Tree Service in Mobile, AL

Tree service in Mobile is shaped by two things: water and wind. A 2007 study ranked Mobile the wettest city in the contiguous 48 states, at roughly 66 inches of rain a year spread over about 120 rainy days, and the city sits at the head of Mobile Bay in the path of Gulf hurricanes. Soaked ground loosens roots, and the same storms that bring the rain bring the wind. Most of what we do for Mobile homeowners comes back to a short list of questions: which trees on the lot are likely to fail, what would they hit, and what can be done before the next storm instead of after it?

Hurricane history you can see in the canopy

Hurricane Frederic passed over the heart of Mobile as a Category 3 storm on the night of September 12, 1979. Ivan hit in 2004, Katrina's surge flooded downtown in 2005, and in 2020 the slow-moving Sally was followed about a month later by Zeta. Midtown also took a tornado on Christmas Day 2012. Each of those storms sorted the city's trees. University of Florida researchers who studied trees after Gulf hurricanes rate live oak, sand live oak, southern magnolia, sabal palm and crape myrtle as highly wind resistant in the coastal plain, and water oak, laurel oak, pecan and Bradford pear as low. Pines sit in between, but they can look fine after a storm and then decline over the following months to two years.

Live oaks are a big deal here

Mobile's live oaks are part of the city's identity. Oaks were planted in Bienville Square starting in 1847, the Government Street oaks were replanted after most were cut during the Civil War, and Spring Hill College's Avenue of the Oaks dates to around 1850. Big live oaks on residential lots are usually strong trees, but their long, low limbs reach over roofs, driveways and the street. Good pruning on a live oak is selective: shortening and thinning the ends of heavy limbs, removing dead wood, and lifting clearance, not cutting the tree back to stubs or stripping its inner branches.

City trees, Heritage Trees and permits

The City of Mobile considers every tree in the public right-of-way or on city property a city tree, and pruning, moving or removing one requires a permit from the Mobile Tree Commission. In 2021 a Reddy Street homeowner was fined a base $722, plus possible restitution, for cutting limbs off a city oak in front of his house. On private property, the rule depends on the lot. A developed home lot outside a historic district generally needs no permit unless the tree is in the right-of-way. Inside a historic district such as Oakleigh Garden, De Tonti Square or Old Dauphin Way, Heritage Trees 8 inches in trunk diameter and up need a permit. The city charges $75 per tree, capped at $225 for a residential property. We check this before quoting.

Pines, termites and hidden decay

Pines that were wounded by a storm, struck by lightning or had roots cut during construction attract bark beetles. Alabama Extension says pines infested with Ips engraver beetles or southern pine beetle can die within four to six weeks of the first symptoms, and recommends removing them promptly and grinding the stump. Hardwoods have their own hidden problem: Formosan termites, reported in Alabama and established along the northern Gulf Coast, can hollow out the trunks and limbs of living oaks, pines and palms. A mud shelter tube on the bark or a hollow knock is worth a closer look.

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What we look at on an estimate

• Species, lean, cracks, cavities, dead wood and signs of decay or termites
• What sits under the tree: roof, carport, pool, fence, neighbor's yard
• Overhead lines and whether Alabama Power has to clear them first
• Whether the tree is in the city right-of-way or a historic district
• Ground conditions and how equipment can reach the tree after rain
• Where the logs, brush and chips go, and whether the stump is included

Mobile is home base, from downtown and the historic districts through Midtown, Spring Hill and the large area annexed in West Mobile in 2023. Beyond the city limits we work across Mobile County: Prichard, Chickasaw, Saraland and Satsuma to the north; Semmes and the farm-and-pine country to the west; Tillmans Corner, Theodore and toward Bayou La Batre and Dauphin Island to the south. The trees and storms are much the same everywhere along the bay. The rules are not. The Mobile Tree Commission's permits apply inside the city, other towns set their own, and county lots outside any town follow different practice again. Each area page explains what we know about that place.