Tree Pruning Cost

To keep your trees healthy, aesthetically appealing, and to eliminate the possibility of accidents, you need to invest in regular tree pruning. The tree service offers the best results when it is handled by professionals – trying to handle it yourself increases the risk of property damage, injury, and tree damage.

Tree pruners in Escondido charge varying prices for their services, with various factors affecting the tree pruning cost. If you are planning a tree pruning job, this article will help you determine how much money you need to set aside.

Average Tree Pruning Cost in Escondido

Escondido tree owners spend between $75 and $2000 on the pruning of a single tree. Most homeowners, however, have average-sized trees – this generally places their pruning cost at $460.

If you are wondering why tree service providers would charge different costs for varying trees, the factors outlined below should provide a perfect answer.

Tree Pruning Cost Factors in Escondido

1. Tree Height

The cost of pruning a tree generally increases as the height of the tree increases. This is understandable considering that taller trees have bigger branches, they have more complicated shapes, and they generally involve a bigger risk.

To ensure that the pruning of taller trees goes over without a hitch, professionals are often forced to bring heavier/bigger/more complicated machines. A lot of planning time is also required for bigger trees unlike when working on the shorter trees.

Below, we have outlined the costs to expect when pruning trees of varying heights:

• Small trees – Trees with a height of below 30 feet are classified in the small tree category. These trees have a pruning cost of between $75 and $400.
• Medium-sized trees – If your tree has a height of between 30 and 60 feet, it will have a pruning cost of $150 – $800.
• Large trees – Property owners with trees featuring a height of 60 to 80 feet spend $800 to $1500 on the tree pruning.
• Extremely large trees – If your trees have a height of above 80 feet, your pruning cost will range from $1,500 to over $2000.

2. Tree Health

Healthy trees have a lower pruning cost compared to trees that have health issues. If a tree has a health problem, it will be riskier to work on – this is because branches can break off unexpectedly. The tree pruners will have to be prepared with more sophisticated safety gear to avoid falling from the top of the tree.

After pruning the tree, professionals may need to work with arborists to figure out which health problem is bothering your tree. This could result in an arborist service fee. After inspecting the tree, the arborist may recommend some medications to help with the tree’s treatment. The arborist fee and the medication costs could add an average of $50 to $500 to your initial pruning cost.

3. Tree Species

Different tree species will have varying crown shapes, heights, and wood hardness. While some tree species will be extremely easy to prune, some will be more complicated. Below, we have listed the pruning costs to expect for some of the tree species found in Escondido:

Crepe Myrtle

Crepe Myrtles grow to a height of 3 to 30 feet. This places their pruning cost on the lower end, with property owners paying between $75 and $400.

Fruit Trees

Much like Crepe Myrtles, most fruit trees fall in the short tree category – it is generally rare to find a fruit tree with a height of more than 30 feet. If you have fruit trees in your home, you should expect the tree pruning cost to be between $100 and $400.

Pine Trees

Pines are some of the tallest trees in Escondido. While most of them will fall in the range of 40 to 100 feet, some – like the white pine – can grow to over 150 feet. Depending on how tall your pine tree is, you can expect the pruning cost to be approximately $200 to $2000+.

Queen Palm

Palm trees reach heights of between 20 and 80 feet at maturity. This generally puts their pruning cost between $100 and $1,500.

4. Accessibility

To make their work easier, tree pruning professionals travel with a bucket truck to areas where they have projects. The bucket truck, however, can only be used to prune trees that have enough space around them.

If your tree is not accessible, one – or several – of the tree pruning professionals will have to go up the tree manually. Going up the tree manually has more risks which means that professionals will have to be armed with more safety gear – also it takes more time.

To give you an example of how the tree pruning cost changes with increasing or decreasing accessibility, let’s take a look at an 80-foot oak tree. If the tree is very accessible and a bucket truck can be used, the pruning cost will hover around $1000. However, if someone has to go up the oak tree manually, the price will go up, reaching about $1,400.

5. Additional Services

The price on most tree pruning quotations doesn’t cover all the services that are often needed when pruning a tree. Most tree service providers will only include the cost of sawing off branches from the tree crown. Some of the extra services that cost the tree owners some extra cash include:

• Arborist Service – If your tree has a health problem, the tree pruners may have to invite an arborist to diagnose the tree and recommend the right treatment method. The arborist service will cost you some money.
• Medications – To treat a diseased tree, you will most likely have to spend some of your money on the prescriptions your arborist recommends.
• Pesticides – While tree pruning can help get rid of some pests, you may need to invest in some pesticides to kill the more resilient pests.
• Travel fees – You will only be charged a travel fee if the tree pruning professionals live a significant distance from the location of your property. Each mile traveled outside the tree pruner’s designated service zone can cost as much as $0.5. However, some tree pruners may charge a fixed travel fee of between $50 and $200, depending on the number of hours they spend driving.
• Cleanup and dumping – Most property owners do not like the idea of having branches and leaves all over their property. Professional tree pruners can help you with cleaning for a cost of $25 to $100.

Timing Tree Pruning Correctly

To get maximum benefits from tree pruning, you must prune your tree at the right time. Several factors affect the tree pruning timing – these include:

1. Safety

If your trees have broken branches, these might fall on your home or someone, causing injuries. Pruning the trees as soon as possible, however, can help you avoid this issue.

2. Tree Health

If you notice that some of the branches on your tree have a health problem, you must remove them as soon as possible. This should keep the disease from spreading to other parts of the tree.

3. Property value

If you would like your property to have a higher value without investing in new structures or amenities, simply invest in tree pruning. This should give the trees a better look and shape – this should improve your property’s appearance, and hence the overall value.

4. Dormant Stage

Trees stop growing actively for a short period – this stage generally lasts from Autumn to the end of winter. The dormant stage allows tree pruners a better view of the branches they need to remove – this makes this stage the safest period to prune a tree.

Unless your trees are posing a safety risk, they have a health problem that can be removed through pruning, or you would like to improve your property’s value in preparation for a sale, try to prune your trees in the dormant stage.

DIY Tree Pruning

To save money on tree services, some property owners may turn to DIY pruning. This is not always a nice idea, especially when you have extremely tall trees or trees standing next to your home. If, however, your trees are short and non-risky, you can avoid paying the tree pruning cost by following the DIY tree pruning tips outlined below:

• Avoid removing branches with a diameter of more than 10 cm – these should only be removed to get rid of a health problem or to increase safety. Branches with a diameter of less than 5 cm are safe to remove.
• Branches forming a strong U-shaped angle with the tree trunk should be allowed to stay on the tree. Those forming weak V-shaped angles are safe to remove.
• When removing a branch, do not leave a stub that is too big or cut too close to your tree trunk.
• Sanitize your tools before moving on to the next tree.

To prune your trees, you will need some pruning gear. A basic kit containing the following tools should be enough for you:

• Pruning saws – get a coarse-toothed saw to prune branches with a diameter of more than 3 inches. Fine-toothed saws work for branches with a diameter of below 2 inches.
• Bypass pruner – This is ideal for narrow-angled branches.
• Lopping shears – These are ideal for trees with large branches.