Tag: austin

Tree Removal Permit in Austin

Be careful before you remove a tree in your yard if you live in Austin. Many of the trees in Austin are protected. Possibly even some in your yard! The city’s tree protection ordinance is somewhat complicated. Here is some info to get you started.

  1. In residential settings, trees 19″ DBH (diameter at breast height, approx 4.5′) and larger are protected
  2. In commercial settings, trees 8″ DBH and larger are protected
  3. Trees 24″ and larger are classified with heritage status
  4. Removing or pruning out more than 25% of the canopy of a protected tree requires a permit

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Cypress Trees of Central Texas

Cypress trees are my personal favorite group of conifers. The five cypress trees I’ll discuss here are very different in appearance. I see a lot of amateur gardeners try to identify conifers based on leaf type, but this doesn’t work. It’s the seeds that give them away. There are two genera of the cypress family that do well in central Texas that I’ll be discussing in this article: Cupressus (Arizona, Italian and Leyland) and Taxodium (Bald and Montezuma). The two groups have very different foliage. Cupressus have scale like foliage much like most junipers and Taxodium have Continue reading Cypress Trees of Central Texas

No Tree Left Behind

survey-snap-shot.jpg Trees are the original green. I’m talking about the green movement. Almost every community across the country has some kind of tree ordinance these days. We know trees make a big contribution to the health and beauty of our living space, but what is the best way to ensure trees get what they need to sustain. After all, we’re insisting the trees remain, but they’re only beneficial to us as healthy, lush canopies. Unhealthy trees fall down. That’s just how it works. That’s what old trees do as they die. All too often the tall green objects we covet aren’t allowed the conditions they need to thrive. The solutions is that every tree needs to be addressed as an individual…”No Tree Left Behind.”
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Landscaper’s Guide for Construction Site – Tree Ordinance Mitigation

As a landscaper, your job might not be to manage tree ordinance compliance, but planting trees from this specific list will help your client (the contractor) keep their costs down. Planting trees from the list below will count toward the tree mitigation fines. Any plantings that are done as a requirement to the landscape plan do NOT count toward tree mitigation. But, if you happen to plant above and beyond the requirements then the extra will count.

city of austin_treeList_revised
city of austin_treeList_revised

75% of the trees planted must be from the class one list; 25% can be from the class two list.

pdf version of list
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Installing Irrigation Systems Around Trees

Installing an irrigation system IS the number one thing you can do to improve the overall health and beauty of your landscape. Just look at Arizona. They took the desert and made some of the most lush golf courses in the country. Irrigation is good for the trees, too, not just the grass. But, be careful, there are some issues.
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Constructing In-Ground Swimming Pools Around Trees

Quite possibly the only thing better than being under a shade tree in the summer is taking a dip in the pool. If you are planning to build an in-gound pool near one of your prized trees be careful. You are going to be digging a big hole in the ground and will likely be taking many tree roots in the process.
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Construction Site Tree Protection

There are several facets of construction site tree protection that need to be covered. Most of the basics are pretty straight forward. Since all construction sites are different, the tricky part is understanding the impact to trees on your particular site. Some of the things you can do yourself, and some of the techniques will require you to hire a professional tree guy.
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Soil Restructuring. An Important Part of Tree Care.

Soil restructuring is one of the most powerful tools we have for tree health management. The idea is to till the soil; improving its structure will allow valuable air and water to more easily penetrate the soil. While fundamental in gardening theory, this task is not easy at the scale of a large tree.
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What is a Good Fast Growing Shade Tree for Austin and Central Texas? – Red Oak

What is the best fast growing shade tree to plant in Austin? Here is my answer: red oak. There are several factors that must be considered, and there are special precautions you need to take. No tree is fool proof. Continue reading What is a Good Fast Growing Shade Tree for Austin and Central Texas? – Red Oak

Tree Fertilizer Part 1. An Introduction.

Fertilizing your tree will provide a big impact to the health of your tree in both the short term and long term. More than pruning, more than any other tree care service. There is a lot to know about tree fertilizers. This article is meant to be an introduction to tree fertilizer. I highly recommend you read my three other articles in this series: When to Fertilize trees, How to Apply Fertilizers to Trees, and What Products to Use for Fertilizing Trees.
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