Cape Coral, FL: A Tree City USA Community for 34 Years

Cape Coral is known for its canals, sunshine, and tropical landscape, but did you know the city has also been recognized nationally for its commitment to trees?

In 2025, Cape Coral earned its 34th Tree City USA designation from the Arbor Day Foundation. The City announced the award on February 27, 2026. This is Cape Coral’s eighth consecutive Tree City USA Growth Award, recognizing its continued efforts to improve urban forestry and tree care throughout the community.

For Cape Coral homeowners, this recognition is more than just a title. It reflects the importance our community places on maintaining a healthy and sustainable tree canopy.

What Is Tree City USA?

Tree City USA is a national program administered by the Arbor Day Foundation that recognizes communities committed to effective urban forest management.

To qualify as a Tree City USA community, a city must meet four primary standards:

* Maintain a tree board or department responsible for community trees

* Establish a tree care ordinance

* Maintain an annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita

* Celebrate Arbor Day with an official proclamation and community observance

Cape Coral has continued to meet these standards year after year.

Cape Coral Has Been a Tree City USA for More Than 30 Years

Cape Coral’s 2025 recognition marked the 34th year the city has achieved Tree City USA status.

The city has also continued expanding its urban forestry efforts. In 2025 alone, Cape Coral planted more than 4,000 trees through partnerships with organizations including the Arbor Day Foundation, USDA, Future Forestry, Keep Lee County Beautiful, and LCEC. These efforts are especially important in Southwest Florida, where hurricanes, rapid development, invasive species, and our subtropical climate can all affect the health of the local tree canopy.

Why Does Cape Coral’s Tree Canopy Matter?

Trees provide much more than curb appeal.

A healthy urban tree canopy can provide shade, reduce heat around homes and streets, help manage stormwater, improve air quality, provide habitat for wildlife, and contribute to attractive neighborhoods.

For homeowners, healthy and properly maintained trees can also be an important part of protecting a property during Florida’s severe weather. However, simply having trees isn’t enough. Proper tree selection, placement, pruning, and maintenance all matter.

Proper Tree Trimming Is Especially Important in Southwest Florida

Improper pruning can weaken a tree instead of making it safer. Practices such as excessive canopy thinning, lion-tailing, removing too much foliage at once, or making unnecessary large cuts can affect a tree’s structure and long-term health. This becomes especially important during hurricane season. A properly maintained tree should have a healthy canopy and sound branch structure rather than being aggressively stripped of interior growth.

Professional tree trimming should focus on removing dead, damaged, diseased, or structurally problematic branches while preserving the tree’s natural form whenever possible.

The Right Tree in the Right Place

Another important part of maintaining Cape Coral’s urban forest starts before a tree is ever planted. Homeowners should consider a tree’s mature height and canopy spread, proximity to structures, overhead and underground utilities, root space, drainage, and whether the species is appropriate for Southwest Florida. A small tree planted today can become a major problem years from now if it was planted too close to a house, driveway, pool cage, utility line, or other structure.

Choosing Florida-friendly and appropriate native species can help create a healthier, more resilient landscape.

Tree Removal May Sometimes Be Necessary

Preserving healthy trees is important, but there are situations where removal may be the safest or most responsible option. A tree may need to be evaluated when it is dead or declining, has significant structural defects, has sustained major storm damage, is interfering with structures, or poses an unacceptable risk to people or property.

Because local tree regulations can apply depending on the property, tree, and circumstances, homeowners should also check applicable City of Cape Coral requirements before removing protected trees.

Supporting Cape Coral’s Urban Forest Starts at Home

Cape Coral’s continued Tree City USA recognition shows that maintaining our urban forest is a community-wide effort. Homeowners can contribute by planting appropriate trees, protecting healthy mature trees, avoiding harmful pruning practices, removing invasive species when appropriate, and having potentially hazardous trees professionally evaluated.

At Lee County Tree Service LLC, we’re proud to serve homeowners throughout Cape Coral and Southwest Florida with professional tree trimming, tree removal, storm cleanup, and stump grinding.

If you’re unsure whether a tree needs trimming, removal, or simply a professional assessment, give us a call or fill our an inquiry on this website.

Lee County Tree Service LLC

Licensed & Insured

📞 239-986-2408

🌐 www.leecountytree.com