Palm Bay, FL Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)
Key Facts
- Native canopy quota
- 50% of trees added
- Planting size
- 8 ft height, 2.5 in. DBH
- Native shrub quota
- 50% of shrubs/hedges
- Recommended species
- Live oak, slash pine, magnolia
Summary
Palm Bay's landscaping code requires at least half of all trees added to a development site to be native canopy species, planted at a minimum 8-foot height.
Canopy trees. Tree species having an average mature height of twenty-five (25) feet or more, under local climatic conditions. A minimum of fifty percent (50%) of all trees added to the site must be native canopy trees with a minimum of eight (8) feet in height with a DBH of two and one-half (2.5) inches at planting. Recommended species include but are not limited to:
COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME Live Oak (native) Quericus virginiana Slash Pine (native) Pinus elliotti Red Maple (native) Acer rubrum Southern Magnolia (native) Magnolia grandiflora
Bald Cypress (native) Taxodium spp.
(3) Small trees. Tree species which have an average mature height of no less than fifteen (15) feet and no more than twenty-five (25) feet, under local climactic conditions. Small trees added to a site shall be a native or Florida- Friendly species with minimum of eight (8) feet in height with a DBH of one and one-half (1.5) at planting. Recommended species include but are not limited to:
COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME Silver Buttonwood (native) Conocarpus erectus Holly (native) Ilex spp. Crape Myrtle Lagerstroemia indica Stoppers (native) Eugenia spp. Southern Red Cedar (native) Juniperus silicicola
(4) Palms. Unbranched evergreen tree with a crown of long feathered or fan-shaped leaves. This shall include only true palms which are classified as
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-41: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. 2026-13, passed 5-21-26).
Full Breakdown
Section 175.027(D)(2) sets a native-planting floor for Palm Bay development landscaping: at least 50% of all trees added to a site must be native canopy species, those maturing to 25 feet or taller, installed at a minimum 8-foot height with a 2.5-inch trunk diameter. The code lists live oak, slash pine, red maple, southern magnolia, and bald cypress as recommended natives. The same landscaping chapter separately requires 50% of all shrubs and hedges planted on a site to be native species as well.
Violations & Fines
A landscape plan that falls short of the 50% native canopy tree threshold, or substitutes non-native or artificial plants, does not meet the site's landscaping approval requirements under Chapter 175.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Palm Bay require developers to plant native trees?
Do shrubs have a native-plant requirement too?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Palm Bay
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Palm Bay to another location·View the Florida landscaping rules overview
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Native Plants in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Brevard County handle native plants.