FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

We service areas in Contra Costa, Solano, and Alameda Counties, including:

Alameda
Alamo
American Canyon
Antioch
Benicia
Berkeley
Clayton
Concord
Danville
Diablo
Dublin
El Cerritto
Hercules
Lafayette
Martinez
Moraga
Oakland
Orinda
Piedmont
Pinole
Pleasant Hill
Pleasanton
Richmond
San Pablo
San Ramon
Vallejo
Walnut Creek

We offer a variety of services, including:

Airknife
Appraisals
Arborist Reports
Cabling and Bracing
Fertilizing
Free Wood Chip Delivery
Hazard Evaluations
Health Evaluations
Planting
Real Estate Tree Inspection
Resistograph
Root Crown Excavation
Root Pruning
Soil Aeration
Stump Grinding
Tree Pruning
Tree Removal
Urban Lumber and Milling

For more information on each of the services we offer, please go to our services page here.

While Traverso Tree Service strives to cover a wide range of tree care, there are a few items we do not do. We are not licensed to spray, and do not do repeated landscape maintenance. We also have some limitations when it comes to trees near power lines. For more information, please click on the question: “Can you cut trees near power lines?”

Yes! All of our estimates are free. We are currently setting up bids in a 2-hour time window from 8am to 2pm, Monday through Friday. We do not have any evening or weekend availability for estimates.

Each one of our estimators is an ISA certified arborist. You can find more information about each of our estimators on our biography page here.

While our office staff is very knowledgeable about tree care, they cannot give you a rough estimate for your tree work, nor can an estimator provide an estimate based on photos or video. The cost can vary depending on access, immobile items or structures below, type of equipment that can be used, utility lines, the tree’s current health and structure, and many other factors which cannot be evaluated without an actual site visit. In order to receive an estimate, we must send one of our certified arborists out to the site to take a look at your trees.

We do offer arborist reports, which start at $150 for a basic report. You may need one if you are applying for a tree removal permit, if you just want a formal assessment of your tree(s), to make a tree-related insurance claim, etc. 

Construction projects nowadays also require arborist reports, and the requirements differ depending on the city or county in which the property is located. These reports are more complicated and are bid on a case by case basis. 

In California’s mild climate, you can perform proper tree work all year round. However, what that proper care looks like differs from tree to tree, and may include fertilizing, trimming, and watering. It is always best to ask an arborist when the best time to prune your tree is. Please note that you may have multiple types of trees that should be pruned at different times of the year. We can give you a bid for all of the trees and split the work accordingly.

Below is a short list of trees that are recommended to be pruned at a specific time of year:
Alders: Prune in winter to avoid borers
Apricots: Prune in July/August, as they are susceptible to a disease (Eutypa dieback) that is spread during wet weather
Birches: Prune in winter to avoid bronze birch borers
Citrus: Prune in April (after all danger of frost is gone) through August. Pruning tends to stimulate growth, and tender foliage on citrus can be damaged by frost. Pruning too late in the year may increase the chances of frost damage.
Conifers (cedars, spruce, fir, etc): Can be pruned at any time of the year, but these trees have a tendency to bleed from the pruning cuts, which may be worse in the warm summer months than in winter. If the tree hangs over cars, winter pruning may be better to help lessen sap drop.
Cypresses: Prune during dry summer months, as they are susceptible to a vascular disease (cypress canker) that is spread through water
Fruit trees: Prune in December & January if fruit production is a top priority. If the tree is valued as ornamental first and the fruit is a secondary benefit, then you can prune the tree at any time of the year.
However, for Apples & pears with fire blight: Prune in summer or winter when the bacteria is not actively spreading (avoid spring or rainy season).
Monterey Pines: Prune in November through February, when the bark beetles are dormant
Mulberries: If the tree is being pollarded every year, prune in December & January after the leaves drop. Any regular non-pollard pruning can be done year round.
Raywood ash: Prune during dry summer months, as they are susceptible to a disease (Ash dieback, Botrysphaeria) that is spread through water

The best time to plant a tree is in the fall, when temperatures have cooled down and we are heading into the rainy season. This puts less stress on the tree (and the homeowner, for maintenance). Otherwise, you can plant a tree year round, as long as you provide enough regular water during the first year or two. You’ll have to be extra diligent if you plant in the summer.

We get asked this a lot, and we do not recommend it. If your tree can naturally reach a height of 70’, as long as the growing conditions are good, it will do its best to grow to that height no matter what you do. If you aggressively prune the tree to make it shorter, such as by topping, the tree will respond with equally aggressive re-growth (and the new growth will be badly structured, prone to breaking!). 

Crown reduction can be used to slightly reduce the canopy, such as for clearance over buildings or to shorten over-elongated branches. However, when done properly, it will not significantly reduce the height of a tree.

If the tree has outgrown its space, consider removing it and replacing it with a smaller tree.

There are certain sprays that lessen, but do not eliminate, fruit production. The timing of the sprays must be specific to your tree and its flowering/fruiting cycle for that year. If the fruit is extremely annoying, consider replacing the tree with a fruitless species or a verified male cultivar. Male trees do not produce fruit, but they produce pollen – be wary if you have allergies.

Although sap can be a sticky inconvenience, it is a sign that the tree is healthy and working hard to stop bug infestations. Typically sap flows from pruning cuts, and conifers tend to bleed the most, which is why we recommend pruning those types of trees in the winter, when the sap flow is slower.

If your tree is dripping sap, it’s critical to know what kind of tree it is.

If you have a broadleaf tree with sap that is fine mist of a sticky substance, then you may have aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies, or a related sucking insect. The issue will subside for deciduous trees once they drop their leaves for the winter. Severe infestations may be treated with systemic insecticides, which can be applied to the soil around the base of the tree. However, the insecticide may be harmful to honeybees and other beneficial insects and should be applied by a qualified applicator.

If you have an oak tree with sap that looks like splashes of water, you may have drippy nut disease. This is causes by weevils that bore into acorns and can be easily cleaned up with water. Once the acorns fall of the tree in November/December, the problem is gone. Drippy nut disease is not harmful to the oak tree and typically doesn’t happen every year. However, there is no current treatment for it.

Some tree work does require a permit from your city or county in order to be completed. You may also need a permit to work on a city-owned tree. However, the specifics differ from city to city. Our arborists are familiar with all of the local ordinances regarding tree protection, and will let you know when you receive your estimate if any of your work requires a permit. For more information, you can check out our permits page here, and contact your city’s planning department with any questions.

Traverso Tree Service is not line clearance certified, meaning that we cannot perform tree work if the crew members, equipment, or tree is within the 10′ safety zone around energized, high-voltage wires. You will need to get PG&E to do a “make-safe” before we can complete the work, where their contractors will remove the parts of the tree that are within 10’ of the line. 

However, we can do work around lower service lines.

Traverso Tree Service delivers free wood chips to people in our service area. We have a list of people who want woodchips, and when we are in your area AND have a full load of chips, we can drop them off at no charge. Please fill out this form and we can get you on the list. You can also check out our page on wood chip delivery here.