I am near Coconut Grove and near Coral Gables. My area is full of badly cut Live Oaks and other trees. Is very sad to see. It got worse after the hurricanes we had recently, people cut their trees any way they see fit and most of them have very little canopy left. My oaks in particular have been abused a lot over the years. Is hard to find a reputable company down here. Most certified arborists don't do the work themselves but hire cheap labor to do the actual work and all they do is give estimates. At this point is already too hot to do any work on the Live Oaks. I need to start looking now to do the work in December or early January when the oaks are dormant. I don't have a lot of specific knowledge on what needs to be done that is why I need an arborist that can tell me what the best course of action will be.
The way I see it most of my oaks have very little canopy left in them for their size. This is the result of the hurricanes and one of the companies that came over pruned 3 of my oaks before I realized what they were doing and told them to leave the rest alone. I have come to realize a Live Oak is a creature that needs a lot of space to grow. The lot were my property is located is 19,000 square feet and has 7 mature live oaks in it so go figure. Some people have no clue what they are getting into when they plant a Live Oak. Live Oaks are massive trees when fully grown. I guess they see the little sapling at the nursery and say "what a nice little tree for my yard lets plant 7 of them". Here I am 100 or 150 years later dealing with seven huge plants all around my property, badly cut over the years, with insect damage, included bark, co-dominant stems, etc some of them almost touching my outside walls with their trunks and with hurricanes coming every year into the foreseeable future. Very scary.
