Tree Removal in Huntington Beach, CA

Palm tree trimming and tree removal are two of the most common requests in Huntington Beach, and both fit the place. The city has 9.5 miles of beach, morning and evening breezes, and a long stretch of homes where palms line yards and driveways. Most of those homes went up fast: the population jumped from 11,492 in 1960 to 115,960 in 1970, so many yards were first planted during that decade.

What a proper palm trim includes

• Removing dead, brown and hanging fronds
• Cutting flower and seed stalks before fruit drops on cars and walkways
• Cleaning loose frond bases (boots) where they are ready to come off
• Checking the crown for rot, pests and nutrient problems

We leave healthy green fronds in place. Over-trimming, sometimes called a 'hurricane cut', strips a palm down to a few fronds at the top. It looks tidy for a month but starves the palm and can thin the trunk at that point.

Tall palms

Older fan palms in Huntington Beach can be very tall. We reach them with lifts where there is access and by climbing where there is not. We do not use climbing spikes on palms we are trimming, because palms cannot heal those wounds.

Get a Free Estimate

Other trees in the mix

Not everything here is a palm. Ficus, pines, eucalyptus and shade trees from the 1960s tracts are now large. Central Park, the city's nearly 350-acre park opened in 1974, uses blue gum eucalyptus among its supplemental trees. Eucalyptus in private yards can drop heavy limbs, especially in summer, so we check them for weak unions and deadwood during a standard tree trimming visit.

Wind and marine layer

The ocean keeps summer highs mostly under 85 degrees, and the marine layer brings gray mornings in May and June. Breezes of up to about 15 miles per hour are common in the morning and evening. Steady wind helps dry out fronds and loads up dense canopies, so balanced thinning is a better plan than letting a tree grow heavy on one side.

Oil country trees

Huntington Beach sits above the Huntington Beach Oil Field, and pumps still dot parts of the city. Yards near old well sites and pipelines sometimes have fill soil, buried lines or restrictions on digging. Before we grind a stump or dig near a tree on one of these lots, we ask about easements and have underground lines marked. If something unexpected shows up in the soil, we stop and let you know before going further.

For trees that are healthy but crowded, the fix is often simpler than removal. Thinning, raising the canopy over a driveway and pulling limbs back from the roof can make a big yard tree much easier to live with.

Near the wetlands

The Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve protects a large wetland and sits on the Pacific Flyway. Homes near open space and wetlands may have nesting birds in trees during spring. If we find an active nest, we will talk with you about delaying or changing the work. Call (949) 740-0499 to book palm trimming or a tree inspection.