Tree service in Bexley, Ohio

A whole city treated as an arboretum

Bexley takes its trees seriously. The city is accredited as an arboretum, and its forester manages thousands of trees along the streets and in the parks. Many of the homes date from the early 1900s, and the yard trees behind the sidewalks are often as old as the houses.

With trees like that, keeping a tree is usually the goal. Most of the work we are asked about here is pruning: clearing deadwood, lifting limbs off a roof, and thinning a crown so it catches less wind. Where a big limb is weak but the tree is worth saving, cabling and bracing can add years.

In March 2013 Bexley became the first city in the United States accredited as an arboretum by the Morton Register of Arboreta. (City of Bexley, Forestry Department)

The Bexley city forester manages more than 14,000 trees in the city's rights-of-way and parks. (City of Bexley, Forestry Department)

Old trees, tight driveways

Older Bexley lots often have a narrow driveway, a detached garage at the back and a slate or tile roof that nobody wants a limb on. That shapes the plan more than the tree does. We look at where the truck can park and how the brush gets out before we talk about the tree itself.

When an old tree has reached the end, with decay through the trunk or a failing root plate, it comes down in controlled pieces. See tree removal for how that works. Stumps can be ground out on the same visit with stump grinding, so the bed or lawn can be replanted.

Which trees belong to the city

In Bexley, a majority of the trees between the curb and the sidewalk are city trees, managed by the city's Forestry Department. Trees in a straight line just behind the sidewalk can be city trees too. Those are not ours to prune or remove for you. If you are not sure whose tree it is, the Forestry Department can tell you, and we can look at your own trees on the same visit. (City of Bexley, Forestry Department)