Tree West

🌴 Palm Myth Wednesday

One of the biggest palm myths we hear in Southwest Florida:

“The more you trim a palm, the healthier it becomes.”

The truth?

Over-pruning actually weakens palms.

Those green fronds are the palm’s food source, producing the energy it needs to stay healthy and withstand storms. Removing healthy fronds too early can increase stress, reduce nutrient reserves, and even make the palm more susceptible to pests and disease.

A properly maintained palm should retain a full, natural canopy—not the overly trimmed “hurricane cut” you often see.

Healthy palms aren’t the cleanest-looking palms—they’re the properly pruned ones.

Have you ever been told palms should be cut back as much as possible, or did you already know less is actually more?

🌴 Take a Look Up This Week.

July is a great time to check your trees and palms before the busiest part of hurricane season arrives.

As you’re walking your property, keep an eye out for:

✔ Hanging dead palm fronds

✔ Broken or cracked limbs

✔ Branches extending over walkways or driveways

✔ Trees showing signs of stress after repeated storms

A little preventative attention now can go a long way toward keeping your property safer through the rest of the season.

What’s your favorite tree to have in your yard? Lets us know in the comments section below!

🇺🇸 Happy Independence Day from the Tree West family! 🌳

While many are celebrating with family and friends, we’re grateful for the hardworking men and women who dedicate themselves year-round to keeping Southwest Florida’s trees healthy, safe, and storm-ready.

To our incredible crew—thank you for your professionalism, craftsmanship, and commitment to the communities we serve every day.

Wishing everyone a safe, relaxing, and memorable Fourth of July filled with family, freedom, and celebration.

From all of us at Tree West Certified Arborists, Happy 4th of July! 🎆🇺🇸

Maintenance Monday 🌴 | Pygmy Date Palm Health Check

Pygmy Date Palms are everywhere in Southwest Florida — lining driveways, flanking pool decks, anchoring entry beds. And most of them aren’t being maintained correctly.

These photos show three things our ISA Certified Arborist flags on nearly every property assessment:

1. Dead frond skirt — Hanging fronds against the trunk aren’t harmless. They trap moisture, invite fungal issues, and give pests a place to establish. They need to come off — but only the truly dead ones. Over-pruning a Pygmy Date is just as damaging as ignoring it.

2. Yellowing fronds — In our coastal soils, magnesium and potassium deficiency is extremely common and almost always fixable with the right palm fertilizer on the right schedule. Don’t let someone talk you into removal before addressing nutrition.

3. Trunk debris buildup — The dark material accumulating at the crown base needs to be cleared. Left alone, it creates the conditions for rot and borer activity — both of which move fast in Florida’s heat and humidity.

Tree West handles palm assessments, proper pruning, and fertilization programs across Lee and Collier County. ISA Certified Arborist on staff.

📞 239-910-3256

Hurricane season isn’t just about your roof and shutters — look up.

Dead branches, split limbs, and overgrown canopy can turn into serious liability the moment a storm rolls through. A weak limb that’s been hanging on all year doesn’t need a hurricane to come down — just enough wind to find its breaking point. And when it lands on a car, a walkway, or a neighbor’s property, that’s no longer a tree problem. It’s a liability problem.

Tree West’s ISA Certified Arborists can walk your property before the season ramps up and flag what needs to come down now versus what can wait. Early removal of hazardous limbs is almost always cheaper and safer than emergency cleanup after a storm — and it protects you, your residents, and your association from the kind of claim nobody wants to deal with in August.

If it’s been a while since your trees were inspected, now’s the time.

📞 239-910-3256

🌐 treewestflorida.com