How Much Does Tree Removal Cost?

If one of your ice storm survivor trees has finally decided it’s time, then you will need to call a tree service professional. When he comes, the quoted price will be between $422 and $602 for the service, with an average cost of $512 for removing the tree. This exempts any circumstance including it being near a power line, an extensive amount of branches requiring pruning ahead of time or its proximity to your home, which could increase price.

How Much Does Stump Removal Cost?

If you have a stump in your backyard left from a tree that didn’t survive the ice storm, then you can a tree service professional out to remove it. It will cost between $80 and $150 to have the stump ground down, while having the stump removed will cost around $250 to $350. See what the best option is for your budget and plans for your yard.

Average Cost of Tree Maintenance in Oklahoma City

Maintaining a tree, especially one of those 5,000 new ones, will be far more cost-effective than cutting a tree down. Pruning, cutting or trimming a tree will probably cost between $300 to $500 depending on the complexity of the job. It won’t be as necessary with the young trees until they’re older and well-developed, but the survivor trees need regular care after surviving the ice storm.

Rules and Regulations

Oklahoma City does not require permits before removing a tree, but there are specific rules that tree service professionals must follow when removing a tree. Those include topping a tree before taking it down, lowering large limbs with ropes, and cutting stumps two inches to the ground so grass can grow. The best time to remove a tree in Oklahoma City is during the late fall or early winter. This will be before the ice storms will hit the Midwest and therefore keep your property or home from getting severe damages by way of the tree falling on it.

Common Trees to Plant in Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City is home to a lot of varieties of trees, some that can grow over 50 feet tall and others that reach only about 25 feet tall. Oklahoma’s state tree, the redbud (Cercis canadensis), has reddish-pink blossoms that can give color to any yard in the spring. Choosing trees that best fit the backyard is the city’s recommendation, as to avoid power lines, water lines and general issues with the home and garden. Some of the common types indigenous to Oklahoma City include:

• Bosnian pine (Pinus heldreichii)
• Caddo maple (Acer saccharum)
• Shumard oak (Quercus shumardii)
• Persian ironwood (Parrotia persica)

Oklahoma City’s climate and soil conditions also support apple and peach trees. Apples can handle the colder climate Oklahoma has during the fall and winter months, and peaches thrive in the spring and summer months. As long as residents don’t have soil that’s too wet, their peaches should grow just fine.

Difficult to Maintain Trees

Oklahoma City’s climate means that some of its trees are more amenable to breaking during storms or infection from disease and pests. These include:

• Cottonless cottonwood (Populus deltoides ‘Cottonless’)
• Washington hawthorn (Crataegus phaenopyrum)
• Russian olive (Eleagnus angustifolia)
• Flowering crabapple (Malus spp.)
• Thornless cockspur hawthorn (Crataegus crus-galli ‘Inermis‘)

Diseases Affecting Oklahoma City’s Trees

Hypoxylon canker is a disease affecting many of the trees in Oklahoma City with rising frequency since 1979. It’s a fungal infections that’s almost always fatal and starts with pieces of the bark falling off. Pine wilt, transmitted by the long-horned beetle, is another infection that hurts non-native pine trees in the city by causing their needles to yellow or brown and then the branches to wilt, eventually killing the tree. Cedar apple rust appears on cedars and junipers in the spring and can be pruned off before it takes control of the tree. Pinewood nematode is a disease that can be confused with drought conditions on pines, where the needles brown, but the wood pitch only needs to be cut from that area to stop the disease from spreading.

Rules Regarding Trees and Overhead Power Lines

OG&E, Oklahoma’s utlity company, recommends trees that will reach 25 feet should be planted 15 feet away from electric lines. Those that reach 40 feet should be planted 20 feet away from electric lines. Then any that could reach 40 feet should be at least 50 feet away from electric lines.

Plant Hardiness Zones for Oklahoma

Here are the plant hardiness zones for Oklahoma as provided by the USDA:

Image Sources:
Redbud
Shumard oak

Local Tree Services in Oklahoma City

 

Featured Tree Services in Oklahoma City