Pruning

Why do people have their trees pruned?

It’s healthy. One of the best things you can do for the health of your trees is regularly have the dead wood pruned out of them. This allows the tree to allocate its resources more efficiently to its limbs that can actually use those resources.

It’s safe. If you’ve got a branch hanging over your house, your driveway, or your kids’ swing set, pruning can often solve these issues without doing any serious damage to the rest of the tree. Especially if these limbs are dead or dying, removing them early is usually the cheapest, fastest, and healthiest option.

It makes the tree look better. Maybe you like the tree in general, but there’s that one branch that just grinds your gears every time you pull into the driveway. Or it’s grown out of control over the years and you’d like to reign it back in some. Generally speaking, it’s perfectly healthy to remove up to 20% of a tree’s canopy within one growing season.

It gets branches out of the way. Do you have to duck every time you walk through the gate into your back yard? Or side step to get to your front door and avoid the branches sticking over the walkway? Are you missing a parking spot in front of the house because branches are hanging too low? Again, generally speaking, it’s perfectly healthy to remove up to 20% of a tree’s canopy within one growing season.

Tree Removal

Why do people have their trees removed?

It’s dead. Dead trees can pose real safety concerns. They can break and damage your house, your stuff, your pets, or you. If a tree is completely dead, removal is almost certainly the right option. If it’s dying, removal may still be the best choice.

It’s ugly. Sometimes, they just don’t look good. It came with the house, or it grew faster than expected, or it got mangled in a hail storm. If it’s beyond pruning, removal may be the only realistic option.

It’s in the way. Plans for a new garage? Deck? Swimming pool? You might need a tree out of the way. Additionally, when trees are planted too close to structures, their roots can damage the foundation of that structure.

Stump Grinding

Grinding a stump is by far the fastest and most permanent method of getting rid of it. Stumps can be a tripping hazard, a pain to mow around, an obstruction to new building plans, or just an all-around eye sore. 

Typical stump grinding means turning the whole stump, six inches below ground level, into a pile of wood chips. Over time, this pile will settle into the ground, new top soil can be put in, and new grass seed planted. 

For an extra charge, we can also haul out all those wood chips, replace them with top soil, and plant grass seed. If done in the right season, you should have new grass within a few weeks.

Support Systems

Some trees have lots of sentimental or historic value, and you’d like to keep them around (and healthy) as long as possible. Steel hardware, usually in the form of a cable or a bolt, can add a lot of strength to an otherwise weak union in a tree. Not all trees are good candidates for support systems, but when appropriate, this can be a great solution that doesn’t change the size or shape of the tree.