Palm Beach Gardens, Florida · 33418, 33410, 33412
Estate Landscaping in Palm Beach Gardens
A city of golf communities, where a homeowner's lot and the association's common ground follow different rules, and a good program knows which is which.
Request a Property AssessmentPalm Beach Gardens is golf country in a literal sense. The Champion Course at PGA National hosts the PGA Tour's Cognizant Classic, and private clubs such as Old Palm, Mirasol, BallenIsles and Frenchman's Creek anchor residential communities across the city. Estate properties inside those gates answer to a homeowner and an association at once, so a landscape program here is written for two audiences: the family who lives on the lot, and the board responsible for the entries, buffers and lake banks around it.
City code draws a clear line between the two. Fee-simple single-family and duplex lots are exempt from most of the city's landscaping and tree-permit division, while common areas inside planned developments are not. The city's pruning standards, which prohibit hatracking and limit palm pruning to dead fronds and no more than a third of the green ones, apply to nonresidential property and to common areas in planned developments. Partner crews serving boards in the Gardens work to that standard on shared ground.
The properties
Property types run from club estates at Frenchman's Creek in 33410 to newer single-family neighborhoods at Avenir in 33412 and established golf communities such as BallenIsles, Mirasol and Old Palm in 33418. Inside a club community, the private yard sits within association entries, buffers and lake edges that follow approved landscape plans, and the city does not allow an approved plan to be altered without approval. That makes board work plan-driven, while homeowner work on the lot itself is lighter on city process.
On the ground
What landscapes in Palm Beach Gardens contend with
Ganoderma in mature palm plantings
Ganoderma butt rot is a soil-borne fungal disease, and UF/IFAS assumes every palm species is susceptible; there are no cultural or chemical controls. A conk on the lower trunk confirms it, though many palms die without producing one. The guidance is to remove an infected palm promptly, grind out as much stump and root as possible, and replant the spot with something other than a palm, since replacement palms there have also died.
Potassium deficiency in landscape palms
UF/IFAS calls potassium deficiency the most common nutritional disorder of palms, and its symptoms always appear first on the oldest leaves. Manganese deficiency shows on the newest leaves instead. City code allows nitrogen or phosphorus on landscape plants only under UF/IFAS recommendations or after a verified deficiency, so a palm program in the Gardens follows extension guidance closely and reads the canopy before it feeds.
Feeding to the edge of a lake
Where a lot or common area meets a lake, city code keeps fertilizer ten feet from the water, or three feet with a deflector shield or drop spreader. The code also defines littoral planting zones that extend at least ten feet into a lake from the shoreline. A program for a lakefront lot or an association bank feeds turf to that line, keeps clippings and granules off the water, and leaves shoreline plantings to establish without added nutrients.
Storm pruning without topping
The city's guidance is that healthy landscaping is the best hurricane preparation, with dead branches removed before the season begins. On common areas, code defines hatracking as flat-cutting the top or sides of a tree, making internodal cuts, stubbing mature wood over three inches, or reducing canopy spread by a third or more. Storm preparation here means thinning and deadwood removal, never topping.
Local rules
What Palm Beach Gardens requires
Summaries for planning. The linked source is the authority; rules change.
Pruning standards for common areas
Section 78-328 applies to nonresidential uses and to common areas in planned developments. It prohibits hatracking, limits palm pruning to dead fronds plus up to one-third of the green fronds and seed pods, and caps limbing-up at 13.5 feet. Each hatracked tree is a separate violation, with a maximum fine of $250 per tree, or $500 per tree for a repeat violation.
SourceResidential lots exempt, common areas not
Owners of fee-simple single-family, attached or detached, and duplex lots are exempt from most of the city's landscaping and tree-protection division, though landscape easements on those lots are not. Common elements of a PCD, PUD or mixed-use development do not count as residential property, so association ground still needs city approval to clear land, remove trees or alter an approved landscape plan.
SourceFertilizer limits tied to weather
The city's fertilizer code sets no fixed summer blackout. Nitrogen and phosphorus may not go on saturated soil, or while a flood, tropical storm or hurricane watch or warning is in effect, or when two inches or more of rain within 24 hours is likely. Fertilizer stays ten feet from lakes, canals, wetlands and seawalls, or three feet with a deflector shield or drop spreader.
Source
Services in Palm Beach Gardens
- Estate Landscape MaintenanceMaintenance for Palm Beach Gardens properties
- Landscape Design & InstallationDesign for Palm Beach Gardens properties
- IrrigationIrrigation for Palm Beach Gardens properties
- Tree & Palm CareTrees & Palms for Palm Beach Gardens properties
- Outdoor LightingLighting for Palm Beach Gardens properties
- Sod, Hedges & Privacy ScreeningSod & Hedges for Palm Beach Gardens properties
- Seasonal ColorSeasonal Color for Palm Beach Gardens properties
- HOA & Property ManagementHOA for Palm Beach Gardens properties
Landscaping in Palm Beach Gardens: questions
Do I need a city permit to remove a tree from my yard?
Not on a fee-simple single-family, attached or detached, or duplex lot; the city's forestry guidance exempts those lots from tree removal permits. Landscape easements on those lots are not exempt, and neither are association common areas in planned developments, where removals need city approval. Your association's own rules may still apply on your lot, so check with the board first.
Does the city regulate how our HOA prunes trees?
Yes, on common areas in planned developments. Section 78-328 prohibits hatracking, limits palms to removal of dead fronds and no more than one-third of the green fronds, and expects pruning by someone versed in current arborist standards. The city keeps a certified arborist on staff for questions, and each hatracked tree can be cited as a separate violation.
Is there a summer fertilizer ban in Palm Beach Gardens?
The city's fertilizer code is tied to weather rather than the calendar: no nitrogen or phosphorus on saturated soil, during flood, tropical storm or hurricane watches or warnings, or when two inches of rain in 24 hours is likely. Landscape plants may receive nitrogen or phosphorus only under UF/IFAS recommendations or after a verified deficiency. Fertilizer also stays ten feet from lakes and canals.
How quickly should dead plants in a common area be replaced?
The city's forestry guidance says a dead tree, palm, shrub or groundcover should be replaced within one month, and warns that letting losses accumulate becomes expensive, unattractive and eventually a violation of the city's property maintenance standards. The city also requires three inches of mulch in all plant beds.
Nearby estate towns
Sources for this page
- Cognizant Classic is played at PGA National Champion Course: www.pgatour.com
- BallenIsles Country Club, Palm Beach Gardens 33418: troon.com
- Mirasol Country Club community, Palm Beach Gardens 33418: www.bexrealty.com
- Old Palm Golf Club, Palm Beach Gardens 33418: stymie.golf
- Frenchman's Creek Beach & Country Club, Palm Beach Gardens 33410: stymie.golf
- Avenir community, Palm Beach Gardens 33412: www.bexrealty.com
- PBG Section 78-303: residential property exempt from landscape division; landscape easements not exempt; approved plans may not be altered: library.municode.com
- PBG Section 78-326(e): residential property defined as fee-simple single-family or duplex lots; PCD/PUD/MXD common elements excluded: library.municode.com
- PBG Section 78-328 pruning standards: scope, hatracking definition, palm pruning limit, 13.5 ft limbing, fines: library.municode.com
- PBG prohibited application period defined by watches/warnings and likely heavy rain (2+ inches in 24 hours): library.municode.com
- PBG no N or P during prohibited period or on saturated soils: library.municode.com
- PBG fertilizer-free zone 10 ft (3 ft with deflector or drop spreader) from water bodies and seawalls: library.municode.com
- PBG N or P on landscape plants only per UF/IFAS recommendations or verified deficiency: library.municode.com
- PBG littoral planting zone extends at least ten feet into a lake: library.municode.com
- PBG forestry FAQ: single-family/duplex lots exempt from tree permits; certified arborist on staff; replace dead plants within one month; 3 inches of mulch; trim dead branches before hurricane season: pbgfl.gov
- Ganoderma: all palms assumed susceptible, no controls, conk confirms, remove stump and roots, do not replant a palm: ask.ifas.ufl.edu
- Potassium deficiency most common palm nutritional disorder, oldest leaves first; manganese on newest leaves: ask.ifas.ufl.edu
- Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30: www.nhc.noaa.gov
Property assessment
Request an assessment in Palm Beach Gardens
- 01Tell us about the propertyTown, property type and what you'd like looked after. Two minutes.
- 02A partner walks the groundsTurf, beds, palms, irrigation and drainage, with you, your manager or staff.
- 03You receive a written programScope, visit schedule and price in writing, before any work begins.
Prefer to talk it through? (561) 319-1104