Redwood and Douglas Fir Pruning

The Redwood tree is one of the most majestic sights in all of the Bay Area.

Ronald Reagan made his famous quote about redwoods during his presidency: “If you’ve seen one redwood you’ve seen them all”.  At Koala Tree Care we don’t believe that at all. Each tree is unique and special.

If you are fortunate enough to have some on your property, you know how they can tower 100 or more feet into the sky, even in homeowners’ yards, and shade your entire acreage. If you are putting in a new landscape plan and want mature-looking trees in a relative hurry, redwoods are a great choice. They can grow as quickly as five feet per year, and are a native tree to California.

Redwood and Douglas fir are the two predominant trees in the Santa Cruz Mountains. In the forest, redwoods can reach 350 feet in height, and Douglas Fir 250+.  In an urban setting, yours won’t get that high, but even at 90 to 100 feet they can present a challenge. Douglas fir is one of the more common trees we respond to in storms, so if you have a large tree that may impact your home we suggest inspection for presence of butt rot. If you have utility lines running across your land, your redwood or Douglas fir might endanger it, so you’ll need some professional pruning to keep that from becoming a problem. Light pruning of these two trees can correct structural problems, and safety pruning can significantly reduce limb failure, which is common in redwoods. Also, fire suppression and over planting of redwoods and firs cause these tree to grow too closely together, and knowing which ones to thin out is an important choice. Some of your redwoods may be valuable, and we have solutions for this as well.

We are experts when it comes to making decisions about redwoods and Douglas fir in your landscaping. Give us a call today to set up a consultation about your property. We will come out and give a full evaluation of any issues regarding your existing trees and make suggestions for future planting.