Tree Trimming

Proper and regular tree trimming is important for practical as well as aesthetic reasons. Foremost, removing dead and hazardous branches from your trees ensures that your yard’s landscaping is an asset contributing to and increasing the value of your home and not detracting from it. 

In addition, tree trimming not only sustains your tree’s health, it can prevent further infection to other parts of your tree. On the flip side, though, improper tree trimming can cause serious damage to your trees. Common trimming mistakes that can negatively affect your trees include: 

• Topping
• Trimming at the wrong time of year
• Over-trimming of a stressed tree
• Using spikes to climb the trunk
• Focusing on the interior canopy and ignoring the exterior of the tree
• Improper pruning cuts

Any of these improper techniques can reduce the overall lifespan of your tree, create a hazardous situation, require more frequent pruning, reduce the structural integrity of the tree and simply make the tree look unsightly. 

When we evaluate your trees for trimming, we use a comprehensive approach that ensures trimming specifically tailored to your landscaping. As Certified Arborists, we take into account your tree’s growth habits, environmental changes and the location of your trees. This approach helps ensure your tree will be aesthetically pleasing, healthy and long living. 

Typically, we suggest that trees be trimmed annually to ensure maximum growth. What’s more, here in the Conejo Valley where we can experience strong Santa Ana winds, regular trimming helps reduce the likelihood that the tree’s full canopy will bear the full force of the winds. 

Tree Removal

Healthy trees are wonderful assets to a home’s value. Unfortunately, that asset can turn into a liability all too quickly. This typically occurs when disease or damage beyond repair means that it is only a matter of time before the tree needs to be removed. 

We specialize in working with you to safely and efficiently remove a tree when that is ultimately required. Very often, a tree removal is complex and can pose dangers if done improperly. In order to determine the best way to remove a tree and the cost of removal, we consider several factors, including:

• Location
• Size of the tree
• Equipment needs
• Safety and risk concerns
• Time and crew required

Once we determine if a tree does indeed need to be removed and consider how to most cost-efficiently remove it, we develop a plan taking into account every detail of your particular situation. As bonded and licensed Arborists, we’ve learned that tree removal is part art and part science, and we bring nearly four decades of experience in combining both to get the job done right. Over that time we’ve seen it all — including limited access areas, nearby utility lines and trees with extreme decay.

We put our experience and knowledge in rigging tactics, equipment selection and safe working procedures to make sure your job goes smoothly and according to plan. Our expertise and specialized equipment helps us offer you affordable and safe removal of trees from any location, even those located close to existing homes and buildings.

Stump-Root Grinding & Removal

Some homeowners go through the expense and hassle of having a diseased or damaged tree removed only to skip the final step — stump removal. Stumps are usually an eyesore and can even be a safety hazard if they’re located in a high-foot-traffic area. 

If you’ve had a tree removed and are tired of looking at stump in the yard, give us a call. Our team of professionals will grind those stumps down below the surface to give your yard a beautiful and clean look. Stump grinding is the most effective and efficient method of removing stumps from your property. What’s more, in the case of diseased trees, stump grinding can help stop the spread of the disease by deadening the underlying root system. Aside from the main reasons for stump removal, consider that stumps also: 

• Cause new tree growth
• Attract insects
• Take up precious yard space

Stump grinding is not a job for amateurs. It involves the use of a stump grinder or stump cutter that removes tree stumps by means of a rotating cutting disk that chips away the wood. Stump grinders can be the size of a lawn mower or as large as truck, and which one to use is determined by the job at hand.  Most accomplish their task by means of a high-speed disk with teeth that grind the stump and roots into small chips. Stump grinders usually incorporate a cutter wheel with fixed carbide teeth and wheel movements are controlled by hydraulic cylinders that push the cutter wheel teeth laterally through the stump and to raise and lower the cutter wheel. Watch a stump grinder in action and you’ll immediately see why you should give us a call to get the job done right. 

Tree Health Diagnosis

Trees are a lot like people in one very important way: they need proper care and regular monitoring to make sure they’re healthy and thriving. To take that one step further, it’s also necessary to call in a professional once in a while to make sure that care and monitoring is on track. 

That’s why, when you spot brown or wilted leaves or other signs of a problem, it’s important to call in a Certified Arborist for a professional assessment and the correct treatment options. With our experience with pests and diseases that are common to the Conejo Valley, along with familiarity with local weather and climate patterns, we quickly and accurately identify problems and offer solutions. 

The variety of pests and diseases we’ve seen in our area is pretty amazing. Pests include: 

• Scales
• Thrips
• Psyllids
• Aphids 
• White flies
• Caterpillars
• Mites
• Sawflies
• Borers
• Ants
• Spiders

Diseases we’ve seen include:

• Armilleria
• Hytophthora
• Fire blight
• Anthracnose
• Galls
• Cankers
• Conks
• Mistletoe
• Sudden oak death
• Powdery mildew
• Rust
• Leaf spot

We use a range of methods to address these common pests and diseases, and we always take to use the most efficient and environmentally friendly approach. 

Drought

Although we had a terrific series of storms and abundant rainfall in early 2023, the fact is that in Southern California drought is a problem that we should prepare for over the long term. With that said, trees can exhibit many signs when they are experiencing drought stress, including problems such as leaf wilting. This is actually a tree’s defense mechanism in order to store water and retain moisture. The problem is that a tree cannot live like that very long. If a tree goes into this mode over a long of a period it will cause limbs to die back and the wood to dry out. If you suspect that your trees have suffered from draught, give us a call. As Certified Arborists, we can conduct a thorough analysis of your trees’ health and give you recommendations for helping them thrive.