Do you have power lines on your property and are considering planting under &/ or close to them? Careful consideration must be given to the ultimate size of the trees. Power lines and trees are not friends, but finding trees short enough to go near power lines can also be a challenge.

The key is: RIGHT TREE RIGHT PLACE! 

Trees that are planted under power lines that will reach the line height and taller, could cause power outages and become tiresome with the ongoing maintenance. 

Maintenace may include reduction pruning of the overall canopy, or lines clearance to reduce the canopy areas that are encroaching on lines to refrain from power outages. Furthermore, this may require ongoing correspondence with your local Power & Lighting company or contracting a Lines Clearance Certified Arborist that is Certified to prune within 10ft of power lines. 

Keep in mind majority of your Power & Lighting companies will not prune around the service drop to your home, but will only maintain the lines from pole to pole, behind / in front of / or adjacent to your home by clearing foliage 10ft away from lines. 

You may ask, what are some ideal trees or understory vegetation to plant adjacent to powerlines in Southwest Florida? 

Here are some ideas:

• Pitch Apple (shrub – can be maintained as a hedge) 
• Walters Viburnum “ “ 
• chickasaw plum
• two-winged silverbell
• golden trumpet tree

Or refrain from planting under power lines! But remember to plant, RIGHT TREE RIGHT PLACE! 

Great resource from FPL (Florida Power & Light) 

https://www.fpl.com/reliability/trees/tree-location.html

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If you have any questions about our certified tree services or why “Power Lines and Trees are Not Friends”, please contact us. Thank you!