Highland City Tree Service for the community that began as a rail stop called Haskell
Before it had its current name, Highland City was Haskell. When the South Florida Railroad finished its Lakeland-to-Bartow branch in 1885, this was the only stop between the two towns, named for the Haskell brothers who had invested in the line. Thomas A. Goode became the first postmaster in February 1887. The state legislature incorporated the town in 1925 as “Highlands City,” but a landowner lawsuit shrank it by 1927, and a 1929 act abolished the town outright. People still misspell the name with that extra S.
Today Highland City is an unincorporated census-designated place of 12,355 residents. Streets carry SE names because they fall on Lakeland’s address grid, yet Highland City Elementary feeds mainly into Bartow Middle and Bartow High, so the community really does sit between two cities.
For us it is an easy run down US-98. We quote on site, explain which county rules apply, and handle everything from a single palm to a lot full of storm-cracked oaks.
Highland City FL Tree Care starts with the local numbers
- Population: 12,355 counted in 2020; a 2024 five-year Census survey estimate is about 13,276.
- Homes: 4,727 housing units and 4,448 households in 2020.
- Land area: roughly 7.8 square miles under the 2020 boundaries.
- Elevation: 121 feet.
- ZIP codes: street addresses generally use Lakeland 33812; 33846 is a PO-box-only ZIP served by the Highland City post office on Clubhouse Road.
- Government: none of its own. Polk County provides services, and the old Highland City Volunteer Fire Department station eventually became an official Polk County fire station.
More than 12,000 people on under eight square miles means plenty of mid-size lots where a tree is never far from a roof, a carport or a neighbor’s fence.
Tree Service Near Highland City: Clubhouse Road, Lakeland Highlands and Eaton Park
We cover the CDP and the communities that surround it:
- Central Highland City: the SE-numbered streets around Highland City Elementary on 9th Street SE, a mix of site-built houses and manufactured homes on modest lots.
- The Clubhouse Road corridor: the road is named for the Hallam Country Clubhouse that developer W.F. Hallam built west of town in the 1920s while he was laying out Lakeland Highlands.
- Lakeland Highlands: the larger unincorporated community just west, with 12,187 residents in 2020.
- Eaton Park: north toward Winter Lake Road, where the Fort Fraser Trail has its northern end.
- The US-98 frontage south toward Bartow: homes set back from the highway on deeper parcels.
Manufactured homes deserve extra care, since a light roof and carport offer little protection from a falling limb. We look hardest at anything leaning toward them.
Tree Removal Highland City access from US-98 and Polk Parkway Exit 10
US-98 is the spine of the community, carrying the hidden state designations SR-35 and SR-700 between Lakeland and Bartow. The busiest crossroads is the signal at Clubhouse Road, home to the Publix-anchored Highland City Town Center, about 2.3 miles south of the Polk Parkway and 7 miles north of SR-60 in Bartow. The Parkway (SR-570) meets US-98 at Exit 10, which lets our trucks skip city traffic entirely. County Road 540A also serves southern Highland City.
The drive from our shop is roughly 7 miles, about 12 minutes. Heavy highway traffic means we avoid staging equipment on the US-98 shoulder and set up in driveways or side streets instead.
Highland City Tree Trimming along the Fort Fraser Trail and near Circle B
- Fort Fraser site: the U.S. Army built Fort Fraser in November 1837 during the Second Seminole War, south of Lake Hancock. Colonel Zachary Taylor, later president, commanded troops there, and the post was abandoned by May 1838.
- Fort Fraser Trail: a paved rail-trail of more than seven miles on a former Atlantic Coast Line corridor, running beside US-98 from Polk State College’s Lakeland campus to Bartow. It opened in December 2006.
- Circle B Bar Reserve: reached by a half-mile paved spur off the trail, with unpaved paths down to Lake Hancock.
- Highland City Elementary: 5355 9th Street SE, the community’s neighborhood school.
- Nearby lakes: Banana Lake, Little Banana Lake and Lake Stahl sit just northwest of the CDP.
Yards that back onto the trail often have canopy hanging over the fence line. Selective tree trimming in Highland City keeps limbs off roofs without stripping the shade trail users enjoy.
Highland City Arborist guide to wind-firm and wind-weak trees
After studying ten hurricanes, University of Florida IFAS researchers ranked common trees by how well they stand up to wind. Their findings line up with what we see in Highland City yards:
- Top performers: live oak, sand live oak and sabal palm. Sabal earned a high rating from 99% of survey respondents.
- Middle of the pack: slash and longleaf pine, which rate medium-low, along with camphor.
- Weakest: laurel oak and water oak, both in the lowest wind-resistance group.
Where laurel or water oaks shade an older Highland City lot, those are usually the trees that split and uproot first. If one leans over your home, it is often a candidate for oak removal rather than more pruning. When replanting, the same research points toward live oak or sabal palm. Before June, the storm prep checklist lists the pre-season inspections.
County permits, wires and curbside rules for Tree Cutting in Highland City
Who regulates the tree? Since the 1920s town charter was repealed, tree questions here go to Polk County. We could not pin down the county rule for a typical home lot, so reach Polk County Land Development (330 W. Church Street, Bartow; 863-534-6792) before cutting, or let us handle that call. State law adds a shortcut: Florida Statute 163.045 removes the county’s power to demand permits, fees or replanting once an ISA-certified arborist, or a landscape architect the state has licensed, rates a home’s tree an unacceptable risk in a written onsite assessment.
Electric lines. Four utilities divide unincorporated Polk: Duke Energy, Tampa Electric (TECO), Lakeland Electric and the Peace River co-op. Yours is named on your bill, and it clears anything resting on a wire.
County yard waste. Routine collection is weekly and capped at four bags, bundles or cans, each lighter than 30 pounds. Limbs must be trimmed to 3 feet long and 2 inches across or smaller. Whole trees, trunks, logs, stumps and roots stay behind no matter how they are cut. Polk County Solid Waste, (863) 284-4319, can point you to private haulers, though cleanup is already part of every removal we quote.
Highland City Tree Removal Cost in plain numbers
These are our current Highland City price ranges; your written quote will be specific to the tree:
- Tree removal in Highland City: $375–$3,200 overall, usually $750–$1,800 for a mid-size residential tree
- Oversized oaks: $1,800–$3,500
- Palms: about $75 and up for a trim, $200 and up to take one out
- Grinding: $100–$400 a stump
- Urgent post-storm jobs: $500–$5,000
Price climbs when limbs reach over a manufactured home or carport, since every piece must be roped down, and drops when a truck can reach the base. The tree removal cost breakdown explains each factor.
Stump Grinding and Palm Trimming in Highland City
Two jobs come up constantly here. First, stumps left behind after storms or older removals; we grind them below the soil line so grass can grow back over the spot, and the stump grinding service page covers the process. Second, palms: sabals and queen palms line many Highland City driveways and need spent fronds and fruit clusters cut back. Our palm tree service handles both trimming and removal, and round-the-clock storm cleanup covers the nights a trunk ends up on a roof. Neighbors farther north can see our Lakeland tree service page.
Every service from your Highland City tree company
Highland City Tree Removal
Full removals for Highland City lots where trees crowd manufactured homes, carports and SE-grid streets. Tree removal in Highland City →
Highland City Oak Tree Removal
Taking down wind-weak laurel and water oaks before the next storm splits them over a Highland City roof. Oak tree removal in Highland City →
Highland City Palm Tree Service
Cutting spent fronds and fruit clusters from sabals and queen palms along Highland City driveways. Palm tree service in Highland City →
Highland City Emergency Tree Service
Night-and-weekend storm response down US-98 whenever a trunk lands on a Highland City home. Emergency tree service in Highland City →
Highland City Tree Trimming
Selective pruning along the Fort Fraser Trail edge and over Highland City rooftops. Tree trimming in Highland City →
Highland City Stump Grinding
Grinding leftover Highland City stumps below the soil line so new sod can go down. Stump grinding in Highland City →
Free Highland City tree quotes
Most Highland City homeowners get a written estimate within 24 hours. No pressure, no hidden fees, no surprise charges after the chainsaw starts.
Get a Free Highland City Tree Quote →Highland City tree removal & tree service FAQs
Neither. It is a census-designated place governed directly by Polk County. Addresses use the Lakeland grid and ZIP 33812, but most local students go on to Bartow Middle and Bartow High.
Start with the county’s Land Development Division at (863) 534-6792, since Highland City has no town government. We found no verified county requirement for single-family lots, so calling ahead is the careful approach, and we can call on your behalf.
Small debris goes out with weekly county pickup when it is bagged or bundled under 30 pounds and cut to 3 feet by 2 inches or smaller. Trunks and stumps get tagged and left, which is why every removal we quote includes hauling.
UF/IFAS research puts laurel oak and water oak in the lowest wind-resistance group, while live oak and sabal palm rank near the top. Weak oaks leaning toward a house are the first trees we recommend evaluating.
Whichever company sends your power bill. Several providers cover different parts of unincorporated Polk, and each clears its own lines.
That report has to come from someone else. Nobody on our crew is advertised with ISA credentials, and Florida Statute 163.045 requires a signed assessment prepared by an International Society of Arboriculture certified arborist, or by a landscape architect licensed by the state. Once you have it, we can handle the removal.
Highland City, with no S. The plural spelling was the official name only during the brief 1925 incorporation, and even a 1958 depot sign got it wrong.
Most mid-size residential removals run $750 to $1,800, but trees over a manufactured home often land higher because each section is roped down slowly. We quote each one on site for free.
Our Lakeland base is about 12 minutes up US-98, and someone answers (813) 725-9787 around the clock.