Landscaping Rules in Sumter County, FL (2026)
3 rules for unincorporated Sumter County, Florida.
Verified from official government sources
Tree Removal & Heritage Trees
Sumter County requires major development to design around trees 24 inches or larger in diameter and bars removing or damaging them unless a specific listed condition applies, such as no reasonable alternative development pattern or a safety hazard.
Significant Tree Removal, Sumter County
Some RestrictionsSumter County Code § 13-800(b)
(b)Retention and protection of large trees. Unless unreasonably burdened, all major development shall attempt to minimize the removal of and damage to significant trees by taking reasonable measures to design and locate proposed improvements so that the number of significant trees to be removed or damaged is minimized. Significant trees should not be removed or damaged unless:(1)A permissible u...
Weed Ordinances
Grass, weeds, or other plant growth taller than 24 inches on residential or commercial land in unincorporated Sumter County is a prima facie nuisance under Code § 6-104(5), defined the same way in § 6-103's 'Overgrowth' definition. The rule exempts agricultural land in rural areas.
Sumter County Weed Height Ordinance
Some RestrictionsSumter County Code §§ 6-103, 6-104(5)
Overgrowth: Any herbaceous and/or woody plant life over twenty-four (24) inches high in any residential or commercially classified land in the unincorporated areas of Sumter County which is located in developed subdivisions, whether platted or not, involving parcels of less than one acre in size. This shall not apply to agricultural lands in rural areas. ... (5)The overgrowth of any herbaceous ...
Native Plants
Landscape buffers required between adjoining parcels in unincorporated Sumter County must be at least 30 percent native and drought-tolerant tree species, and no single species can exceed 75 percent of the buffer's trees, under Land Development Code Section 13-802(h).
Sumter County Native Buffer Tree Rule
Some RestrictionsSumter County Code § 13-802(h)(2)b, (h)(3)e
b.Preservation and protection of existing native species of plant materials is strongly encouraged. ... e.Thirty (30) percent of the trees shall be native and drought tolerant species. No tree species shall account for more than seventy-five (75) percent of the total number of trees.
All Sumter County ordinances
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