Understanding the cost for trimming trees is essential for homeowners aiming to maintain a safe and aesthetic landscape. Dive in as we break down what to expect and the factors influencing these costs.
The atmospheric rivers of late winter 2022 and spring 2023 in western states led to more than just record snowpack and flooding; they caused explosive tree growth due to deep soil penetration. Regardless of your location, understanding tree trimming costs and maintenance is crucial, which is why Modernize offers this guide to hiring a professional arborist.
Types of Tree Trimming
Before you grab your phone and begin searching for professional tree trimming services, it helps to know a bit about the trimming process. There are different types of tree pruning, and each results in a different outcome. The type of trees you have on your property, as well as your desired outcome, will affect the amount of work required to complete the job and your total tree trimming costs.
Here’s a look at three different types of tree trimming:
What is Fine Pruning, and When Is it Necessary?
Tree pruning can be light or intense depending on your tree’s needs. When a professional arborist fine prunes your trees, they are focused on creating an aesthetically pleasing shape. Decaying or dead branches are cut out, which improves the overall health of the tree and reduces the impacts of heavy snow, rain or wind. Fine pruning is commonly performed on ornamental trees such as dogwoods, magnolias, evergreen trees and shrubs, fruit trees and Japanese Maples. Your arborist will have to fine prune your trees once or twice each year to achieve optimal growth patterns and crown balance. Homeowners may want to take on this job themselves, but be warned that any improper pruning cuts will permanently alter the shape and structure of your tree.
How Does Crown Reduction Benefit the Tree and Property?
A crown reduction is usually quite more work-intensive than fine pruning or crown thinning. This pruning maintenance technique — typically only performed on very mature trees — basically cuts back excessively long branches to reduce their weight and create a smaller footprint for the existing crown. Crown reduction also stimulates healthy, vigorous crown growth among existing branches. This type of tree service can benefit your home by eliminating or reducing heavy tree limbs that can cause property damage in severe ice and wind storms, as well as spur healthy growth throughout the tree.
What Are the Advantages of Crown Thinning?
The last major type of tree service we’ll cover is crown thinning. This is the most common pruning technique for professional arborists. In a thinning process, your arborist removes any dead or decaying branches to regulate uniform tree growth. Thinning starts at the outer crown, and smaller branches are pruned to ensure even spacing for sunlight penetration and visual aesthetics. Thinning also allows wind to pass through the crown more easily, which can reduce the chances of broken branches damaging your property during a storm event. Thinning must be performed throughout the crown structure. Failure to thin the crown at its highest branches could lead to bark damage and a weakened tree.
Now that we’ve given you an overview of the three main types of tree trimming services, let’s cover tree trimming costs.
Tree Trimming Costs and Factors Affecting Them
It should be pretty obvious that mature 20- to 50-year old trees will require a lot more work from a professional arborist than a five-year-old tree that just needs a few branches whacked back.
Size, complexity and desired outcome greatly affect total tree trimming costs. Here are the main factors that determine how much you pay for tree trimming services:
- Height. It’s far more difficult to prune branches on a 300 foot-tall Sitka spruce in Washington State than a 50 foot-tall sugar maple in New Hampshire.
- Species. Your arborist will have a much easier time running a saw through softwoods such as fir, pine and cedar than hardwoods such as maple, oak or ash.
- Accessibility. Can the arborist easily access your property with a lift bucket? Can branches be easily dropped, or do they have the potential to damage your property if they fall and must be secured all the way to the ground?
- Timing. Reaching out to a professional arborist during peak growing season also may lead to a bump in rates. The same goes following a severe storm — if the arborists in your region are super busy, they may charge more for emergency services.
- Number of trees. You may be able to negotiate a slightly reduced rate per tree if you have multiple trees that require servicing.
- Cleanup. All those downed branches have to go somewhere. If your job requires as much work in cleanup as it does in pruning, you may be paying a premium. That’s especially true for larger branches that can’t be fed through a chipper and must be cut up and hauled away.
There’s no out-of-the box cost for tree trimming services because no two trees have the same shape or pruning requirements. However, the national average sits between $200 and $760 per tree. That price can change quickly, however, especially when height is a factor. Trees between 30- and 60-feet tall could cost as much as $900 to trim, while trees 60-feet and taller could cost as much as $1,800.
Here’s a table that shows average pricing for tree trimming services that you can use as a rough guide. You’ll have to go over the prospective cost factors and specific details of your job with a tree service company to get a closer price estimate.
| Type of Work | Expected Cost |
|---|---|
| Trimming: under 30 feet | $100–$400 |
| Trimming: 30’-60’ | $150–$775 |
| Trimming: 60’ and up | $325–$1,700 |
| Crown Reduction | $200–$1,900 |
| Fine Pruning | $175–$1,800 |
Homeowners may be tempted to tackle the job themselves, and it might be okay to thin or remove branches that can be reached from ground level. However, if the job requires an arborist to reach upper branches that brush the sky, it’s probably best to leave the ladder in the garage and pick up the cell phone instead. Tree trimming can be exceptionally hazardous work, especially when extreme heights are involved.
Wrapping Up on Tree Trimming Expenses
Understanding the cost for trimming trees is essential, especially after witnessing unexpected growth spurred by climatic events. Whether you’re on the West Coast or elsewhere, being prepared budget-wise will ensure your trees are maintained in the best way possible. Remember, investing in professional tree care not only enhances the beauty of your landscape but also ensures the safety and health of your green assets.
