Tree Service in Huntsville, AL

Pro Tree Service Huntsville handles tree service in Huntsville for homeowners across a city that now covers more than 218 square miles of land, from the antebellum blocks around Big Spring to the subdivisions climbing the slopes of Monte Sano and Green Mountain. The work changes a lot from one side of town to the other, so every job starts with a walk around the yard and a written estimate before anyone starts a saw.

Why ground and weather matter here

Huntsville sits in the Tennessee Valley on karst ground: limestone bedrock riddled with caves and springs, which is why the city grew up around Big Spring in the first place. On the mountain sides that means thin soil over rock, and trees that root wide and shallow rather than deep. Down in the valley, heavier soils hold water through the wet season, which Wikipedia's climate record puts at roughly November through May, with December the wettest month at close to six inches. Saturated ground in spring is exactly when the strongest thunderstorms arrive, and a tree with a shallow plate of roots over rock can tip in wind that would only strip leaves elsewhere.

The dry stretch runs August through October, when monthly rain usually drops under 3.6 inches. Drought-stressed oaks and pines are more likely to drop dead limbs and draw bark beetles, so late summer is a good time to have someone look at a tree that leafed out thin.

Storm history people here remember

The November 15, 1989 tornado touched down on Redstone Arsenal, crossed Airport Road and Whitesburg Drive, destroyed Jones Valley Elementary School and 259 homes, and ran 18.5 miles before it lifted near Brownsboro. The April 27, 2011 outbreak knocked out power across most of North Alabama for days after transmission towers near Browns Ferry went down. Ice and heavy snow are rarer, but the January 2011 storm left close to nine inches at the airport, and wet snow on evergreen limbs breaks them just as surely as wind. We take storm calls and can come out to make a hanging limb or a tree on a roof safe, then plan the rest of the cleanup.

The city's own trees and rules

Huntsville has had a tree ordinance since August 1981, which created the Tree Commission and the City Arborist position; the ordinance was revised in 2004 to set standards for commercial tree care. The Urban Forestry and Horticulture division manages trees on public property and works with Huntsville Utilities to replace street trees removed for power line clearance. If a tree you are worried about stands between the sidewalk and the street, or in a median, it may be the city's. Call the City Arborist's office before anyone prunes or removes it, and we will hold that part of the job until you have an answer.

Historic districts

The city designated Twickenham as its first historic preservation district in 1972, followed by Old Town in 1974 and Five Points in 1999. Twickenham alone has more than 65 antebellum homes. Changes in those districts go through the Historic Preservation Commission, and the city's preservation office (256-650-4779) can tell you whether the tree work you have in mind needs review. Old lots there often have big hardwoods close to brick foundations and slate or metal roofs, so we plan drop zones and rigging carefully and keep heavy equipment off old walks and lawns.

What we do across the city

• Tree removal, including trees close to houses, fences and lines, taken down in sections when there is no room to fell
• Tree trimming and pruning to clear roofs, raise canopies over drives and remove deadwood, following ANSI A300 practice rather than topping
• Stump grinding so a lawn or bed can be replanted
• Storm damage cleanup and emergency tree removal after wind and ice
• Assessments of trees that lean, crack or show fungus at the base

Call (938) 666-8748 or ask for a visit online. Get a free estimate