Tree Services in Woodland, California

Woodland was named for its valley oaks, and a few of the originals still tower over the town. The biggest and oldest grows at the Gibson House museum on Gibson Road, others shade Lee and Douglass middle schools and Dingle Elementary, and two in Beamer Park survived only because the park was built around them. Farming, firewood cutting and building took most of the native groves, so today's canopy is largely planted. The city held its first Arbor Day in 1903 and later took the motto City of Trees. London planes were planted heavily from the 1920s on, American elms lined the early streets, and cork oaks settled in well. Toward the Sacramento River, western sycamores grow wild.

Each part of town brings its own tree problems. In the historic core around downtown and College Street, century-old street trees stand in narrow strips between curb and sidewalk, where roots lift concrete and limbs hang over porches and roofs. The surviving American elms there are aging, and many were topped years ago, which left weak upper branches. Beamer Park, built after the Depression, is lined with London planes that anthracnose has scarred, and damaged limbs on those trees don't regrow well. Spring Lake, the southeast district planned in 2001, is the opposite case: young trees in compact yards that need early structural pruning, plus roots competing with patios and fences.

That history affects how work gets done here. Because of the 20-foot rule, plenty of front-yard trees in older neighborhoods fall under city review, and trimming limbs 3 inches or thicker counts as major maintenance, not routine pruning. Trees in the planting strip belong to the city, which prunes them on a seven-year cycle; owners who want work sooner can apply to have it done at their own expense by a qualified contractor. If a truck or chipper has to sit in the street, an encroachment permit may be needed. Long, hot summers stress the old elms and planes, so dead wood and heavy end weight deserve attention before winter storms arrive.