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Living hereHiring a landscaper in Boca Raton: the certificates, the contract and the storm-season plan
Mowing needs no licence in Florida, but fertilising, spraying and irrigation work each do, and they are different ones. What to check, what a written program should cover — and Palm Beach County Landscaping, a request service run by the company that publishes this site.
First, who is writing. Palm Beach County Landscaping, the service this guide introduces, is run by PangeaUp, which is owned by the publisher of BocaRatonFL.org. That is the business relationship the label above refers to. Everything before the last section holds whoever you hire.
The licence depends on the job
"Landscaper" covers several trades, and Florida licenses them separately. Ask which of these a company holds for the work it is quoting:
| The work | What the person doing it needs |
|---|---|
| Mowing, edging, hedges, mulch, planting | No state licence, though the business still needs its local business tax receipts |
| Fertilising lawns and beds | A state fertilizer applicator certificate, which requires Green Industries best-practice training (s. 482.1562). Boca Raton also checks that training before it issues a business tax receipt |
| Weed-and-feed, insecticide or fungicide on the lawn | A pest control business licence from the state agriculture department, with a certified operator in the lawn and ornamental category. The fertilizer certificate does not cover pesticides |
| Installing or repairing sprinkler systems | A Palm Beach County certificate of competency for irrigation work, and a city permit for a new system |
| Trimming near power lines | Line-clearance training. Ask before anyone climbs; otherwise leave it to FPL or a line-clearance specialist |
The state's pest control licensing page explains the categories and links its licence search. The one exception worth knowing: someone fertilising a single home with the owner's own fertilizer and spreader does not need the certificate.
What the written program should cover
- A visit calendar that follows the seasons — weekly in the wet months, less in the dry ones — rather than "as needed".
- Who hauls the cuttings. The city does not pick up yard waste a private company created. The contract should say the company takes it away.
- Your watering days. The controller should be set to the city's schedule and the rain shutoff tested. A company that adjusts your irrigation should know Boca's watering days.
- Fertilizer timing that respects the city's rules — nothing before a storm or heavy rain, no phosphorus without a soil test.
- Palm pruning to the standard, which means no "hurricane cut" stripping a palm to a few fronds; it weakens the tree.
- Storm season: when the pre-season trim happens (the city asks for big tree work by the end of April), and whether there is a walk-through afterwards.
- Insurance. Ask for the certificates — liability and workers' compensation — and check the dates. Associations often need them on file before a crew is let in.
Palm Beach County Landscaping
Palm Beach County Landscaping is a request service, not a landscaper: its own staff do no work on your property. You describe the property, the town and what needs attention. Its site says a partner company covering your town then walks the grounds and puts a proposal in writing. If you agree to it, your contract is with that company, which does the work.
What its site says about how it works:
- No cost to request. First a visit to the property, then a program on paper — what is done, how often and for what price — before anyone starts.
- You see who gets your request before you send it. The form lists which companies would receive it.
- Your details are not sold.
- Three maintenance levels, from routine mowing, edging, hedges and irrigation checks up to palm nutrition, storm-season inspections, seasonal colour and lighting upkeep, each priced per property after the walk-through. Design and installation, irrigation, tree and palm care, outdoor lighting, sod and hedges, and association contracts are offered too.
Its Boca Raton page is unusually specific about local conditions: seagrape trimming and sea turtle nesting on beachfront lots, the whitefly that has hit hedges across the county, and Ganoderma, the palm disease with no cure.
| Phone | (561) 319-1104 |
| info@palmbeachcountylandscaping.com | |
| Request | palmbeachcountylandscaping.com |
| Covers | Towns across Palm Beach County, Boca Raton among them |
Whoever the request reaches, ask for the certificates that match the work, as you would with any landscaper.
Where this comes from
Checked against these on 2026-10-14. Fees, deadlines and portals change — if one of these pages disagrees with this one, the official page is right and we would like to know.
- Florida Statutes s. 482.1562 — fertilizer applicator certification
- UF/IFAS — Limited Commercial Fertilizer Applicator certification
- FDACS — Pest control licensing and certification
- Palm Beach County — Regulated trades (PDF)
- City of Boca Raton — Irrigation system permit checklist (PDF)
- City of Boca Raton — Florida-Friendly Fertilizer
- Palm Beach County Landscaping
- Palm Beach County Landscaping — Boca Raton
- Palm Beach County Landscaping — Maintenance programs
- Palm Beach County Landscaping — About the network
October 2026 — First published.
We record when a guide was published and when it was last revised. We do not yet record what changed, so this is a dating record rather than a changelog.
Written and checked by a person, and carrying the month they were published and the month they were last revised. Where a rule or a fee applies we link the official source rather than quoting a number that will go stale.
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