Tree Service in Citra, FL

Citra Tree Service in the Old Grove Country

Citra was founded in 1881 in the middle of a citrus district, and its post office has run since that year. In 1883 James B. Owens gave a local orange, then called the hickory orange, the name pineapple orange for the scent of its fruit, and Citra is still known as the home of the pineapple orange. Two buildings here are on the National Register of Historic Places: the Citra Methodist Episcopal Church and the Armstrong House. Today the town is unincorporated, with no separate census count, and most properties are homes on acreage, small farms and pasture along US 301 and CR 318.

People sometimes place Citra at Cross Creek, so to be precise: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings lived northwest of Citra at Cross Creek, which is in Alachua County. Her home is now Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park at 18700 South County Road 325, where the short creek runs from Lochloosa Lake into Orange Lake. Citra is the Marion County side of that same lake country. Our crew is a Gainesville tree service that works the whole stretch, about 29 road miles and 40 minutes from downtown Gainesville to Citra.

Land Clearing Citra FL Acreage Owners Ask For

A lot of Citra land has gone through cycles of grove, pasture and woods. Old grove rows grow up in laurel oak, cherry and brush, fence lines disappear under vines, and a homesite that was cleared twenty years ago is often half woods again. Our land clearing work uses a forestry mulcher to take out brush and small trees in place, with larger trees felled and hauled or ground. Light clearing typically runs $1,800 to $6,500 or more per acre, and dense or heavy ground is priced after we walk it with you.

Invasive camphor trees are worth taking out while you are at it. UF/IFAS lists camphor as invasive in north and central Florida and does not recommend planting it, and the birds that eat its fruit spread it along fence rows. Marion County's code also exempts removal of species on the UF/IFAS invasive lists, so clearing them does not need a county tree permit.

Citra Tree Permits Under the Marion County Code

Citra has no town government, so Marion County's Land Development Code, Division 7, sets the tree rules. In the version we reviewed (Supplement 5, 2024), the division says its purpose excludes existing residential properties, and Section 6.7.2 exempts removals on a single-family or duplex parcel, trees under 10 inches in diameter at 4.5 feet, dead or dying trees confirmed by a landscape architect or certified arborist, and clearing for bona fide agriculture on agricultural land. Where a permit is required, it comes from the county's landscape architect and expires in a year.

The rule that surprises acreage owners is the two-year lookback. If land was cleared under an agricultural exemption, the county will not accept a rural-to-urban land use or zoning change for two years unless 100 inches of native trees per acre are replanted or paid into the tree mitigation fund. If you are clearing now and might sell or rezone later, ask us about that before we start. The county amended Division 7 again in 2026, so we confirm the current text on every Citra estimate.

Pine Tree Removal Around Citra

Sandy upland around Citra grows slash and longleaf pine well, and pines are a big share of the calls. A pine that browns from the top down, shows pitch tubes on the bark or takes a lightning strike rarely recovers, and a dead pine standing near a house or barn gets more brittle every month. Our pine tree removal crews drop them into open ground when there is room, which keeps the price on the low end of $350 to $2,400. Our post on pine beetles and dead pines explains why one dying pine is worth dealing with before its neighbors follow.

Big laurel oaks and live oaks near Citra homes are the other half of the work. Laurel oaks past middle age tend to need removal, while live oaks usually respond well to trimming and pruning that lifts them off roofs and clears deadwood.

Wells, septic fields and long sand drives

Acreage brings access questions that town lots do not. Many Citra homes run on a private well and septic, and a drain field is the last place a loaded truck or a falling trunk should land, so we mark both before planning where trees will drop and where equipment will roll. Long sandy drives can turn soft after summer rain, and we lay mats or carry wood out in smaller loads rather than rut a driveway you have to live with. If a tree stands close to a well head or pump house, we lower it in sections instead of felling it. These details go on the written estimate so nobody is surprised on work day.

Citra Power Lines and Storm Response

Electric service in this part of Marion County is split among several utilities, and Citra sits where those territories meet. In the days after Hurricane Milton in October 2024, the Ocala Gazette listed outages in Marion County for Duke Energy, SECO Energy, Ocala Electric Utility and Clay Electric Cooperative. Which one owns the line at your address depends on the road, so we read the tag on the nearest pole or your bill before planning work near a line. Each utility clears its own lines; trees on your side of the line are yours.

After a storm, our emergency tree removal crew answers calls for trees on roofs, vehicles and driveways first, and photographs damage before cutting so your insurance claim has a clear record.

Citra Tree Service Costs

Acreage work in Citra often costs less per tree than in-town jobs, because there is usually room to fell trees whole. A small pine or oak under 30 feet runs $350 to $850, a medium tree $850 to $1,800, and a large oak or pine near the house $1,800 to $3,500 or more. Trimming runs $175 to $900 per tree, and stump grinding $95 to $450 a stump. Clearing is priced by the acre. A crane is rarely needed out here, but when a big oak stands between two buildings it adds $600 to $1,800. Storm work after hours runs 25 to 50 percent above daytime rates. Every quote is written and fixed before we begin, and removal prices include cleanup and haul-off.

Tree Service Beyond Citra

North on US 301, Hawthorne sits between lakes and pine land in Alachua County. West across Orange Lake, McIntosh works under its own tree permit code, and south on Jacksonville Road, Anthony sits in horse country just above Ocala.