Tree Service FAQs

What It Costs and Why

Most calls start with the same handful of questions, answered the way Robbie would answer them on the phone. Estimates are free and there is no obligation. You get a firm written price before any work begins.

• Are estimates really free?

  Yes. Free, no obligation, and you get a firm written price before any work begins. We are not going to start a job and then discover it costs more.

• What determines the price of tree work?

  Height and trunk diameter, what is underneath the tree, and how hard it is to get equipment to it. A large tree in an open field is a much easier job than a medium tree hemmed in between a house and a fence, and the price reflects that.

• Why do tree quotes around Winchester vary so much?

  Usually insurance and cleanup. An uninsured outfit with a pickup and a saw has far lower costs than a company carrying liability and workers compensation and running a bucket truck and chipper. If a bid is dramatically lower, ask what happens if somebody gets hurt in your yard and who hauls the wood.

Reading Your Trees

• How do I know if a tree in my Winchester yard needs to come down?

  Warning signs include large dead limbs, a split or crack in the trunk, mushrooms or conks at the base, a lean that is getting worse, and soil heaving on one side of the root plate. Any of those are worth a look. Not all of them mean removal. More on tree removal.

• When is the best time of year for tree work in the Shenandoah Valley?

  Removals happen year round, and winter is often the cleanest time to do one because the ground is firm and the leaves are gone, so we can see structure and get equipment in without tearing up a lawn. Structural pruning is best in the dormant months. Storm work happens whenever the weather says so, which around here is mostly spring and summer thunderstorms plus the occasional winter ice load.

• Will you top my tree?

  We will reduce its height properly, which gets you the same result without the harm. Traditional topping leaves stubs that rot and forces out weak regrowth that breaks in storms. Here is the full explanation.

• Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Winchester, VA?

  On your own residential property, most removals around Winchester, Frederick County and Clarke County do not involve a permit. It changes when the tree sits in a city right of way or street strip, when the property is in a historic district, or when an HOA has its own covenants. Call the city or county before you commit, and if you tell us the address we will tell you what we run into on that street. We do not cut anything that looks like it needs a sign off until you have it.

• What kinds of trees do you work on most around Winchester?

  Oak, maple, tulip poplar, ash, black locust, walnut, and a lot of eastern white pine and cedar along fence lines. Each one fails differently. Silver maple and Bradford pear split at tight forks, oaks tend to drop big limbs while the rest of the tree still looks fine, and ash has been dying off across the region from emerald ash borer. Knowing which tree we are standing under changes what we recommend.

• Is spotted lanternfly a problem in this area?

  This part of Virginia is where the state first ran into it, and Frederick County and Winchester have been dealing with it and the associated quarantine rules ever since. Lanternfly is drawn to tree of heaven, which is the tall weedy invasive with the long compound leaves you see along fence rows and highway banks. Taking out tree of heaven on your property is usually the most useful thing you can do about it. Check the Virginia Cooperative Extension or the Department of Agriculture for current quarantine requirements before you move firewood or yard debris.

• Are dead ash trees really that dangerous to leave standing?

  More than most people expect. Ash killed by emerald ash borer goes brittle quickly, and a dead ash can shed large limbs with no warning and no wind. It also gets unsafe to climb, which means a tree that was a routine job two years ago now needs a bucket or a crane and costs more. If you have standing dead ash near the house, a driveway, or a road, it is the one we would move to the front of the list.