For community association managers
Answers you can forward to the board.
One plan for health care, pruning and removals, and one record for every palm and tree.
“The reports have been so helpful in communicating what is really taking place in the community, and the documentation helps at our board meetings.”
What lands on your desk
Is it covered? What happened? Can I show the board?
The budget is due before the number is.
The board wants next year’s line in early fall. Vendor numbers come late and move.
A palm dies and nobody knows its history.
The replacement invoice arrives first, and the board asks you.
Three vendors, three answers.
One sprays, one prunes, one removes. Every handoff is a phone call you make.
The Palm and Tree Master Plan
One written plan, 10 years.
We plan your palms and trees the way a well-run city plans its urban forest. Every palm and tree is mapped and counted. Each kind of work has a written standard. The budget is built from the counts, year by year, and safety comes first. Cities fund tree care to a floor and add where it matters most. Your plan does the same, at three levels.
Then we fit it to your community. A city manages street trees. Your residents live with these palms and trees every day: at the entrance, around the clubhouse and pool, along the lakes, behind every home. So the plan adds what a community needs. Palm care built for Southwest Florida, from Sabals to Phoenix palms to lethal bronzing. A level your board picks for each program. A budget it can take to a vote. And one point of contact who knows your property tree by tree.
The floor
Where most start- Safety, clearance, inspection, and the work that prevents losses.
- Every palm on Monitor, with a canopy look 4 visits a year. A look at every tree.
- Every palm pruned once a year, November to March.
- Anything seen is escalated. A lab test before any disease call.
Protect what matters
What we recommend for most- Everything in the floor.
- Preventive care on the high-value and high-visibility palms and trees.
- 4 visits a year, with a target of 80% Normal.
- Each palm pruned in its best months.
- Every new tree gets 2 years on the establishment schedule.
Full program
Protect what matters, backed by PPQ- Everything in Protect what matters.
- 6 visits a year, with a target of 90% Normal.
- The arborist writes every tree’s prescription and checks the work.
- Sterilized handsaws on every palm.
Each level keeps everything below it. Normal targets are management targets, not a guarantee. The budget is an estimate for each year, built from the counts.
When the call comes in
The same question, with and without a plan.
| When this happens | Without a plan | On a plan |
|---|---|---|
| The landscaper says a palm has Ganoderma and must come out | A paid visit for a second opinion, then a wait. | We check the record first. Often a same-day answer; a visit, if needed, is covered. |
| An invoice arrives to replace a royal palm | Nobody can say whether it was covered. | The palm has a record: grades, photos and a plain cause. |
| A resident reports brown fronds at the entry | Another vendor, billed as an assessment. | Service calls between visits are covered. You get an answer to pass on. |
| The board asks what next year will cost | You chase three vendors in September. | Next year’s number before the budget window closes. |
The Ptolemy client portal
Coming
Your whole property, on one screen.
The same record our crews work from, opened up to you.
- The four threats, all clear or not
- Your budget, live
- Every palm on the map
- Proposals and requests
Palm health
- Normal9281%
- Fair1412%
- Poor54%
Budget
- Palm Health Program
- Palm pruning
- Tree pruning
- Lethal bronzing
- Fusarium wilt
- Ganoderma butt rot
- Thielaviopsis trunk rot
In your words
What people in your seat write to us, and what we do about it.
“The reports have been so helpful in communicating what is really taking place in the community, and the documentation helps at our board meetings.”
“Are the reports not in the system that they can be accessed and sent over to us? This is part of the contract that should be sent after each service.”
What we do about itA report after every visit, written to forward as is.
“I just got an invoice to replace a Royal at the amenity... Do you know if this one had any issues in the past?”
What we do about itEvery palm has a record: grades over time, photos and a plain cause.
From emails our clients and prospects have sent us, word for word. Names, companies and places are removed.
What the plan covers
Health care, pruning and removals. One plan, one team.
Health care
Monitor, Manage, Protect- Every palm and tree mapped in our GIS inventory. Size, condition grades and photos are added by service.
- Scheduled inspections: 4 a year for communities and commercial sites, 6 for homes.
Pruning
Palms and trees, to a written standard- Palm pruning to the 9-and-3 standard, timed by species.
- Seed pods and fruit taken before they drop, on a named schedule.
Removals
Planned, documented, permitted- No removal without a certified arborist’s written determination.
- Removals planned by size class, so they sit in the budget, not in an emergency.
See all 15 items in the plan
Health care
- Every palm and tree mapped in our GIS inventory. Size, condition grades and photos are added by service.
- Scheduled inspections: 4 a year for communities and commercial sites, 6 for homes.
- Nutrition and protection by tier (Monitor, Standard, Advanced), palm by palm.
- Watching for more than twenty pests, diseases and disorders at every visit.
- A lab test before any disease call. Lab fees pass through at cost.
Pruning
- Palm pruning to the 9-and-3 standard, timed by species.
- Seed pods and fruit taken before they drop, on a named schedule.
- Sterilized handsaws where Fusarium wilt is a risk.
- Tree pruning by written prescription to ANSI A300. No canopy lifted where nothing needs clearance.
- Structural training on young trees, so storms do less damage later.
Removals
- No removal without a certified arborist’s written determination.
- Removals planned by size class, so they sit in the budget, not in an emergency.
- Stump grinding, with a Sunshine 811 ticket placed before any digging.
- A tree risk assessment (TRAQ) behind any risk call, ready for a county permit.
- Storm response with every tree assessed by number.
How it fits your budget
One line item you can defend.
We price from the counts, organized the way your board reads the budget.
- Next year’s number before your budget window closes. Any price change noticed by August 1.
- The program laid out by month or quarter for the treasurer.
- Pruning sent as a proposal first, so you can match the scope to the budget.
- We present the plan to your board, so you are not translating a technical program.
Questions
Questions managers ask
Is this palm covered by our program?
Send us a photo or the location. Every palm in the plan has a record, so we check it and answer directly.
Our landscaper says a palm has Ganoderma. Is that right?
We check the record first, then visit if needed and send a written finding. For a plan client, that visit is covered.
Can I get a report I can give the board?
Yes. A report after every visit, a quarterly report, and an update whenever a lab result comes back, each written to forward as is.
We think we have lethal bronzing. What do we do?
A site visit, not a removal. We sample the palm for the lab; results usually take 7 to 10 days, with a written update.
Do you replace our landscaper?
No. Your landscaper keeps the turf, shrubs and irrigation. We care for the palms and trees and coordinate with them.
Before budget season