Tree Removal in St. Peters, MO

Tree Removal in St. Peters mostly means dealing with trees that were planted the same decade the subdivision was built. St. Peters had just 486 residents in 1970. By 2000 it had passed 51,000, and by the 2020 census it reached 57,732 people in 24,233 housing units. That kind of growth plants a lot of trees in a short span, often the same few fast-growing species on every lot. Thirty to fifty years later, those trees reach mature size together, start rubbing roofs together, and in the case of ash, die together.

The city's trees and yours

St. Peters keeps a GPS-mapped inventory of more than 13,000 public trees, and the city's Parks Department maintains all public trees, including those in the right-of-way. Under the Tree and Landscape Ordinance, passed in 1998, new residential developments must install street trees in the city right-of-way. St. Peters became the first Tree City USA in St. Charles County in 1999 and has renewed every year since, with a Growth Award every year since 2000. If the tree you are concerned about is a public tree along the street, call the city. Trees on your lot are yours to manage.

Topping is banned here, for hire

St. Peters bans tree topping on city property and for hire anywhere in the city. In other words, a company working on your private tree in St. Peters is not allowed to top it. That matches standard arboricultural practice. Topping leaves large stubs that decay and sprout weak, crowded shoots, and the tree ends up more hazardous than before. When a tree has simply outgrown its spot, the choice is a proper reduction pruning or removal and replanting.

Ash in St. Charles County

Emerald ash borer was detected in St. Charles County before it was found in St. Louis County in 2015. Many St. Peters subdivisions have untreated yard ash that are now dead or in steep decline. Dead ash become brittle quickly, and their limbs break without warning. We generally take them down from a lift or by rigging rather than climbing once they have been dead a while. If you have a healthy ash that you value, ask about treatment early; the Missouri Department of Conservation says insecticides work best from about early May through June. A tree that has already lost much of its crown is usually past that point.

Common requests in St. Peters

• Removing dead ash before they fail onto a roof or fence
• Taking out Bradford pears that have split
• Removing a tree that has outgrown a small front yard
• Grinding stumps left behind from past removals so the lawn can be reseeded
• Clearing storm-broken limbs and leaning trees after summer thunderstorms

Call (314) 668-1571 or send a request online. We give written estimates that say exactly what is included. Get a free estimate