost always. Live oaks are tough, and a century-old one with a full crown and no decay needs deadwooding, a lift off the roof and maybe a thin — not a removal. If a limb over the house is the worry, a reduction cut back to a lateral solves it without topping. The arborist's assessment tells you what's actually there.
Why does everyone here use a crane?
Because the lots in Eau Gallie and downtown are small, the houses are close, and the live oak canopy covers everything, so there's nowhere to lower a limb. A crane lifts sections straight up through the canopy and onto the street. It's faster and often no more expensive than days of rigging.
How fast can you get to Melbourne?
It's ten minutes up US-1 or Babcock from Palm Bay; same day for anything on a structure, within a week for the rest.
Do you do storm cleanup on the river streets?
Yes — Eau Gallie, Riverview and the downtown streets are where we're working the morning after every storm.
Nearby: West Melbourne · Satellite Beach & the beaches · Northeast Palm Bay & Port Malabar · full service area