Climber pruning a big-leaf maple over a Bellingham house in warm late-summer light

Tree Trimming and Pruning in Bellingham, WA

Big firs, maples and cedars pruned so they stay healthy, stay standing and stay off your roof. We would rather keep a good tree than take it down, and we will tell you plainly which one you have.

We never top trees

Get a Free Estimate Call (360) 555-0137
  • Free on-site estimates
  • Every cut explained before we make it
  • No topping, ever
  • Yard raked and cleaned before we leave
Freshly thinned conifer with light coming through its crown beside a home

Most trees here do not need to come down. They need the right cuts.

A Whatcom County yard usually has one tree that is causing the trouble. The Douglas fir dropping needles and moss into the gutters every winter. The big-leaf maple with a limb resting on the roof. The cedar brushing the power drop to the house. The laurel hedge that was waist high when you moved in and now shades half the yard.

The common answer to all of that is to cut the tree down, or to top it and hope. Neither is usually necessary. A tree that has grown into the wrong shape can almost always be pruned back into the right one: deadwood out, crossing and rubbing limbs removed, crowded growth thinned lightly, and long, heavy limbs over the house shortened back to a point where the tree can seal the wound, so the crown carries less weight at the ends.

That is the work we do most. Trimming and pruning for homeowners who like their trees and want them to behave. We also do removals, storm work, stumps and clearing, in full, for the times when keeping a tree is not the honest answer.

Tree Services We Offer

Arborist making a clean pruning cut on a maple branch

Tree Trimming and Pruning

Deadwood out, crowns thinned, limbs cleared from roofs, houses and lines, every cut made where the tree can seal it off.

Tall laurel hedge being trimmed into a crisp line

Hedge and Shrub Trimming

Laurel, arborvitae, holly and overgrown shrubs shaped, reduced or brought back from the brink.

Selectively thinned fir framing a view of Bellingham Bay

View Pruning

Selective thinning and windowing that opens a view of the bay or the mountains and leaves the tree standing.

Old apple tree being pruned in a Whatcom County yard

Fruit Tree Pruning

Apple, pear, plum and cherry pruned for structure, light and a better crop, including the neglected old ones.

Trunk section being lowered from a tree on a rope

Tree Removal

When a tree really has to go, taken down in sections where there is no room to drop it.

Stump grinder working a fir stump on a sunny lawn

Stump Grinding

Stumps ground below grade, surface roots chased, chips cleaned up or left as mulch.

Brush and young alder cleared from a sunny rural lot

Land and Lot Clearing

Overgrown lots and acreage cleared of alder, brush and small trees, including forestry mulching.

Dead tree standing among healthy green trees

Hazard Tree Removal

Leaning, cracked or dead trees taken down before the next storm does it for you.

Person inspecting the trunk of a large tree

Tree Health Assessments

A straight answer on whether a tree is sound, needs work, or needs to come down.

See all services

How we think about a tree before we touch it

We prune for the tree, not just the complaint

Clearing a roof is the reason you called. Leaving a tree that is healthier and better balanced than before is the reason we cut where we cut. Those two goals almost never conflict, and when they do we tell you.

We do not top trees

Topping a maple turns one trunk into a crown of fast, weakly attached sprouts, and topping a fir leaves several weak competing tops. Both are more likely to fail in the next windstorm than the original top ever was. It looks like a fix for a year or two. We will reduce a tree properly, or tell you it needs to come out, but we will not top it.

We explain every cut

Before anything comes off, we walk the tree with you and say what is going, why, and what it will look like afterwards. If you want less taken, we can do that. If a cut you asked for would hurt the tree, we will say so.

We are honest when a tree has to go

Some trees are dead, rotten at the base, or growing somewhere they will never fit. Pruning those is money spent delaying the inevitable. When that is the situation we say it once, clearly, and quote the removal properly.

Ground worker feeding pruned branches into a wood chipper beside a Bellingham home

How a job runs

  1. Tell us what is bothering you

    A limb over the roof, a hedge out of hand, a view gone, a tree you are worried about. A photo helps us bring the right gear.

  2. We look at the tree with you

    A free on-site estimate. We walk it, talk through the options, and give you a written price for the work you choose.

  3. We agree what comes off

    You know before we start which limbs are going and roughly how the tree will look after. No surprises from the driveway.

  4. The pruning

    Climbing or working from the ground, cutting at the branch collar, lowering anything heavy on ropes over roofs and gardens.

  5. The clean-up

    Brush chipped, wood cut and stacked or hauled, gutters and roof cleared of anything we dropped, lawn raked.

  6. When to call us next

    Most trees need nothing for a few seasons after good pruning. We tell you roughly when yours will, and what to watch for in between.

What our customers say

We are only just starting to collect customer reviews. As they come in, each one will be shown in full, exactly as written.

Where we work

We trim and prune trees across Whatcom County: Bellingham, Ferndale, Lynden and Blaine, plus Everson, Sudden Valley, Birch Bay, Sumas, Deming, Custer and the rural ground in between.

From hillside lots above Bellingham Bay to orchard trees and windbreaks out on the farmland, the trees change a lot across the county, and so does what they need.

Areas we serve

Common questions about tree trimming

What months should you not trim trees?

For most trees here, the times to avoid heavy pruning are spring, while the leaves are pushing out and the tree is spending its stored energy, and early fall, when fresh wounds sit open into a wet winter. Late winter, before the buds break, suits most deciduous trees. Conifers are forgiving and can be pruned most of the year. Deadwood and anything dangerous can come out any time.

Is it cheaper to have a tree cut down or trimmed?

A trim is usually cheaper on the day. A tree that needs trimming every couple of years can cost more than a removal over a long stretch, but it also keeps the shade, the screening and the value the tree adds to the yard. If a tree is healthy and fits where it is growing, trimming is almost always the better spend. If it is failing, removal is.

What's the average price to trim a tree?

There is no honest single figure. The price depends on the size of the tree, how much is coming off, whether it can be climbed or needs ropes to lower limbs over a roof, how close it is to lines or the house, and how much brush has to be hauled. We give a written price after seeing the tree, and the estimate is free.

Will insurance pay for tree removal?

Sometimes. Policies often cover removing a tree that has fallen on the house or another covered structure, and often do not cover removing a healthy tree or one that died of neglect. The wording varies between policies, so read your own or ask your agent before the work is booked. We are happy to document storm damage with photos for a claim.

Read the blog

Get a free tree trimming estimate

Tell us where you are and what the tree is doing. A photo or two helps. We will come out, look at it with you, and give you a written price.

Needles in the gutters, a limb over the roof, a view closing in. Tell us in your own words.

Free and no obligation. Prefer to talk? Call (360) 555-0137.