Updated for the 2026 season
Hurricane Preparation for South Florida Trees
How structural pruning before hurricane season reduces the risk of tree failure around your home in Miami-Dade.
The best time to prepare a tree for a hurricane is well before a storm is named. Structural pruning done in late winter or spring gives a tree time to respond before the wettest, windiest months.
The goal is not to strip a tree. Removing too much foliage weakens it and does not make it safer. A properly prepared tree keeps its natural canopy with weak limbs, deadwood, and heavy end weight selectively reduced.
What actually reduces storm risk
Remove deadwood and broken or hanging limbs, which are the first things to fall. Reduce excessive end weight on long horizontal limbs, especially over a house or driveway. Correct weak, included-bark unions and co-dominant stems where a tree is likely to split.
Do not top the tree and do not lion-tail it by stripping the interior foliage to the branch tips. Both practices produce weak regrowth and leave a tree more dangerous in the next storm, not less.
Palms before a storm
Palms should have dead fronds, loose seed stalks, and coconuts removed before a storm so they do not become projectiles. Healthy green fronds should stay. A hurricane cut that removes most of the crown weakens the palm and is not recommended.
This guidance is general. For a recommendation on your specific tree, request a free on-site estimate or call 786-942-0189.