Tree service in Manchaca, Texas

What I see in Manchaca yards

Old south-Travis country — big live oaks over smaller older houses, and a lot of them have utility lines run straight through the canopy. Clearance work around a service drop is its own skill, and it's worth having somebody do it who isn't guessing about what's energized.

The trees I get called about in Manchaca

Big old live oaks over houses that are smaller and older than the trees are now. Cedar elm and hackberry fill the gaps. The defining Manchaca problem isn't the species, it's that utility service drops run straight through a lot of these canopies. Big older live oaks over smaller mid-century houses, and a lot of them have the power service drop running straight through the canopy. That's the recurring Manchaca job. Clearance around a service drop is genuinely different work — what's energized, what the utility owns versus what you own, and where the cut has to stop.

How to tell these species apart, and what goes wrong with each one.

The ground underneath: Blackland Prairie

Deep black clay that swells when it's wet and shrinks hard when it's dry. Post oak, blackjack oak, cedar elm, American and winged elm, sugarberry, green ash and honey mesquite. That soil movement is constantly shearing fine roots, and it's behind more mystery decline than any disease.

Permits in Manchaca

I haven't read Manchaca's ordinance closely enough to summarize it here, and I'm not going to guess at a rule that could cost you a mitigation bill. Call the city's planning or development services department and ask two questions: what trunk diameter triggers a permit, and is there a protected species list.

I have verified the rules for Austin, Kyle, Buda and Dripping Springs — those are written up here, along with how to measure your trunk properly, which every one of these ordinances depends on.

Working on a Manchaca property

Older south Travis lots, moderate size, generally workable. Eighteen minutes from Kyle, so it's often a there-and-back-before-lunch job. Older lots with mature canopy and narrow side yards, so limbs generally come down on ropes rather than getting dropped. Eighteen minutes from me, which makes it one of the easiest Travis County trips I make.

Questions I get from Manchaca

Getting me out to Manchaca

Manchaca is about a 18-minute run for me. Call or text me a photo with something in frame for scale and I can usually give you a number without driving out. Estimates are free either way.

One rule that applies everywhere, including here: don't prune oaks between February 1 and June 30. Here's why.