Ags,

I have a couple of ~20 year old Live Oak trees in the front yard that are thick enough that they are blocking out sunshine and killing much of the grass under their canopies. Obviously time for some major pruning/trimming.

Question is: When is the best time to do this pruning? Now that the weather is cooling down and trees are less stressed I assume? Or should I wait until early Spring to start cutting?

Also, any good recommendations for an Arborist in Houston. I previously called out Ability Tree who charged $30 just to show up and then wanted almost $3000 a tree. That was a non-starter discussion.

Thanks Ags.

Any pics you can share? Just curious how big your 20 year olds are. I have a 5 year old, wondering how long until it gets a respectable size.

I'm not an arborist, but I've heard the best times are when it's very hot like August or very cold like January. Supposed to help protect the tree from oak wilt.

I usually do mine in early spring before their leaves fall. I've heard peak of summer isn't good...but not sure really. For the past several years, I used company called Texas Services. They did my two 20yr old oaks and two smaller 10yr old oaks for around $250-350. If you've ignored your trees for years it'll probably be more, but 3k sounds insane. They gave free written estimates and were insured.

Looks like they've been bought about by a company called BIO. Now that I see it, I recall their trucks saying BIO last time they came but the old texas services website was still up at the time. Not sure if they've changed any in price/quality since...

http://www.biolandscape.com/arbor.php



[This message has been edited by SJEAg (edited 11/13/2011 7:56a).]

Sean did our front trees (same as yours) for less than $300. He also impressed the neighbor with his work and pricing so he trimmed theirs too. He's an arborist and knows what to trim and what not, you won't be disappointed.

http://www.shawneetrees.com/

How big is your yard? Most folks that have the typical burb yard do not have enought for a live oak even though that is what all the builders plant. In 10-20 years all you can see is a tree and no house.

we've got 4 huge oaks and 2 big sycamores that need trimming. we're also taking down a good sized sycamore and some other small dead tree. we got a quote of $2600. i feel pretty good about that price. 3k for a tree is robbery.

2600 still sounds high. Try Sean.

late winter early spring is best time to prune

quote:

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I previously called out Ability Tree who charged $30 just to show up and then wanted almost $3000 a tree.

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Wow!

A nice article by our Aggie friends:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/publications/landscape/pruning/pruning.html

February

I had a tree guy out yesterday. Taking down 3 trees in the front, 1 in the back, trim the rest and take out brush. $1500 or so. For trimming, you shouldn't have to pay north of a grand.

Are they thinning the canopy or just trimming up the lower branches to a certain height? Ask questions about what exactly they are going to do.