Frequently Asked Questions

HomeGuide's national figures put most removals at $400 to $1,200, with trees under 30 feet at $200 to $500 and trees 60 to 80 feet at $850 to $2,000. Tall palms, sloped lots, wires and tight access push prices up. Your written estimate after we see the tree is the actual price.

For a tree in the public parkway or other City property, yes. Section 9.63.060 of the Municipal Code requires a written application to the recreation and parks director, who may require a replacement tree. Those permit sections cover trees in public parks and streets. For a tree in a private yard, confirm with the City's Planning Division before removal, and check any HOA rules or CC&Rs.

That parkway tree is on public right of way, and the code treats trees in public streets as City trees. You cannot remove or seriously cut it without a permit. If it is damaged, dropping limbs or lifting the sidewalk, report it to the City and ask about a removal permit if you want it gone.

For most trees, late summer or early fall, before Santa Ana season, is a good time to remove deadwood and lighten heavy limbs. Jacarandas are usually pruned after they finish flowering, and palms are cleaned once or twice a year. Dead, cracked or hanging limbs should come off whenever you notice them.

HomeGuide's palm guide suggests once or twice a year depending on the species and how fast it grows. Removing only dead and dying fronds, flower stalks and seed pods is enough. Cutting off healthy green fronds weakens the palm and can slow its growth.

Get everyone away from the tree and anything it touches. If wires are down or tangled in branches, stay back and call 911 and the electric utility. Photograph the damage for your insurer, then call us to remove the tree in sections so nothing else gets crushed on the way down.

We can remove or prune the parts of a tree that are well clear of the lines. Anything close to energized high-voltage wires must be cleared by the utility's line-clearance crews first. We will tell you at the estimate which part of the job is ours and which needs the utility.

Grinding turns the stump into a pile of chips mixed with soil. Those chips can be raked back into the hole and mounded, or hauled off and replaced with topsoil if you plan to plant grass or a new tree in that spot. Expect some settling over the following months as buried roots decay.

HomeGuide lists $850 to $2,000 for trees 60 to 80 feet tall and $1,200 to $2,500 or more above 80 feet, nationally. Sectional rigging over a house, slope access and haul-away from a backyard can raise the figure.

Not on your own. Trees in public streets are City trees under section 9.63.030 of the Municipal Code. You can apply in writing to the recreation and parks director for a removal permit under section 9.63.060, and the City may require a replacement tree.

Not automatically. HomeGuide notes that stump removal usually adds $100 to $500 or more per stump. We price it as a separate line so you can decide.

Yes. Wood is cut small enough to carry or chip near the tree, and gates, steps and slopes are planned for at the estimate. It takes longer, which shows up in the price.

That depends on your policy and on whether the tree damaged a covered structure. Healthy trees removed by choice are generally not covered. Call your insurer before work starts if a tree has hit the house, garage or fence.

HomeGuide's national average runs $400 to $900 per tree, with small trees at $250 to $700 and trees over 60 feet at $1,000 to $2,500 or more. Several trees in one visit usually cost less per tree than single calls.

As a rule, a mature tree should keep most of its leaf area after pruning. Taking off too much in one visit stresses the tree and causes heavy regrowth, so large reductions are often spread over more than one season.

No pruning stops a tree from growing. Proper reduction can keep a tree smaller for a few years, but a tree that is simply too big for its space will keep needing work, and replacing it may be the better plan.

A tree in the parkway is a City tree, and the Municipal Code bars cutting or injuring public trees without a permit. Contact the City about it rather than pruning it yourself.

Many mature shade trees do well on a cycle of a few years. Fast growers like ficus may need attention more often, and young trees benefit from light structural pruning every year or two.

HomeGuide's national figures run $150 to $900 for palms 30 to 60 feet and $250 to $1,100 for 60 to 80 feet. A palm that has not been trimmed in years costs more because of the heavy skirt.

No. Green fronds feed the palm. Removing them weakens the tree and can slow its growth. A clean trim takes only dead and dying fronds plus flower and seed stalks.

Spike holes in a palm trunk are permanent, since palms do not grow new tissue to close wounds the way other trees do. On a palm we are only trimming, we use a lift or climbing methods that do not puncture the trunk.

Dry fronds burn readily, and a thick skirt of them is easy to ignite and can throw embers in wind. Keeping palms clean is a sensible step in a region with dry Santa Ana winds.

Not the part near the lines. Call the electric utility first; its line-clearance crews handle vegetation near energized lines. We can trim the rest once that is done.

HomeGuide's national figures put the first stump at $120 to $400 and each extra stump at $30 to $60. Pricing is often based on diameter, at about $2 to $6 per inch.

No. Grinding removes the stump and the top of the root flare. Larger roots stay in the ground and decay slowly. Surface roots that run across a lawn can be ground out as an add-on.

Compact grinders fit through many standard gates. Measure the narrowest point on the way to the stump and tell us when you call.

Yes, after a deeper grind and replacing the chips with soil. Planting slightly off the old center helps avoid the densest decaying wood.

Most stumps ground below grade will not resprout. Some vigorous species can send up shoots from leftover roots for a while; cutting those back repeatedly exhausts them.

HomeGuide notes that same-day or next-day emergency removal often runs 2 to 3 times the standard rate. A tree on a roof that requires rigging costs more than one lying across a lawn.

Often, if the tree damaged a covered structure like the house or a detached garage, subject to your deductible and limits. A tree that fell without hitting anything may not be covered. Check your policy and call your insurer early.

Trees in the public parkway belong to the City, and the public works director can remove public trees that are a hazard without a permit. Report it to the City right away. If it is on your house and you need it off now, tell both the City and us.

Small branches on the ground, perhaps. A tree resting on a structure, wedged against another tree or tangled in wires is under tension and can move suddenly when cut. Leave those to a crew with rigging gear, and leave anything near wires to the utility.

Warning signs include a new or increasing lean, cracked or lifted soil on one side, a split between trunks, dead limbs, mushrooms or decay at the base, and dieback in the crown. If you see any of these, have it looked at before the next wind event.

HomeGuide lists $100 to $250 for a consultation or inspection nationally, and $150 to $450 per tree when a written report is needed. Construction reports run $400 to $1,000.

Look for tiny round entry holes in the bark, often with staining or oozing around them, plus branch dieback. If you suspect it, have the tree looked at before moving any wood from it.

Often, yes. Deadwood removal, reduction of heavy limbs and better watering can extend a tree's life. Trees with major trunk decay, large splits or severe root damage are harder to keep safely.

A parkway tree needs a City permit, and for private yard trees it is worth confirming with the City's Planning Division first. Separately, and construction projects, HOAs or insurers sometimes ask for a formal report. Tell us when you call if you need one.

Top-down dieback can come from root damage, drought stress, girdling roots, boring insects or disease. The pattern of dieback and what we find at the trunk and roots usually narrow it down.