On Substack: Stop Buying Palm and Tree Care One Proposal at a Time

On November 6, 2026, Jeff Kaulbars published an article on Palm Tree Talk, our Substack, about the mistake we see most often on the properties we walk. This is the short version.

The mistake

A board buys palm and tree care one proposal at a time. A pruning bid in the spring. A removal after a storm. A treatment quote when someone notices a brown palm by the entrance. Each vendor bids a different scope, the budget changes every year, and when the board turns over, the new members start from zero. That is not a vendor problem. It is a planning problem.

What a master plan is

The inventory says what you have: every palm and tree, by location, species, size and condition. The management plan says what to do about it: the pruning cycles, the inspections, the treatments, what comes first, and what it costs, year by year.

What the article covers

• Once the standard for each kind of work is written down, the budget is arithmetic. The board votes on a plan, not on an emergency.
• Written standards mean every bid covers the same scope, and every invoice can be checked against it.
• When lethal bronzing shows up or a hurricane hits, an inventory tells you in minutes which palms and trees are at risk and where they stand.
• Young trees get shaped while it is cheap. A live oak with two competing stems is a one-cut fix in year two.
• How we build a plan: assess and map, write the standard, choose a level, build the budget.
• Three levels for each program: the floor, protect what matters, and the full program.

Where to start

If your community buys palm and tree care one proposal at a time, start with the inventory. You cannot plan for palms and trees you have not counted.

Read the full article on Substack. To get new articles by email, subscribe to Palm Tree Talk. To put every palm and tree on one written plan, ask us for the free master plan.