Where the lists come from

UF/IFAS researchers surveyed urban trees after 10 hurricanes, covering more than 150 species, and published the results as Wind and Trees: Lessons Learned from Hurricanes (FR173). They found urban forest losses ranging from 11% of trees in one storm to 38% in another. Species lists are split into two regions: the Southeastern Coastal Plain (roughly hardiness zones 8 to 9) and tropical South Florida (zones 10 to 11). Check the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map for your address to see which list applies.

Survival after Hurricane Ivan

UF/IFAS's Selecting Coastal Plain Species for Wind Resistance (FR174) reports how many trees of each species survived Hurricane Ivan (2004, about 130 mph winds). A few examples:

Sand live oak: 99%
Live oak: 91%
Sabal palm: 80%
Laurel oak: 77%
Pecan: 76%
Water oak: 72%
Slash pine: 71%
Southern red oak: 60%
Tulip poplar: 24%

Highest and lowest wind resistance (Coastal Plain list)

Combining storm data with an expert survey, FR174 groups species by wind resistance.

Highest: dogwood, hollies, crape myrtle, southern magnolia, podocarpus, sand live oak, turkey oak, myrtle oak, live oak, sparkleberry, Florida scrub hickory, pondcypress and baldcypress.
Lowest: pecan, tulip poplar, Carolina laurelcherry, Bradford pear, southern red oak, laurel oak, water oak, Chinese tallow, Chinese elm, southern red cedar, Leyland cypress, sand pine, spruce pine and Washington fan palm.
Slash, longleaf and loblolly pines and red maple sit in a medium-low group.

What else matters as much as species

Groups beat loners. FR173 reports that trees growing in groups (five or more trees, each within 10 feet of another) survived better than single trees: about 80% versus 70% in Ivan and 88% versus 78% in Jeanne.
Structure and care. FR173 recommends structural pruning of young trees, removing dead or damaged branches, and having older trees of poorly surviving species inspected.
No tree is windproof. FR174 stresses that soil, age, health and site all affect how a given tree does.

Using this around your house

A laurel oak or water oak over the roof is not automatically a removal, and a live oak is not automatically safe. The lists tell you where to look first. The UF/IFAS Extension office in Marion County advises having questionable trees inspected by an ISA Certified Arborist well before hurricane season, and says high-risk trees touching the house or within 15 feet of the foundation should be removed or pruned.

When planting, these lists are the easiest win: choose a high-resistance species and give it room. Before any removal inside the City of Ocala, read our tree permit page.

What we do

We walk the property, tell you which trees we would leave, prune or take down, and why. You get a written price before work starts.

Sources: UF/IFAS, Wind and Trees: Lessons Learned from Hurricanes (FR173) · UF/IFAS, Selecting Coastal Plain Species for Wind Resistance (FR174) · UF/IFAS Extension Marion County, landscaping care before and after a storm · USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map · checked 2026-11-01

Which Florida trees hold up in hurricanes, according to UF/IFAS research