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Tree Service in Apple Hill

Live or work on one of the ranches? We serve Apple Hill. Call (530) 466-4059 and we'll find a tree pro who is used to orchards and rows.

We book the visit. What it costs is the pro's call to make.

Fifty-five ranches

Apple Hill is the name of the growers' group. Its 55 ranches sit in the foothills around Camino.

It began small. The group started with 16 original ranches and grew to 55, with Christmas tree growers among them. Pear blight in the early 1960s sent Camino growers toward apples.

One tree here has its own fame. The county's oldest apple tree is thought to be a Rhode Island Greening on Larsen Ranch. A tree like that deserves a careful plan before anyone touches a saw.

Orchard trees break differently

An apple limb breaks under fruit and snow. A late storm in fall can catch a tree still loaded. An early freeze can do it too.

The US Forest Service says to watch closely after a snowstorm, when branches carry snow. That goes double for fruit trees, so don't shake one to clear the snow. The wood is brittle under strain.

Here are a few things a ranch owner might ask a pro about.

• Should a split limb be cut clean or braced?
• Is the tree worth saving, or is it time to replant?
• Can the damaged wood be cut up for firewood or chips?
• Will an old tree fall when it is wet?

Not every job is the pro's to answer alone. An orchard is a business. The pro can give the facts about the tree, and you can make the call on the money.

Tall trees at the edge

The ranches also have tall conifers on their edges. These are the trees that shade the road and shelter the rows. They can reach well over 60 feet.

On the Fixr scale, a 60 to 100 foot tree is $900 to $1,200, and a taller one is $1,300 to $2,000. Past 80 feet a crane may be needed, at $1,500 to $2,500. Those are national guides and not quotes.

A tree that falls on a fruit stand or a parking lot during open season is a different kind of problem. People could be hurt. If a tree near public space looks weak, call us before the season starts.

Visitors and neighbors

The ranches draw crowds in fall. Cars fill the shoulders and families walk the lanes. That is a good reason to look up before opening day. A split limb over a picnic spot is easy to fix in August and hard to fix in October.

Neighbors matter here, too. Many homes sit right beside a ranch. When a tree on the line falls, whose job is it? Talk early, and tell the pro both owners' names if you can. It saves a lot of back and forth.

The pear blight story is a good reminder. Trees here have always faced something, a disease one decade and a storm the next. A good pro knows what is local and what is new.

Cost and cleanup

Fixr prices a small tree, under 30 feet, between $150 and $400. That covers many orchard trees. Stump grinding is $100 to $500 a stump, if you want the stump gone.

The Fire Safe Council's free chipping is meant for homes and leaves out businesses. It takes primary residences only. Its chipper takes material up to 7 inches across. A farm with lots of brush may need a pro with their own chipper.

After a storm, ask the pro to haul or chip the branches. A heap of damp wood left in a row is a place for pests to settle.

Also close by

• Camino
• Pleasant Valley
• Smith Flat
• Every town on our list