Book Tree Services Now for Spring

Spring storms fill our calendar with emergency work every year, and a good part of it was preventable in February. Here is what to look at now.

Related: Tree trimming in Wimberley and the Hill Country.

Hazardous and overextended limbs

Look for dead, cracked or overextended limbs that could break in a storm. Branches that are too long or unevenly weighted are the ones that fail first, which makes them the obvious candidates for early removal or reduction.

Structural weakness and past damage

Watch for a trunk leaning, exposed roots, or soil heaving on one side of the base. Trees that took damage in a previous storm deserve particular attention, because they can carry internal decay long after they appear to have recovered, and that substantially raises the risk of failure next time.

Canopy management

Selective pruning lets wind move through a canopy instead of pushing against it. Done properly it balances structural improvement against keeping enough foliage for the tree to stay healthy. It is not the same as thinning a tree out. See tree trimming.

What is underneath

Think about where a limb or a tree would actually land. Branches over vehicles or structures, and any lean toward the house, should drive the decision about what gets dealt with first.

What to have looked at before spring

Overextended limbs. Branches that reach a long way from the trunk are structurally the most likely to fail, because the leverage at the attachment point is greatest. Reducing end weight matters more than raising the canopy.

Anything already cracked. A split branch union or a crack in a major limb will not improve over winter. Trees that took damage in a previous storm can carry internal decay long after they appear to have recovered.

The base and the root plate. Soil heaving on one side, exposed roots or a new lean all point to a root problem, and on rocky limestone with shallow root plates that is what actually brings trees down here.

Whatever sits underneath. Work out where a limb would land. Anything over a roof, a vehicle or a driveway moves up the list regardless of how bad the limb looks from the ground.

Why booking early genuinely helps

Saturated ground plus high wind is what takes trees down in the Hill Country, because thin soil over limestone produces wide, shallow root plates rather than deep anchoring roots. That combination arrives every spring, and when it does everyone calls at once.

Planned work in winter costs considerably less than emergency work in April, and you get to choose the day. Regular inspection and appropriate maintenance can help identify and reduce tree-related risks, and many tree-related emergencies can be prevented by identifying hazards before severe weather.

If your trees are oaks

Booking early matters more, not less, because the calendar fills quickly once spring arrives. Oak work can be scheduled whenever suits you, with every cut sealed as it is made.

Prune no more than 25% of the canopy in a year, cut just outside the branch collar, and paint every oak cut immediately whatever the month.