Tree service in Smithville, Texas

What I see in Smithville yards

Smithville has both river bottom and pine — big bottomland hardwoods along the Colorado and loblolly up on the sand. The old shade trees over the historic district are the kind of thing where careful reduction beats removal almost every time.

The trees I get called about in Smithville

Both bottomland hardwoods along the Colorado — pecan, sycamore, cottonwood — and loblolly pine up on the sand. The old shade trees over the historic district are the ones I care most about, and they're the ones where careful reduction beats removal almost every time. The mature shade trees through the older streets are the ones worth real care, and for those the conversation is often about cabling and bracing rather than cutting. A big old tree with a fork you don't trust can sometimes be supported with hardware installed high in the canopy instead of losing half its crown. It isn't a permanent fix and it needs inspecting, but it buys a lot of years.

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

The ground underneath: Post Oak Savannah

Thin acid sandy loam over a dense mottled claypan. Post oak and blackjack oak dominate because they tolerate it. Water perches after a hard rain and then disappears in a drought, and that cycling is hard on trees.

Permits in Smithville

I haven't read Smithville'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 Smithville property

Historic-district lots are moderate and tidy, with normal access. River lots mean soft ground. Forty-five minutes out. Colorado River bottom on one side and loblolly pine up on the sand on the other, forty-five minutes out. The historic streets are tighter than the newer parts of town, so limbs there come down on ropes.

Questions I get from Smithville

Getting me out to Smithville

Smithville is about a 45-minute run for me. At that distance it works best batched with other work out that way, so give me a little notice if it isn’t urgent. 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.