Top-rated landscapers in Jacksonville, FL

Jacksonville sits in Duval County, inside the St. Johns River Water Management District, and the city adds its own rules for watering, fertilizer and trees. This guide covers those rules, freezes, salt near the Beaches and local help. For the statewide picture, see the Florida guide.

Watering days in Duval County

The city's irrigation and fertilizer page lists the Duval County schedule by address:

• Daylight saving time (second Sunday in March to first Sunday in November): odd-numbered or no address, Wednesday and Saturday; even-numbered, Thursday and Sunday.
• Eastern Standard Time: odd-numbered or no address, Saturday; even-numbered, Sunday.

A declared water shortage replaces this schedule with stricter rules. Under the district's Phase III restrictions, lawns can be watered one day a week and never between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Reclaimed water and well users follow the same schedule, private wells can't be used for landscape irrigation where reclaimed water is available, and all but the oldest automatic sprinkler systems need a working rain sensor or shutoff switch. Nocatee residents follow a separate zone-based schedule.

Jacksonville's fertilizer rules

The city's fertilizer ordinance covers homeowners as well as lawn care businesses. Its posted rules set no summer blackout months. Instead:

• Weather bans: no fertilizer during a flood watch or warning, a tropical storm watch or warning, a hurricane's three-day cone of uncertainty, or when heavy rain is expected.
• Limits: nitrogen is capped at 1 pound per 1,000 square feet per application (0.7 pound if less than 30% is slow-release), and phosphorus is limited unless a soil test supports more.
• Near water: keep fertilizer 10 feet from ponds, wetlands, canals and seawalls with an unshielded rotary spreader, or 3 feet with a deflector shield or drop spreader, plus a 6-foot low-maintenance zone along the water.
• Clean-up: sweep spilled fertilizer off roads and sidewalks, and never blow grass clippings into the street or storm drains.

Street trees and trees on your lot

Jacksonville's Urban Forestry FAQ says the right-of-way is typically the area between the street and the back of the sidewalk. Removal requests go through 630-CITY, and the city removes a tree only after a risk assessment. If a request is denied, the homeowner can apply for a permit through the Building Inspection Division and pay for the work. The city's tree protection code requires a permit to trim, remove or disturb the roots of any tree in a public right-of-way.

On private property, the code exempts trees on a lot with an occupied single-family home or mobile home, if the lot can't be further subdivided. Claiming the exemption can still call for a permit, a fee and proof the lot qualifies, so ask the Building Inspection Division first. Under section 163.045 of the Florida Statutes, no permit, fee or replanting can be required to remove a tree from a single-family lot when an ISA certified arborist or Florida-licensed landscape architect documents that it poses an unacceptable risk.

Jacksonville Beach has its own rules: it protects any tree six inches or more in diameter unless the species is listed as unprotected, and removal takes an application to the city.

Freezes and winter pruning

Hard freezes reach Jacksonville: after one, UF/IFAS Duval County Extension wrote that local landscapes and lawns turned brown almost overnight. Its late-fall advice: don't prune evergreen shrubs and trees in fall or winter, because new tender growth can be damaged by freezes, and leave frozen-back tropical plants until spring, since the dead stems protect the crown.

Salt near the Beaches

UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions says plants within about one-eighth of a mile of a saltwater coast should be at least somewhat salt tolerant. It names live oak and southern red cedar as safe trees, cabbage palm and saw palmetto among the best palms, and beach sunflower and gaillardia for groundcover and flowers.

Local help: Duval County Extension

The UF/IFAS Duval County Extension office is at 1010 N. McDuff Avenue (904-255-7450). It tests soil pH for Duval County residents, with results in about 14 days; nutrient tests go to the UF lab in Gainesville. Master Gardener volunteers answer questions called in to the office and hold plant clinics at local nurseries, and volunteers will review your yard for Florida-Friendly Yard Recognition. See also how to test your lawn soil.

What it costs

Quotes vary with lot size, access and the work. These national ranges from our cost guides are a starting point:

• Tree removal: about $385 to $1,070 for most trees, and more for very large or hard-to-reach ones. See tree removal costs.
• Tree trimming: about $430 to $640 per tree on average. See tree trimming costs.
• Lawn care: monthly plans about $100 to $500, mowing about $44 to $71 per visit. See lawn care costs.
• Sprinkler system: about $1,600 to $3,600 installed. See sprinkler system costs.

Hiring a pro in Jacksonville

• Get two or three written quotes spelling out the scope, materials and timeline.
• For fertilizing, ask whether the company holds off before storms and heavy rain and keeps the required distance from water. Florida's fertilizer certification is covered in the Florida guide.
• For a sprinkler system, have the installer set the controller to your Duval watering days and fit a working rain sensor.
• For tree work near the street, ask whether the tree is in the city right-of-way, which needs a city permit. For a risky tree, ask for the arborist's written risk assessment.
• In Jacksonville Beach, confirm who is filing the tree removal application.