Tree Service in Lakewood, CA
The trees that went in when these blocks were built are now seventy years old, and a lot of them are bigger than the yards they live in. We trim them, take them out, and haul every piece away.
(562) 502-1431Free estimates. Fully insured crews.
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Tell us what the tree is doing and we will get you a price. Most quotes go out the same day.
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Tree work built around Lakewood lots
Almost every house here went up in the same short stretch of the early 1950s, on the same size lot, with the same narrow strip down the side. The landscaping went in at the same time too. That means we are usually working on a mature tree, planted about seventy years ago, standing in a yard that was never sized for it, with a block wall on two sides and a service line running overhead.
That shapes how the job gets done. There is no driving a bucket truck into a back yard on Candlewood or Palo Verde. Most of our removals come down in pieces, roped off and lowered by a climber, and the debris gets carried out through a side gate that is often barely three feet wide. We plan for that before we ever quote a price, which is why our numbers do not move once you have them.
We only work in Lakewood. That is not a limitation, it is the point. We know which streets have the sweetgums that lift sidewalks, which tracts got planted with ficus, and which back yards have a fifty-foot Mexican fan palm that has not been touched since the Clinton administration.
What we do
Tree removal
When a tree is dead, leaning, cracking the driveway, or simply too big for the space, we take the whole tree out down to the ground and haul the wood off the property. Tight access is normal work for us, not a surcharge.
Tree trimming and pruning
Most of the failures we see in winter were preventable in September. A canopy that gets thinned before Santa Ana season catches less wind and sheds far fewer limbs. We prune to keep the tree healthy, not to strip it.
Palm tree trimming
Fan palms and queen palms are everywhere in this city and they get tall fast. We get them skinned and cleaned up, seed pods and all, before the dead skirt turns into a rat nest or starts dropping fronds on the driveway.
Stump grinding
A removal is not really finished while there is a stump in the lawn. We grind the stump below grade and leave the hole filled, so you can replant, pour concrete, or just mow over it.
Emergency tree service
When a limb comes through the patio cover at two in the morning during a wind event, you can get someone out the same night. We make it safe first and deal with the rest in daylight.
Why trees fail here specifically
Lakewood sits on flat alluvial ground laid down by the San Gabriel River and Coyote Creek. Under the topsoil there are dense layers of silt and clay that roots struggle to push through. Trees respond by rooting wide and shallow instead of deep. Add decades of lawn sprinklers that wet only the top few inches and you get a big canopy sitting on a root plate that is far smaller than it looks.
Then the wind arrives. Santa Ana events from October through March push dry offshore gusts across a city with almost no natural windbreak. The worst damage tends to come when a Santa Ana follows a heavy storm: saturated ground loses its grip, the shallow root plate lifts, and a tree that stood for sixty years goes over in one night.
The other slow killer is water. A lot of front lawns in this city came out during the drought years, and the trees that had been living off those sprinklers were never put on their own irrigation. Five or six years later we are called out for dieback in the upper canopy, which is usually a tree that has been quietly starving. Deadwood at the top of an otherwise green tree is worth a look.
The trees we deal with most
- Sweetgum (liquidambar) — planted by the thousands in the tract build-out. Surface roots lift sidewalks and driveways, the spiky seed balls are a nuisance, and old ones drop limbs.
- Indian laurel fig (ficus) — beautiful shade, terrible neighbor. The roots go after driveways, block wall footings, and sewer laterals, and the canopy is top-heavy in wind.
- Mexican fan palm and queen palm — fast, tall, and nearly always overdue for trimming. Queen palms also drop heavy fruit clusters all over pool decks.
- Canary Island date palm — the big pineapple-topped ones. These need clean, sterilized tools, because fusarium wilt spreads from palm to palm on dirty saw blades.
- Jacaranda and carrotwood — brittle wood, heavy litter, and a habit of shedding limbs over cars.
- Aleppo pine and eucalyptus — the tallest things on most blocks. Both are prone to borers and both fail hard when they go.
- Backyard avocado and citrus — usually a health question rather than a removal. Avocados in this county are also under pressure from invasive shot hole borers.
One thing worth knowing: the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the curb is generally city property, and the trees in it are the City of Lakewood's to maintain. Anything inside your property line is yours. If you are not sure which one you are looking at, tell us the address and we will tell you straight, even if it means we do not get the job.
How we price the work
Price comes down to four things: how tall the tree is, what is under it, how we get the wood out, and how much of it there is. A forty-foot sweetgum in an open front yard on Clark is a straightforward morning. The same tree behind a house on a fifty-foot lot, over a pool, with power lines on the alley side, is a different job and we will tell you why.
Estimates are free and there is no charge to have us look. We quote a flat number, in writing, and that number includes hauling everything away. We do not add a dump fee at the end. If you want the wood cut to firewood length and left, say so and we will leave it stacked.
Cleanup is part of the job, not an upsell. We rake, we blow the driveway and the sidewalk, and we run a magnet where we have been if there is any chance of leaving metal behind. You should not be able to tell we were there except that the tree is gone.
If you would rather start by email than by phone, send us the details and we will come back with a number. It also helps to know a little about the crew that shows up before you let anyone put a saw in your yard.
Questions we get every week
What does tree removal cost in Lakewood?
Small ornamentals and young palms usually land in the low hundreds. Mid-size trees in an accessible front yard are typically several hundred. Large back yard removals with tight access, overhead lines, or a pool underneath run higher, because they take a climber and a full day. We will not quote a real number over the phone without seeing it, and anyone who does is guessing.
Do you clean everything up?
Yes. Branches, trunk wood, chips, and leaf litter all leave with us. The driveway and sidewalk get blown clean before the trucks move. Stump grinding leaves a pile of chips that we can either haul off or backfill into the hole, your call.
How soon can you get here?
Estimates usually happen within a day or two. Scheduled trimming and removals typically go on the calendar within the same week. During and right after a wind event, that backs up quickly, which is a good argument for booking your trimming in early fall rather than waiting.
Are you insured?
Yes, we carry liability and workers' compensation coverage, and we will hand you the certificate before we start. This matters more than people realize. If an uninsured crew gets hurt in your yard, or drops a limb through your roof, that becomes your problem and your homeowners policy. Always ask, and always ask us.
How often should trees be trimmed here?
Most broadleaf shade trees do well on a two to three year cycle. Fast growers like fan palms and eucalyptus want yearly attention. The best window for structural pruning is late summer into early fall, so the tree is thinned out before the first Santa Ana pushes through.
Do you work on weekends or after hours?
Regular crews run weekdays. Storm and emergency calls are answered outside those hours, because a cracked limb hanging over a bedroom does not wait until Monday.
Can you work around a pool, patio cover, or block wall?
That is most of what we do here. Pieces get roped and lowered rather than dropped, and we put plywood and mats down over hardscape and pool decking before anything comes out of the tree.
Get a price on your tree today
Tell us the address, what the tree is doing, and how we would get into the yard. You will have a real number to work with, not a range. Call (562) 502-1431 or use the form at the top of this page and we will get right back to you.