Best tree service pros near Mount Penn, PA

In most cases, your neighbor is responsible for roots from their tree that cause damage to your property. If your pavement, the foundation of your home, or a fence is damaged by roots from a neighbor’s tree, you likely will have legal recourse for financial relief. While it’s better to notify your neighbor of any problems you notice as soon as they arise to avoid costly damage, there are some instances where filing a civil suit is your only recourse. Your homeowner’s insurance company might wish to do so on your behalf if you file a claim.

Some people prefer to leave or even carve a leftover stump, but we recommend removing it if possible. You can often dig out smaller trunks with a shovel once they have died and dried out. You can have stumps professionally removed, or request a service to grind them down to ground level so they can be replaced with other landscaping or objects.

You should avoid cutting off the top of mature cherry trees. This process is called tree topping, and it’s not recommended for cherry trees—or any trees, for that matter. Tree topping removes between one-third to half of the length of the tree trunk, resulting in structurally unsound, fruitless suckers. The only exception is for saplings. Young pie, sour, and tart cherry trees that are over 30 inches tall in the fall or winter before the tree blooms can benefit from heading cuts.

Unfortunately, palm tree stumps are one of the most difficult types to remove due to how their roots grow. Unlike other trees, palm tree roots grow horizontally and vertically. Palm tree roots grow as deep as three feet into the ground, although soil and growing conditions could mean they go as far as 50 inches into the earth. 

If you want to be able to repurpose the grass in the area where you removed a stump later, you’ll have to dig quite deep—and perhaps wide—to trim away all the roots.