Frequently Asked Questions

It depends on the tree and the lot. Inside the City of Charleston, trees under 24 inches in diameter on single-family or duplex lots need no permit, while grand trees (24 inches and up, except pines and sweet gums) need a city inspection and permit, issued when the tree is hazardous, diseased, badly injured or damaging the house. Unincorporated Charleston County and nearby towns have their own rules. We measure the tree and tell you which applies.

National cost guides put most tree removals between about $400 and $1,200, with trees over 60 feet from about $850 to $2,000 or more, and trimming one tree from about $400 to $900. Big live oaks over houses, tight backyards and dead wood push the price up. We give a written price after seeing the tree.

If it stands in the public right of way, usually between the sidewalk and the curb, it belongs to the city. Charleston's code says no one may cut, prune, climb or remove a city tree without written permission from the director of the Department of Parks. If it is on your side of the property line, pruning needs no permit, even for a grand tree.

For most shade trees, late winter while they are dormant works well, and it gets work done well before hurricane season starts in June. Clemson Extension suggests mid-to-late summer for pruning live oaks to reduce oak wilt risk. Dead, cracked or hanging limbs should come off whenever you find them.

Almost certainly not. Clemson Extension explains that Spanish moss is an epiphyte: it uses the tree for support and takes no water or nutrients from it. Heavy moss on a thin, struggling tree is usually a sign of another problem, so we look at the roots, trunk and crown instead.

Dominion Energy says homeowners should never hire a private contractor to work near power lines, and only qualified line clearance workers may work within 10 feet of them. Call the utility first. For the line to your house, Dominion will disconnect service at no cost so the tree can be removed safely, and then we can do the rest.

Yes, we work in and around the quarantine areas and plan the wood handling before cutting. Inside the quarantine, firewood and host wood half an inch or more across must be processed under state and federal rules or taken to an approved site, such as the Bees Ferry Road convenience center. If you see round, pencil-sized exit holes in a maple, report it to the state program at 843-973-8329.

National guides put most removals between about $400 and $1,200, with tall trees over 60 feet from about $850 to $2,000 or more. A large oak leaning over a house or a pool will sit at the high end because of the rigging involved. We give a written price after seeing the tree.

No. The City of Charleston excludes pines and sweet gums from its grand tree definition, so on a single-family lot they need no removal permit at any size. They can still be protected trees on commercial lots, multi-unit lots and residential lots of an acre or more.

Usually not without a good reason. The city approves removal when the tree is hazardous, diseased, irreparably injured or damaging the house in a way that cannot be fixed otherwise. If your concern is shade or leaves, pruning is normally the answer.

Yes. Logs can be left in rounds or cut to firewood length. If your property is in the Asian longhorned beetle quarantine and the tree is a host species, the wood has to stay inside the quarantine or be processed under the rules, so we will tell you what is allowed.

Dead trees are less predictable to climb and cut, so they often take more rigging or a lift. Removing a declining tree before it is fully dead is usually easier and safer.

As little as gets the job done. Pruning standards discourage removing large amounts of live crown in one visit, and older trees tolerate heavy cuts poorly. We would rather do a lighter job now and look again in a few years.

No. Topping cuts large limbs back to stubs, which sprout weakly attached shoots and often decay. It makes a tree more likely to break in a storm, not less. Reduction cuts back to a healthy side branch do the same job properly.

Branches over your house can be pruned if the tree is not seriously harmed, but talk with your neighbor first, and remember a grand tree or city tree may have its own rules. We prune from your side and keep cuts to proper locations so the tree is not damaged.

A mature, healthy live oak usually needs attention every few years, mostly for dead wood and clearance. Young trees benefit from lighter pruning more often while their structure forms.

No, and they should not be used on trees that are staying, because the spikes wound the bark. Climbers use ropes and saddles or a lift.

Usually several inches below grade, enough for soil and sod. If you plan to build, pour concrete or plant a new tree in the same spot, say so, and we will grind deeper or suggest full removal.

You can, but it is easier a few feet to one side, away from the decaying roots and chips. If it has to go in the same spot, we rake out the chips and backfill with soil.

Some trees, such as sweet gum and some oaks, can send up sprouts from the roots after removal. Grinding below grade reduces that, and any later sprouts can be cut or mowed.

A palm trunk cut flush can be left, but it is slow to rot and hard to mow around. Palm stumps grind quickly, so it is usually worth doing them at the same time as other stumps.

It often does when a tree damages a covered structure, such as the house or a fence, and often does not when a tree falls in an open yard without hitting anything. Limits vary by policy, so call your insurer and take photos before the tree is moved.

No tree crew should climb or cut in high wind or lightning. You can call any time to leave details, and work starts once the wind has dropped and it is safe to be in the tree.

The City of Charleston collects yard waste at the curb when limbs are cut to 4-foot lengths and 4-inch diameter, and leaves and twigs are in paper bags. After big storms cities sometimes run special debris pickups. Large trunks are usually hauled by the tree company.

A tree that has newly leaned, with soil heaved or roots lifted on one side, has lost part of its anchorage and should be looked at quickly. Older trees that have leaned for years with no change are a different case.

Once a year is plenty for most sabal palmettos, and some go longer. Trimming more often tends to remove green fronds the palm still needs.

Usually not. Yellowing lower fronds are often a sign of potassium deficiency, and the palm is still drawing nutrients from them. Removing them can speed up the decline. A palm fertilizer is the better answer; fully brown fronds can come off.

Removing dead fronds and heavy seed stalks reduces what can blow off, but stripping the crown does not help. Palms cut back to a few fronds were more likely to lose their heads in Florida's 2004 and 2005 hurricanes.

Repeated over-pruning can make a palm's trunk narrow just below the crown, often called pencil-pointing. It cannot be reversed, but leaving a fuller crown from now on keeps it from getting worse.

Before the season starts on June 1 is ideal, and late winter or early spring gives you time to handle any permit for a grand tree. Waiting until a storm is in the forecast is too late for most work.

Light, even thinning of crowded branches can help, but heavy thinning that strips the inner crown makes things worse. The most useful cuts are usually reductions that shorten long, heavy limbs over the house.

Not automatically. A healthy pine with a full root zone may ride out storms for decades. A tall pine with a lean toward the house, damaged roots or a dead top is a stronger case for removal. We look at each one.

Look for mushrooms or conks at the base, cavities, cracks in the trunk or at forks, dead branches in the top, and soil lifting on one side. Clemson also lists bore holes and rotting pruning wounds as warning signs. Any of those near the house is worth a visit.